This rinzu silk kimono from 1925-1935 represents a striking example of Japan's embrace of modernist design during the interwar period. The garment showcases a bold geometric pattern that appears almost Art Deco in its sensibility, reflecting the international design movements that were influencing Japanese textile arts during this transformative era.

The pattern consists of dynamic diagonal bands and chevron-like forms rendered in a sophisticated palette of coral orange, golden yellow, deep black, and cream. These angular elements create a sense of movement and rhythm across the kimono's surface, with the diagonal orientations generating visual energy that seems to pulse and shift as the eye follows the interlocking geometric forms.

The design demonstrates remarkable technical precision in its execution. The sharp-edged triangular and parallelogram shapes require exact registration and careful color placement to achieve the optical effects visible here. The way the diagonal elements intersect and overlap creates complex secondary patterns and depth relationships that give the textile a almost three-dimensional quality.

This kimono exemplifies the period's fascination with geometric abstraction and streamlined aesthetics that were emerging globally in the 1920s and 1930s. The bold angularity represents a dramatic departure from traditional Japanese textile patterns, which typically emphasized organic forms, natural motifs, and flowing curves. Yet the fundamental structure remains classically Japanese in its kimono silhouette and rinzu silk construction.

The color choices - particularly the vibrant orange and contrasting black - reflect the era's taste for bold, modern palettes that would have appeared strikingly contemporary. This garment would have been worn by someone at the forefront of fashion, embracing the new aesthetic vocabularies that were reshaping Japanese design culture during this period of rapid social and artistic change.

The silk is exceptionally soft and of top quality. Its upper inner lining (doura) is crafted from undyed hand-spun and handwoven silk, while the pink inner lower lining (hakkake) is made of kinsha (fine crepe) silk. It measures approximately 51 inches (130 cm) across the shoulders and stands at about 61 inches (155 cm) in height

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This artwork is featured on page 346 of Art Kimono: Aesthetic Revelations of Japan, 1905-1960. This book, published by Yorke Antique Textiles, can be previewed or purchased on our website here.

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