Indigo summer kimono with wisteria flowers
Meiji period 1868-1912
Medium
cotton
Measurements
135.0 cm (centre back) 117.5 cm (cuff to cuff)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased with funds donated by The Late Hon. Michael Watt KC and Cecilie Hall, 2023
Gallery location
Level 1, NGV International
About this work
This summer yukata kimono features a wisteria flower design contrasted against a deep indigo background. In Japan, the wisteria was a favoured flower of the aristocracy and represents love and longevity, featuring prominently in poems, decorative art and painting. The white cotton with indigo dyed flower petals design is a replica of the traditional, very time-consuming tie-dye shibori production technique. In this lower-cost and quicker imitation technique, rice paste is applied through a stencil to the fabric, which is then submerged multiple times in a vat of indigo dye, offering a more affordable product for the working-class market.