Uchikake with design of a palace, court carriage and garden gates

Uchikake is a formal outer garment for women in the upper samurai class. It was worn over a short-sleeved kimono without tying it at the waist with a sash.
This Uchikake was owned by Princess Sumi, the wife of the 12th lord of the Yanagawa domain. It is executed in embroidery and surihitta-dye (stenciled imitation of tie-dying) to express the palace quarters, garden gates and a court carriage on the crepe fabric. These motifs were typical designs of Uchikake, and were thought to imply some specific traditional literature, poem or a scene of Noh play.