Uchikake — red silk wedding coat, embroidered cranes and flowers
The Crane Garden
740 €
Only one in stock
Each kimono is bought one at a time in Japan; we will not have another. These are authentic vintage Japanese kimono: each one has been worn, then carefully kept, before it came this far. It is not new, and that is where its value lies. The marks of time — the patina, the light wear — are photographed and described; they are part of the piece.
Description
The uchikake is the coat a Japanese bride wears on her wedding day, over her kimono.
Not one inch of red is left empty. Cranes with white and gold wings cross the coat from shoulder to hem, among peonies, flowering plum branches, pines and clouds of gold.
Everything is embroidered. Up close, each feather is a bundle of threads; each peony petal a gradient of pink and red laid stitch by stitch.
Towards the hem, a brown band traced with gold lines stands for flowing water. The hem is fuki: padded and lined in gold, it makes the silk gather in an even roll on the floor. Inside, a bright red lining.
Like every uchikake, it does not close: it rests on the shoulders and trails. Worn open over simple clothes, it becomes a ceremonial coat — or, hung on a wall, a tapestry.
Its story
In Japan, a bride often changes clothes during the day. She arrives in white, the shiromuku, for the ceremony; then she returns in colour. That moment is called iro-naoshi, "the change of colour", and coats like this one were embroidered for it.
Each motif carries a wish. The crane, the proverb says, lives a thousand years, and spends its whole life with a single partner. The pine never loses its needles. The plum is the first tree to flower, still in the cold of late winter. The peony, "queen of flowers", announces abundance.
Long life, faithfulness, courage, prosperity: everything you wish someone who is starting a new life, gathered on a single garment, so that it can be said without a word.
Details
- Length
- 194 cm / 76.4"
- Yuki (back to cuff)
- 64 cm / 25.2" — cuff-to-cuff span 128 cm / 50.4"
- Body width
- 61 cm / 24.0" (at the back)
- Sleeve
- 106 cm / 41.7" long, 33 cm / 13.0" wide
- Material
- Silk, full embroidery, gold thread. Red lining. Padded hem (fuki) lined in gold.
- Motif
- Cranes, pines, peonies, flowering plum, gold clouds, flowing water
- Condition
- First grade. Embroidery full, colours vivid, gold not tarnished.
- Worn
- Open, without an obi. Trails on the floor.
- Weight
- 3.64 kg / 8.0 lb
Shipping
Sent from France, carefully folded and wrapped in Japanese paper. Times and rates are set out in the terms of sale. Returns accepted within fourteen days, except for pieces altered to measure.
Care
Dry clean by a specialist in antique textiles only. Never wash. The padded hem must never be forced into a fold. Store on a wide, padded hanger away from light.