Tokyo exhibit showcases kimono collection

Published Jan 6, 2016

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Tokyo - Many art collectors are strongly committed to their favourite field - they go after what they want and what they've failed to get with an overwhelming passion.

They generously open their collections to the public, and sometimes obtain precious items without even trying, as if by divine blessing.

Acclaimed as a top collector of vintage kimono and kimono accessories, Shigeko Ikeda possessed all these qualities. An exhibition featuring some of her collection is currently under way and will run through January 18 in Tokyo.

Unlike most exhibitions, many of the displayed items are presented as ensembles put together by Ikeda and shown on mannequins so visitors can see how they would actually be worn. Ikeda died in October at the age of 89, and this show is intended to showcase her talents as a kimono coordinator.

Ikeda often said: “Kimono don't have to be gorgeous but they need to be elegant. They don't have to be magnificent but they need to be stylish.”

Titled “Tsuito: Ikeda Shigeko Collection: Nihon no Oshare-ten,” the exhibition displays about 60 kimono outer garments complete with obi sashes, obijime sash bands and ornamental clasps called obidome as well as ornamental collars.

About 150 other pieces are displayed individually, including clasps and small handbags. The displays were selected from about 10 000 items that Ikeda collected from the age of about 50.

Because the exhibition is taking place during the New Year season, Ikeda chose items before her death that would add to the festive atmosphere.

Ikeda was born in 1925 to a wealthy family in Yokohama. She trained her eye for beauty while she was growing up by practicing nihonbuyo Japanese dancing, wearing well-made kimono and seeing kabuki plays.

Although she was well versed in kimono, her daughter Yukiko Ikeda remembers Ikeda always wearing Western clothes. Yukiko has taken over her mother's work and the Antique Kimono Shop Ikeda, which was started by her mother in Meguro, Tokyo. She also gives lessons on kimono coordination.

“My mother began wearing kimono when she went out after she got divorced. People praised her fashion sense and kimono became her signature. She was about 45 and it helped start her career,” Yukiko said. “She knew what people would want. She collected pieces of old cloth to make folding screens from them, and they sold out. So she opened her shop to sell old cloth.”

The store was the first of its kind in Tokyo. Since its opening, many domestic and foreign fashion designers have visited it to buy cloth for their creations and gain inspiration.

Soon after she turned 50, Ikeda obtained an elaborate obi clasp and was enchanted by its beauty. Once she started collecting clasps, people learned she was a responsible collector and began bringing valuable clasps to her.

“Say she wanted a clasp but the owner gave it to somebody else. Eventually it would come to my mother a year or two later,” Yukiko said. “Each time my mother said, 'Ah, it was destined to come to me.' I think objects are drawn to people who truly want them.”

Kimono clasps play a similar role to brooches in Western clothing.

One of the clasps at the exhibition is an eye-catching piece made with the Shibayama technique, with crafted parts made from seashells and other materials. The clasp on display consists of two fans overlapping each other as a base and is filled with small parts in the shape of flowers and plants. It was made in the early 20th century, when the kimono culture prospered with many skillful craftspeople.

A metal clasp on display from the same period depicts a flying crane with its wings wide open. Its elegant outline and the elaborate chasing on the entire piece indicates it is the work of a master craftsman.

Ikeda also started collecting kimono, sashes and other accessories to coordinate complete outfits. “It's fun to imagine which kimono and sash are suited for this or that clasp,” Yukiko said.

Cranes are a symbol of longevity and suited for celebrating the New Year.

One kimono coordinated with a sash and other accessories on display is titled “A story of a crane for Tsuruko.” The kimono bears a motif of pine-like plants in gentle colours with small white cranes flying in the air on a purple background. The delicate colour gradation on the sleeves and the bottom adds to its classical image. There are standing cranes on the gold sash. The name Tsuruko may remind some people of Junichiro Tanizaki's “The Makioka Sisters.”

“Japan has many tones of colours and many types of woven and dyed textiles. I believe this country has the most in the world,” Yukiko said. “Many precious things from the past have vanished, but this exhibition shows such things actually existed and can still be seen.”

Japan News/Washington Post

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