Japan beyond the Kimono: Innovation and Tradition in the Kyoto Textile Industry

Description

In the ancient city of Kyoto, contemporary artisans and designers are using heritage techniques and traditional clothing aesthetics to reinvent wafuku (Japanese clothing, including kimono) for modern life. Japan beyond the Kimono explores these shifts, highlighting developments in the Kyoto fashion industry such as its integration of digital weaving and printing techniques and the influence of social media on fashion distribution systems. Through case studies of designers, artisans, and retailers, Jenny Hall provides a comprehensive picture of the reasons behind the production and consumption of these rejuvenated fashion goods. She argues that conceptualisations of Japanese tradition include innovation and change, which is vital to understanding how Japanese cultural heritage is both sustained and evolving. Essential reading for students and scholars of fashion, anthropology, and Japanese studies, Jenny Hall’s sensory ethnography is the first of its kind, describing the lived experiences of people in the Kyoto textiles industry, explaining the renewal of traditional techniques and styles, and placing them both within contexts such as transnational ‘craftscapes’ and fast or slow fashion systems. Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Dedication Contents Illustrations and Videos Acknowledgments Note on Transliteration Historical Dates 1 Dress to Destruction Kyoto as a Field Site The Senses in Japan Tradition in the Textile Industry Tradition and Cultural Nationalism Tradition and Authenticity Innovation in Tradition Tradition and Kata Fashion Fashion’s Inferiority Complex Clothing, Dress, and Fashion Fashion as Cultural Practice Japanese Fashion: A Pre-Industrial Example Book Outline Conclusion 2 Creating Kimono Fabric and Fibers Materials—Dyes Technology Orimono Takabata—Treadle Looms Jacquard Power Loom Digital Loom Shiborizome Tsujigahana Yūzen Tegaki Yūzen Kata Yūzen Digital Yūzen Conclusion 3 Case Studies Pagong (Kamedatomi Co. Ltd.) Background Process Products Kyoto Denim Background Process Products Sou Sou Background Process Products Conclusion 4 Kimono as Sartorial Expression—Clothing, Play, and Identity Wearing Kimono in Contemporary Japan What Makes a Kimono? Garment Structure Decorative Composition Mode of Dress Kankō Taiken Kimono Taiken Maiko Henshin Tezukuri Yoroi Matsuri Clothing, Play, and Identity Conclusion 5 Innovation and Change Innovation in Design Traditional Apparel with Modern Print Designs Retaining the Core Elements of Traditional Apparel Contemporary Products from Traditionally Printed Fabric or Dye Techniques Innovation in Production Digital Yūzen Outsourcing Innovation in Supply Lines and Distribution Innovation in Marketing Conclusion 6 Conclusion The Evolution of Tradition Using the Past to Weave the Future Weaving Social Change Notes Glossary References Index