60 Year Old Kimonos

When I went to visit my dad a few weeks ago, he showed me some kimonos he had found when cleaning out his father's house. My grandfather served in the pacific in WWII, so we assumed he brought them back with him in '46. But, because he never talked about the war, we didn't know anything about them. Hell, we didn't even know he had them.

Fortunately, I work at a university and one of the professors in the Asian Studies department was willing to give me some background on them.

I have 3 kimonos. One is black with white lining that would have been worn for a somber ceremony such as a funeral. One is all white and would have been used as an undergarment. The last is black with a village/nature scene along the bottom and a red silk lining. This would have been worn for happy ceremony like a wedding (though not a wedding kimono itself).

Two of the kimonos have kamon or family crests on them. I have no idea how to research those.

Just thought I'd share. Someday I hope to provide pictures.

 

According to the professor I spoke with, they don't appear to be worth more than maybe a few hundred dollars each. It's very possible that they were produced for the soldiers. I wish my grandfather had been willing to talk about the war, then we might have known what he had.

One of the professors in our Museum Professions department gave me the name of the curator of Asian Art at the Newark Museum. I hope to contact her (or someone in a similar capacity) to learn more.

Once my wife & I close on our new house they will be decorating my office.

Now I just need to get my dad to ship me that 12-foot Asian tapestry he's got in his spare room ....

 

I really like the idea of the gently curved bars to hang them from. I'll have to look into that. Do you know anything about having them cleaned? I have no idea how my grandfather had them stored, but my dad had them wadded up in a plastic Sears bag ... they could use a little refreshing.

Wow. The ones you have must be wonderful. You're absolutely right about the "value". Their value as mementos of my grandfather far outweigh any money.

 

Never thought you were. That doesn't seem like your style.

Thank you for the suggestion. I'll keep that in mind for after I speak with the curator at the Newark Museum. Fortunately UPenn is only a couple hours away.

That will happen eventually. Just not for a long time. My dad's an only child, my sister has no interest in these things and I'm not having children. So there will be no passing through the generations. Once I hit my 60s I'll start thinking about doing that.

I'm wondering about that myself. That's one reason I want to speak with the museum person. They've survived quite well for the past 60 years, but that could be because my grandfather buried them in a closet and no one knew about them. I would think if they're exposed to too much sunlight the colors would fade at the very least.

Pictures will have to wait for a little bit. I think I'm the only person in the world that hasn't gone digital yet. Plus my wife & I have a bunch of things on our collective plate, so it will be a while until I even bust out the camera. Once I do, I will definitely be posing pictures. I'll do full length plus close-up detail (especially of the kamon). Thank you very much for your offer to show the photos (once I put them up) to your wife. This is where the internet is a good thing! The professor I spoke with said all of them are made with "modern" fabrics ... none of them are silk. The "fancy" one has hand stitching and some hand stitched detail in the design. Thank you for the tip on getting them cleaned, too. Any idea how I could go about finding an experienced kimono cleaner?

 

Sadly I'm not going to be anywhere near San Diego anytime soon. I think the farthest west I'm slated to go right now is Philadelphia ... and that's not until March.

To be fair, the plastic wasn't my idea. That's how my dad gave them to me. Right now they're hanging in my wife's closet (she has more room than I do, believe it or not). Even if she leaves the door open, sunlight won't reach them there. Once we move I'll have to see what my office looks like.

I really appreciate everyone's suggestions & tips. I've learned as much with one small post here as I did spending 20 minutes with the Asian Studies professor.

 

Finally got some good pictures of the kimonos. These two are hanging in my office:




And this one is in our living room


Sorry about the quality. I uploaded the pictures one of those popular social networking sites and, apparently, the upload killed the resolution. But at least you can see what they look like.