Uchikake — embroidered, gold-thread wedding coat
Vermilion Bride
780 €
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 over her kimono. It does not close, it takes no belt: it is let fall open, and it trails.
This one is vermilion. Court fans — hiōgi, made of thin cypress blades — open across the fabric, and large baskets of flowers are embroidered in relief among them: peonies, chrysanthemums, irises, cherry blossom. Gold runs between them in bands of cloud that separate the scenes as on a folding screen.
The hem is fuki: a red padded roll running all the way round, made so the cloth gathers evenly on the floor as you walk. That detail is what tells a true uchikake from a long kimono.
Worn open over a plain dress it becomes a ceremonial coat. It is the most spectacular piece in the collection, and it is not discreet.
Its story
We do not know the name of the bride who wore it. But its motifs say quite clearly what was wished for her.
In Japan the bride first enters in white — the shiromuku, the colour of a blank page. Then, during the banquet, she slips away for a few minutes and comes back in colour: the o-ironaoshi, the "change of colour". The gesture means she has taken on the colours of her new household. A vermilion uchikake like this one is made for that moment — and in Japan red is also the colour that keeps misfortune away.
Everything else is a wish. The fan opens wider and wider from a single point: it is called suehirogari, "that which widens toward the future". The peony is the flower of abundance, the chrysanthemum that of long life. And the baskets overflow: nothing on this coat is half full.
It was worn for one evening, perhaps two. Then it waited, folded, for decades.
Details
- Length
- 190 cm / 74.8"
- Yuki (back to cuff)
- approx. 62 cm / 24.4" — cuff-to-cuff span approx. 124 cm / 48.8"
- Body width
- 61 cm / 24.0"
- Sleeve
- 104 cm / 40.9" long, 31.5 cm / 12.4" wide
- Material
- Silk, gold thread. Padded hem (fuki) lined in red.
- Technique
- Raised embroidery (flower baskets), gold brocade
- Condition
- No visible stain across the 11 photos. Embroidery intact, colours vivid, gold not tarnished.
- Worn
- Open, without an obi. Trails on the floor.
- Weight
- 3.08 kg / 6.8 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 only, with a specialist in antique textiles. The padded hem must never be forced into a fold. Hang on a wide hanger, away from light.