KIMONO & OBI: ROMANTIC ECHOES FROM JAPAN'S GOLDEN AGE

This yuzen-dyed wedding furisode (long sleeve kimono), made in the 1920s or 30s, has a dominant theme of hi-ogi, the wide bladed fans carried by Heian Period noble women. Even today the Japanese Empress wears Heian style apparel and carries a hi-ogi for important ceremonies. Opening fans, in general, are considered an auspicious wedding symbol in Japan, signifying a happy future unfolding for the bride.

A misu decorates the fanciful hi-ogi on the left. Misu were wide bamboo blinds used in Heian palaces that allowed noble women to look outside their palace quarters without being seen. These women generally hid their faces from men except those in their immediate family. A hi-ogi could also be used to perform this act of modesty.

On the right of this hi-ogi is a glimpse of the flowing fabric panels of a kicho. Kicho were curtains on portable stands behind which Heian noble women sat and exchanged poems with suitors. The decorated shells and open hexagonal box (depicted here in front of the kicho) are part of the romantic Heian game kai awase, in which players matched paired clam shells to symbolize the union of a perfect couple.

Heian nobles traveled in special carriages called gosho-guruma. Only high ranking nobles were permitted to ride in these lavishly decorated vehicles. Bamboo blinds covered the openings, allowing passengers privacy, but also the ability to observe the outside world.

Obi are long sashes that wrap around a woman’s waist and are formed into a decorative knot at the back. Maru obi are the most formal obi, and were worn with wedding furisode in the 1920s and 30s, when this maru obi was made. They are fully patterned on both sides and are generally between 150 and 170 inches long and 12 to 13 inches wide. Usually they are woven with numerous colors of silk thread. Often, as in this example, gold and silver threads add to the luxurious effect of these splendid textiles.

Genji-guruma

The wheels of the gosho-guruma also became decorative motifs, in and of themselves, called Genji-guruma. The Tale of Genji, considered the world's first great novel, was written by a Heian court woman. Genji-guruma are named after the story's protagonist, Prince Genji. This section of a maru obi has Genji-guruma wheels decorated with auspicious symbols woven in brilliant silks and metallic threads.

The sisters earned their sustenance as ama divers (divers for pearls or food). The tall triangular forms of fishing nets dry on the shore of the bay, where they plied their difficult trade. At night, to alleviate their poverty, the sisters carried briny sea water to boiling huts for making salt.

Salt huts covering earthen stoves with pots of simmering sea water are depicted in several places on the kimono. Two brown buckets glimpsed between two huts represent the sisters' endless labors.

This curtain, made of luxurious fabrics, is the type that served as a backdrop for concerts and dance performances at the Heian Court from which Yukihira was banished.

After three years Yukihira was pardoned. According to the play, as he left Suma, he promised the sisters that he would return for them.

In Matsukaze, the sisters' spirits reminisce about the wild geese that fly over Suma Bay, depicted on the kimono in embroidered gold threads.

In Japan, geese represent faithfulness because they predictably return in the fall. The sisters remain faithful in their love for Yukihira even after death.