Taisho Kimono

Only when the fever of Westernisation had subsided did Japan regain its own identity, and the kimono became one of its symbols.
The beginning of the twentieth century saw an unprecedented revival of the kimono. Increasing prosperity enabled larger segments of the population to spend on luxurious silks. Nearly all women and a significant proportion of men still dressed traditionally.
Flamboyant designs with typically Japanese motifs were popular in women’s dress, but also modern Art Deco was reflected in kimono fashion. And men chose motifs that matched their personal interests, sentiments or convictions, be it kabuki theatre, baseball or war.

Taisho Kimono focuses on the period 1910–1940. Much of the information on textile techniques, the meaning of motifs and the history of the kimono is provided on the basis of the 120 illustrated garments themselves.

Jan Dees (1946) is a gastroenterologist and art researcher. He is a prolific writer of articles on Japanese lacquer, author of the book Ferns, Feathers and Flowers (2001) and co-author of the catalogue Takahashi Setsuro: Visions of Time and Space (2008). For the Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum he contributed an essay to the catalogue of the Rokkaku Shisui retrospective (2008). In 2007 he received a doctoral degree for his thesis Facing Modern Times, the Revival of Japanese Lacquer Art 1890–1950. His collection of Indonesian and South-East Asian textiles – another interest – is now housed in the Nusantara Museum for Indonesian art in Delft.
Michiel Elsevier Stokmans (1957) is a well-known Holland-based art photographer. As head of the photography department of Christie’s Amsterdam he has been responsible for the production of more than 1000 auction catalogues over the past 23 years. Also as a photographer he has co-authored several art books, such as Ethnic Jewellery from Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands (2002), The Art of Silver Jewellery (2006) and Opium, the Black Perfume (2008).