Haori (Kimono Jacket) thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Haori (Kimono Jacket)

1930-1950 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The dark and restrained patterning of the outside of this kimono jacket, or haori, contrasts with the hand-painted landscape on the lining. The tendency to hide more extravagant designs under a sombre exterior has its historical roots in the sumptuary laws issued at various points during the Edo period (1615-1868) forbidding lower sections of society from wearing particular fabrics and using particular colours and decorative techniques. Those with money and style, however, found ways to circumvent such rules, and a fashion developed for wearing extravagant linings and under-garments. This taste for hidden and intimate beauty continued even when such laws were no longer enforced.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Woven silk, lining hand painted
Brief description
Haori (kimono jacket) for a man of woven silk, Japan, 1930-1950
Physical description
Kimono jacket (haori) for a man. The garment is woven with black silk and black metallic thread in a subtle diamond pattern. Five mon (crests) of crossed feathers are printed onto the surface in white. The upper front and sleeves are lined with mid-blue silk. The upper back is lined with pale blue silk hand painted with a landscape scene of trees and mountains.
Dimensions
  • Length: 94cm
  • Width: 151cm
Credit line
Given by Moe Co. Ltd.
Object history
Worn with kimono FE.147-2002.
Subjects depicted
Summary
The dark and restrained patterning of the outside of this kimono jacket, or haori, contrasts with the hand-painted landscape on the lining. The tendency to hide more extravagant designs under a sombre exterior has its historical roots in the sumptuary laws issued at various points during the Edo period (1615-1868) forbidding lower sections of society from wearing particular fabrics and using particular colours and decorative techniques. Those with money and style, however, found ways to circumvent such rules, and a fashion developed for wearing extravagant linings and under-garments. This taste for hidden and intimate beauty continued even when such laws were no longer enforced.
Associated object
FE.147-2002 (Ensemble)
Collection
Accession number
FE.148-2002

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Record createdAugust 1, 2006
Record URL
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