Uchikake style

[AndyZ]

Hi, I wonder if anyone can help me date this uchikake. It was the first I ever had, and was a special gift from my family. I haven't seen another like it, and would love to know if this style belongs to any particular decade. I've read that the checker board type of design is called ichimatsu after the Edo period actor Samagawa Ichimatsu. More than that I do not know. The outside part appears to be older than the lining and has some wear, especially along the fold lines. The lining is in perfect, absolutely new condition, so I think it has been re-lined in the last ten years or so. It is orange and off-white, with a number of shades of gold and silver thread. Any advice on the possible age of this style would be appreciated... Thanks, AndyZ.
www.andyzermanski.com/kimono.html

[Daikan]

Dear Mr. Andy san  
Hello , this is Ichiro!
We estimate the age of uchikake it's size and technique. In Meiji period or ealier all Japanese are smaller than now. The uchikake from this age has different size. Is it smaller than other uchikake you have?                              

[Kiyoaki]

Hi Andy,

It's good to hear from you again.

Initially, I'd say the uchikake is probably Showa Era.  Because of the design work, I'd most likely date it to the post-war period, perhaps the late 50's or 60's.

Could you send more detailed pictures?  There may be something distinctive in the weave that will narrow the dating somewhat.  As Ichiro also said, dimensions might help too.

Thanks,

Kiyoaki

[AndyZ]

Thank you Ichiro san and Kiyoaki. I have added close up pictures showing the weaving technique used to make this uchikake. It really is very beautiful and, I feel, classic Japanese design. The whole thing is woven with a fine metalic weft thread, which give a sheen that changes according to the light available. The length is about 71 inches, and the sleeve length is 41 inches. It is much bigger than my Taisho period uchikake, but not as big as some of the others. I have spent so many hours looking at this, it's like an old friend! It lights up any room. Thanks and best wishes, AndyZ.
www.andyzermanski.com/kimono.html

[Daikan]

Dear Andy san
Thank you for the extra photos of your uchikake. It is beautiful!  I thought that the patterns are done by couching or embroidery,  but  I found they are woven!  I have never seen such a uchikake before !  About the age of it I agree Kiyoaki san. I think it may be from mid Showa period. And I think it is rare and valuable. If I got any information about uchikake you have , I will let you know. ( I will ask our friend  s )  FFF
About Japanese character you put on your site, I can not read them.  I can read "nen" ( means "year") , " sei" ( it may mean " made " ) . So I assume it  means " this is made in ****** year " ) .. But  I could not find the name of year same as it.  It might  mean the year name of China. Is it from Japan?

ichiro de shita

[Kou Hiko]

It is a beautiful uchikake! I have never seen anything like it either. I like the "stepped" pattern (everyone knows how I like katami-gawari (half-the-body-different), and the "stepped" pattern is like a step up from katami-gawari. I believe that the "stepped" pattern was created after the katami-gawari). It gives a patched look to it, even though it isn't. I don't think anyone nowadays would want a kimono that purposely looks like it was patched (I would, but I'm weird like that!).

The "stepped" design was popular during the Muromachi period, but if it were that old, the design wouldn't go beyond the "square" it was inside. Purhaps this uchikake was made to imitate Noh robes (nuihaku) of the Edo period in the 17th to 19th centuries. During this time Noh robes had "stepped" patterns that scattered across the "steps" instead of being confined in their squares. So maybe it was created after Noh design. That is all the knowledge I have on the pattern itself. It's up to the experts to tell you the rest.

(Now, I'm going to go off topic)
Andy--
I just visited your site and, WOW!, you are a great artist! No wonder you love kimono so much. If you wanted to you could design your own kimono. I showed my brother your site too and he loves the fantasy stuff that you did. I love the pillow with the cranes (looks like kimono design!) and the painting of the cat on the red shibori kimono. (My fovorite is the pillow though!) I was just blown away by your work.
(Okay, I'm done. But I do recommend others the look at Andy's site and see his work if you apprieciate good art.)

Bye. And I hope I helped a little with the design of the uchikake.

[chiiyo]

*This has nothing to do with the uchikake, which is absolutely beautiful and exquisite I must say...*

About the characters on the bottom of the cobalt vase? I'm chinese, but I'm not sure whether it's japanese or chinese. I shall venture that it might have been chinese, I don't know, by instinct, since the writing doesn't look like the usual way kanji is written.

If I take that it is indeed chinese, then the last two words (the two characters on the left read from top down) are the same meaning as in japanese, "nian" and "zhi", meaning "year" and "made". The first word is "kang" in chinese, which literally means "healthy". The second word I cannot decipher. "kang" in chinese could mean a mighty lot of things, but the most direct one is healthy or health. But it could have also been a name. There was a chinese emperor called Kangxi, but I'll have to check the characters of his name. The second word might be Xi... which means you have a nice antique there if it is authentic... because Kangxi ruled a very long time ago. If so, the words would have meant, made in the year of Kangxi's rule. Shall check it out for you if you wish. Should be interesting.

[Kiyoaki]

Andy,

Thanks for the added picture. It did help to confirm one issue and raise another question.

First, the warp threads are green, while the wefts are a compound weave of the gold, silver, and red (?). This 'odd' combination of colors gives the two-tone (shagreen) effect. My guess would be that the reverse is a pure mirror image of the front but the colors are switched.

In addition, I suspect, the material was originally intended to be used for an obi. You could confirm this by checking for a seam down the back. If there is none, that would confirm that the fabric was meant to be folded in half, before it was seamed along the length. The sleeves would have been made from half-portions of the same fabric.

Whether, the entire uchikake is made from single or double-width fabric though, is not entirely significant in the dating. I think a dating to the 60's would be accurate based upon the style of decoration and the contrasting warp and weft constructions and colors.

On the subject of the porcelain mark, it probably reads "Kang-xi, nien hao", which is a reign mark from the Ching dynasty. Most likely, the date mark is spurious, so I wouldn't automatically assume the mark is contemporary with the early 18th century. The mark is used on some Japanese ceramics in the 18th century Ching style, which absolutely marks them as spurious from the get-go.

Again if you can post some more photos of the entire porcelain piece, I can venture dating that as well. In a previous lifetime, I collected Japanese sometsuke (blue-white) porcelain too.

Kiyoaki

[AndyZ]

Dear Ichiro san, Kou_Hiko, CyberHippy and Kiyoaki,

Thank you for taking the time to give me your valued thoughts and advice. It really is much appreciated.

Kou_Hiko, I think you may be right about the design of the uchikake being inspired by the costumes of Noh theatre. That's possibly why I like it so much. I'm always looking at books of old Japanese prints. As for kimono, I just can't see enough! Until this site was set up, I thought it was just me... My family have been very good about my obsession though, and having to listen to me endlessly going on about kimono. Thank you for your kind words about my work. I do hope to design a kimono myself one day. Also, I've spent a lot of time thinking of a personal mon, but haven't decided on it yet. Maybe it's time I got on with it!

CyberHippy and Kiyoaki, I don't want to go too far from the subject of kimono, but I must thank you for looking at the blue vase for me and giving me your thoughts on the characters on the base. It's been a puzzle to me for about 15 years. The vase didn't appear to be like the chinese ones I saw in books. Something about the butterflies, bird and plants had a more Japanese look, I felt. But I knew nothing much about ceramics. I just liked it when I found it in a junk shop for £8 (about $11). I felt it would be good in a still-life painting. So perhaps it is pretending to be something it isn't. I've added pictures of the actual vase...
I would appreciate any further thoughts on the subject.
www.andyzermanski.com/kimono.html

Back to the uchikake. I've looked at the threads with a linen counter, and the dyed orange and ivory-white threads do seem to form the warp. The weft is made up of the metal threads -silver and several shades of gold rangeing from pale greenish yellow, through 'antique' gold and copper-gold. The red and green in the pictures is a trick of the light, demonstrating the sheen that makes it look so different at various times of the day. The white squares look almost sand-coloured at times, because of the underlying gold.

I think you may be right, Kiyoaki, that the original design was intended to be used as an obi fabric. It is certainly stiffer fabric than some of the others I have. But I think that when this actual piece was made it was woven with the uchikake in mind, since the whole pattern had to change direction completely at the shoulders, so as to be the right way up both back and front. Kimono not usually having a shoulder seam, the way western clothes do, it looks like the weaver had to modify the design to cope with this change. The tops of these shoulder squares are not exactly the same as the normal pattern, as the crescents (broken snowflake rondels?) that move through and link the squares had to be omitted at the top. I've noiced this type of pattern change too, in other uchikake, and imagine it would have to be carefully considered before the weaving takes place. It's really fascinating to see Japanese fabrics close up, isn't it? And to see the care, attention to detail, and brilliance of the crafts-people who designed and made them. I never tire of looking at them.

It's nice to know there are other people as interested as I am... Thank you all for the input -I appreciate it. Best, AndyZ

[chiiyo]

*I feel so bad for diverting from the kimono subject, but here's this anyway...*

Okay, I've confirmed with my mum. The words at the bottom of the vase does say made in the year of Kangxi, the characters Kangxi are the same one as the ones used for the name of the emperor. But I believe that AndyZ and Kiyoaki-san are correct in saying that it is not chinese. The designs are not at all chinese in nature. It is most likely a japanese vase, although how it had the words Kangxi on it is slightly confusing.

[Kiyoaki]

AndyZ,

Let me back up a bit and comment about the decorative motifs. There are two types of rondels that I can see. One contains a sprig of bamboo leaves with chrysanthemums in the border. The other is a conventionalized form of pine bough with a spray of wisteria. The arcing forms that spread across the rectangular panels are another conventional motif of dew-laden grass. The near spherical indentations at the upper edge of the grass blades represent the actual drops of condensed dew rendered by a negative image. All these botanical motifs signify youth, vigor, and long life. All thess motifs are perfectly in tune with its' function as a wedding costume.

In regard to the porcelain vase, it probably dates from the early 20th century. The intensity of the blue, in combination with the general roughness of the form, points to that period. The form is derived from Song wine jar (mei ping), which eventually devolves to the "ginger jar" form.

Because of the marking on the base, I'm still inclined to attribute it to a Chinese kiln, but believe it was intended for export. Therefore it doesn't conform to traditional Chinese tastes. The second feature that marks it as Chinese is the large scale "crackle" in the surface glaze. Although the general workmanship resembles Korean work, and unless there was conscious intent to copy Chinese style (to the extent of duplicting the "Kang-xi" mark), I can't bring myself to suggest a Korean attribution (much less a Japanese one)!

Kiyoaki

[mikyo]

I love your uchikake.


btw, the 4 characters on the vase from upper right to lower left mean, it was made in CHIN Dynasty under Emperor "kang xi" ruled
Kang xi is one of the famous emperor in chinses history
but is it an antique vase from that era?