Japan’s Wearable Masterpieces

Ahead of this month’s Women’s Group tour to a kimono wholesaler in Tokyo, iNTOUCH takes a peek at the industry that produces this centuries-old, iconic garment.

Exquisite silks spill from boxes onto the floor of a nondescript building in the old tonyagai wholesalers’ district of Nihonbashi. They’re lavishly designed kimono, emblazoned with phoenixes, cranes, cherry blossoms, peonies, chrysanthemums and bridal carriages. They’re like fluid paintings, wearable works of art.

The man laying them out on the floor is Kuniaki Ito, a kimono specialist who has been in the business for 50 years. Ito works at Sugiyama Corporation, a wholesaler that supplies kimono, both new and used, to department stores and specialist retail chains in Tokyo and throughout Japan.

The kimono at Sugiyama come in a bewildering range of styles and patterns, such as long-sleeved furisode for young, unmarried women and short-sleeved homongi for married women. There are also entirely patterned komon, formal tomesode kimono for married women, which feature elaborate illustrations along the hem, mofuku funeral kimono and men’s kimono. Perhaps the most popular derivative of kimono, though, are yukata cotton robes, often seen at summer festivals and Japanese inns. According to Ito, the yukata is a sort of gateway garment to the world of kimono for many young people.

Beautifully simple on the outside but sometimes devilishly complicated to put on, kimono have long held a special allure for non-Japanese. First making their way to Holland in the Edo period through merchant traders, kimono later appeared in paintings by Renoir and Monet, as well as in opera, theater and French shops specializing in Japonisme objects in the mid-19th century. Today, they have found all sorts of new interest.

“Wedding kimono especially are very popular among foreign people,” says Masae Shibamura, whose brother, Mitsuaki Sugiyama, heads the company. “But stocks of wedding kimono have really declined recently, since Japanese women prefer to wear wedding dresses when they get married.”

Sugiyama was established in Meguro in 1948 by Shibamura’s father as a kimono and baby goods shop. The firm moved to Nihonbashi in the early 1970s. It still has a children’s clothing arm, located in a shop on the first floor. While the kimono wholesale industry once posted annual sales of ¥1.8 trillion, it is now in the range of ¥200 to 300 billion, according to the 70-year-old Ito. Sugiyama, now staffed by about 10 people, has managed to survive the decline through the strength of its relationships with client companies.

“There was strong demand for kimono after the war, during the period when people really had nothing at all, but these days you rarely see people who wear kimono on a daily basis,” Ito says in a wistful, gravelly voice. “They are seen as difficult and time-consuming to wear, and a dresser is required for weddings.”
Many women, however, still choose to don rental kimono at their weddings, even if just for a few hours, before changing into a Western-style wedding dress.

Traditional Japanese wedding attire can include the thick, brocaded uchikake outer kimono, and the rental fees can run to ¥300,000 for half a day or less. Everyday homongi, purchased from department stores such as Mitsukoshi, which began as a kimono seller centuries ago, or specialist retailers like Suzunoya, Sagami or Yamato can cost ¥100,000 or even run into millions of yen, depending on the workmanship of the item.

While nearly all the silk used to make kimono comes from China these days, the garments themselves are still made in Japan. A complex chain of manufacturers, mostly centered on the Kyoto region, can involve up to 10 companies, from silk weaving and dying to design and assembly. There are even companies that specialize in incorporating family crests into kimono. Finally, they arrive at wholesalers like Sugiyama, before being distributed to retailers.

“It’s a complicated process and each company gets a margin,” says Shibamura. “That’s why kimono are so expensive.”

The good news, though, is that Club Members who appreciate this fabric art can buy kimono at 40 percent off from Sugiyama during this month’s Women’s Group tour. The wholesaler has hosted tours for Members for years and usually allows about 20 visitors per tour to look through its wares, which include used kimono priced below ¥10,000. Some buyers put kimono on racks as interior design elements, some turn them into cushion or bedspread covers and some actually wear them. Obi belts for kimono are another popular choice and often find a second life as table runners.

Shibamura welcomes this new approach to kimono fabric, but always reminds customers about the basics for wearing Japan’s signature dress.

“It’s important to note that we shouldn’t wear very formal kimono for occasions such as shopping,” she says. “And, of course, married women shouldn’t wear long sleeves. Lastly, don’t forget to check the season referred to by the kimono. Make sure it suits when you will wear it.”

Hornyak is a Tokyo-based freelance journalist.

Kimono and Obi Shopping Tour
Wednesday, June 3 | 9:30 a.m.
Meeting point: Ningyocho Station
Women’s Group members: ¥2,000
Non-Women’s Group members: ¥2,200
Ages 18 and above
Sign up online or at Member Services
Prices exclude 8 percent consumption tax.

Words: Tim Hornyak
Photo: Kayo Yamawaki