Widely accepted standards for traditional apparel and for wearing it took hold in Japanese society in the Edo period (1603–1868) and diversified greatly in the Meiji period (1868–1912). This exhibition is a first-of-its-kind endeavor to recreate the 19th-century wearing of kimono in reference to valuable photographic archives. The Edo period ended in a series of events that began with the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry’s fleet in 1853 and concluded with the Meiji Restoration in 1868. That coincided with the forced opening of Japanese ports, which occasioned a surge in interchange with the United States and Europe.
A wave of westernizing modernization swept Japanese society. Western-style apparel became common, though principally among males. What modernization catalyzed for women’s fashion in the late 19th century was a heightened boldness and diversity in kimono. Not until the postwar period would western-style attire become daily wear for Japanese women. The design and wearing of kimono then became, conversely, subject to newly standardized guidelines.
This exhibition draws on the photographic technology that reached Japan in the late Edo period and on then-contemporary documents. It recreates the female side of the wearing of traditional Japanese fashion in that era and in the Meiji period. The recreation comes alive with actual kimono, obi sashes, and accessories from the eras covered. Here is an opportunity, born of Marubeni’s rich collection of kimono and assiduous research on textile dyeing, to view the wearing of kimono a century ago.