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- lived and worked. The branches with leaves on the shoulders of the kimono are those of the willow tree. Ichimaru wears this kimono in the photograph on the cover of one of her record albums.
38 ft 39. homongi with branch design
paste-resist dyeing; gold and silver embroidery; silk crepe
This purple (fuji-iri) kimono is the less formal style used for parties and banquets, with decoration on the sleeves as well as the body of the kimono, but it is another tour-de-force of dyeing technique. The decoration is known as �majolica� for the amazing variation in colour and shading in the branches created through the yuzen dyeing process.
40. tomosode with chrysanthemum blossoms and 3 tachibana crests silk embroidery damask-like figured silk satin
The silk has an overall pattern of paulonia blossoms. The large chrysanthemum blossoms, embroidered in multiple colours, are associated with the autumn season. The form of the tachibana crest is different from that found on most of the other kimonos but all family crests have variant forms.
41 .homongi with chrysanthemum blossoms
paste-resist dyeing; gold and silver embroidery; silk crepe
Subtle gold rectangles were created by widely spaced parallel lines of gold thread laid down and then couched down with brown cross stitches. These ghostly rectangles contrast most effectively with the large, bold flowers, done with tightly stitched gold and silver thread. The flowers are silhouetted against cream areas set against the brown (�tea colour�) ground of the kimono.
42.homongi with fir trees and matching obi
paste-resisst dyeing; gold stencilling; gold, silver and rainbow-coloured silk thread embroidery; silk crepe
The silk crepe has a textured rough-smooth pattern that is unusual this fabric may be a type of rinzu rather than a chirimen. The fir tree motifs set against the areas of different colours for the background create a very modern and perhaps slightly �Western� effect although the fir tree is a traditional symbol of winder in Japan. There is a matching obi in Nishijin silk weave in a strong gold colour with fir tree motifs.
43 .tomesodc with nandina branches and 3 tachibana crests paste-resist dyeing; gold and orange silk thread embroidery; damask-like figured silk satin
The storage folder noted this kimono was �for New Year�s exhibition.� Some of Ichimaru�s kimonos were exhibited informally in Japan and the nandina plant is associated with New Year�s, making this kimono appropriate for such an exhibition. This is a lined (aivase) kimono, indicating that it was a winter one, so Ichimaru probably wore it for occasions associated with New Year�s also. It is one of the more unusual kimonos in the collection. Although it has crests, making it a tomesodc, there is decoration on the sleeves and shoulders, which a conventional tomesode would not have. The colour contrasts are striking. The kimono fabric, with an overall flat geometric pattern, typical of rinzu, is a pale acid green, while the false edging between it and the white silk lining is a rust orange that echoes the colour of the nandina berries, with a raised pattern of grasses in the weave.
44. tomesode with gingko leaves, 3 tachibana crests
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