MEISEN

MEISEN was patterned using chemical dyes that were mixed with rice paste and applied through stencils on to warp (vertical) threads woven with temporary weft (horizontal) threads. After application of the dyes, the latter were unraveled and discarded and the true wefts woven in. 

This was a speeding up of the traditional Kasuri (Ikat) technique. The new method produced the characteristic blurred outline of Kasuri, but also allowed for the creation of more complex designs, particularly when a system for stencil-printing wefts as well as warps was developed. 

MEISEN kimono were affordable, durable, smart attire for everyday wear. Their colorful crazy patterns are very similar to current modern art. 

The MEISEN style silk kimono was the most popular garment during the 1920’s and 1930’s when people still wore kimono daily. Because of the events such as World War 1 and the Kanto Earthquake of 1923 the price of silk fell heavily and the production and popularity of MEISEN kimono was its height. 

But the wearing of MEISEN kimono declined dramatically after the 1950s and now there are only a few artisans in Isezaki Gunma, Chichibu Saitama prefecture who still make the fabric.