What is the kimono? Everyday garment? Art object? Symbol of Japan? As Terry Satsuki Milhaupt
explains in this book the kimono has served all of these roles its meaning changing across
time and with the perspective of the wearer or viewer. Kimono: A Modern History traces the
transformation of the kimono from everyday garment to national symbol of Japan. It begins by
revealing the foundations of the modern kimono fashion industry in the 17th- and 18th-century.
With Japans exposure to Western fashion in the 19th century and Westerners contact with
distinctive Japanese modes of dress and design the kimono took on new associations and came to
symbolize an exotic culture and an alluring female form. In the aftermath of the Second World
War the kimono industry was sustained through government support. The line between fashion and
art became blurred as kimonos produced by famous designers were collected for their beauty and
displayed in museums rather than being worn as clothing. Today the kimono has once again
taken on new dimensions as the Internet and social media proliferate images of the kimono as a
versatile garment to be integrated into a range of individual styles.Published to accompany the
Kimono exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York commencing in September 2014
Kimono: A Modern History not only tells the story of a distinctive garments ever-changing
functions and image but provides a novel perspective on Japans modernization and encounter
with the West.
