I like kimono with bold designs of animals on them. I went to the same store where I bought the kimono with doves on it, and I bought this stylish kimono with lions on it. I love the movement and the energy in the lions. I don’t know if I can wear it, but I…

I saw this red komon with the huge doves on Instagram. I really liked it and saw that the store who owned it was going to do a 3 day pop-up kimono antique shop. I thought that I really loved that kimono and wanted to go and see the real thing. So I went to…

I like antique kimono, but sometimes the width is a problem. Many of them are rather narrow. Cleaning is expensive. I use a cheap dry cleaner, but it is still expensive. Also, making space to keep them is becoming a little bit of a problem. I don’t have more space for them. 古い着物が好きですが、時々着物幅が狭くて困ります。古い着物は現代の着物に比べるとずいぶんと幅が狭いです。 丸洗いは安い所に出していますが、それでも着物のクリーニングは高いですね。 また保管場所が問題になりつつあります。今より増えると保管する場所がないです。

I love cloth and have been making clothes for a long time. I bought books and magazines with antique kimono in them. I also started to follow antique kimono wearers on Instagram. These antique kimono wearers are my biggest influence. 布が好きなので、昔から洋服は縫っていました。アンティーク着物の本や雑誌を買っていてその影響も受けています。インスタグラムで古い着物を着ている人のフォローもしています。この人達からは多大な影響を受けています。

Mayumi is in the 55-64 year old age group. She was born in Osaka, but has mostly lived in or around Tokyo and is now living in Kanagawa. She is married with two children, her daughter has married and left home and she lives with her husband and son. As a child she remembers having…

I was given this kimono from my mother as a tanmono, role of cloth. My mother got it from her sister. At that time, I was in kimono school, and a kimono tailor was there. I picked the lining fabric with him and asked him to tailor it. This was my first tsumugi kimono and…

My grandmother made this silk komon and gave it to me when I graduated from high school. She picked this kimono by herself because I do not have a memory of it. I wore it at tea ceremony. My grandmother was not a person who raised children with praise. My grandfather was very strict about…

This furisode was made for my coming-of-age ceremony. My tea teacher was friends with my mother. We three went to see kimono on sale and we picked it out together. I don’t have much memory of it, but I like this furisode. I also wore it when I demonstrated tea ceremony since I got a…

My neighborhood kimono store is very helpful. I always get advice from them not only about kimono care, but also about damaged fabric on hand me down kimono from my family members. I am very lucky to have a place where I can ask my troubles casually. 近所の呉服屋さんは、お手入れだけでなく、家族から引き継いだ古い着物について、薄くなった生地をどうするか等、色々アドバイスしてくれるので助かっています。 困った時に気軽に聞けるところがあるのでありがたいです。

My grandmother always wore kimono but I learnt seasonal rules or practical knowledge from a kimono school. I learnt different things from my grandmother. For example, when I visited her home in kimono, she corrected me on how to hold a cloth wrapped parcel, how to bow, or how to act when I was in…

Yoko belongs to 55～64 year age group. She has lived in Tokyo since she was born. She teaches English to children at a cram school. When she was a child, her relatives gathered every new year day. She and her younger sister wore wool ensemble kimono which her grandmother prepared. Yoko did not have any…

I found this yukata at a flea market and I really love it. I love the indigo colour and the pattern. It is too small for me and I don’t think I can wear it. Perhaps I could make it into a noren. But it seems an awful waste. It is so nicely made, by…