The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 24, 2025

Kimono with Multicolor Lattice

1930s–50s

Japan, Shōwa period

(1926–89)
Machine-spun pongee plain weave silk (meisen) with resist-dyed threads
Overall: 162.9 x 130.5 cm (64 1/8 x 51 3/8 in.)
Gift of Julia Meech 2020.83
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Kasuri is the Japanese term for ikat, which means forming patterns with pre-dyed threads.

Description

In the 1900s, silk thread produced by machine spinning made the purchase of fashionable attire more affordable, as mechanization reduced labor costs. This kimono has bright lines that resemble calligraphic brushstrokes forming an abstracted lattice. The threads were dyed with the design prior to weaving, which generates a desirable, blurred appearance in the textile called ikat, or kasuri in Japanese. While abstraction is a key element of the art of calligraphy, and lattice patterns a common motif in Japanese design, their combination in vivid color creates an effect in this traditional garment that was modern for its time.
  • ?–2001
    (Yoko Mizutani, Kyoto, Japan, sold to Julia Meech)
    2001–2020
    Julia Meech, New York, NY, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2020–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Mutoh, Kazuo. Hogushi and Heiyo: Methods of Creating Painterly Images in Woven Textiles. DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln, 1998. pgs. 11-20
    Thakar, Karun, and Anna Jackson. Kimono Meisen: The Karun Thakar Collection. 2015.
    Jackson, Anna. 2015. Japanese meisen dyeing. Victoria and Albert Museum Blog. www.vam.ac.uk
  • Modern Japan. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 14, 2022-June 18, 2023).
  • {{cite web|title=Kimono with Multicolor Lattice|url=false|author=|year=1930s–50s|access-date=24 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2020.83