[Pale yellow Niigata chirimen kimono with valley or wave design, Niigata, Japan]

Description

1 kimono : silk ; 55.5 x 25 (center back) in., sleeves 22.5 x 11.75 in., collar 4.375 in.

Lightweight Niigata chirimen (silk crepe) kimono with "valley" or "wave" design composed of a grid of light green lines marked with brown hash marks and alternate with light green and gray vertical stripes on a field of pale yellow. Lined with natural muslin at collar, shoulder area and back panel, rear panel area and collar/neck area lined with sarashi.

History
This high quality kimono, as indicated by the wide collar and expensive weave, was worn by Chijimi Ojiya in the 1920s. Masae Desaki of Pahoa, Hawaii gave this kimono to Barbara Kawakami in 1994. Desaki's father had been a dry goods peddler who sold his goods by traveling through plantation towns

All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in this collection must be submitted to the Hirasaki National Resource Center at the Japanese American National Museum (hnrc@janm.org).