Meisen Summer Kimono with Rabbits and Scouring Rushes
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This playful pattern of white rabbits and scouring rushes—stiff plants used for polishing—has a long history in Japanese art. The design suggests the rabbits are gnawing the rushes to grind down their teeth, symbolizing self-improvement and industriousness. Here, however, the classical composition has been modernized and stylized. This kimono might have been created in 1939, the Year of the Rabbit. It was likely made as a young girl’s ceremonial garment for the New Year’s celebration, and then tailored into a summer kimono.
Artwork Details
- 赤紫地兎木賊模様銘仙単衣
- Title: Meisen Summer Kimono with Rabbits and Scouring Rushes
- Period: Showa period (1926–89)
- Date: ca. 1930s
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Plain-weave machine-spun silk in unraveled ikat (hogushi-gasuri)
- Dimensions: 59 7/8 × 47 in. (152.1 × 119.4 cm)
- Classification: Costumes
- Credit Line: Promised Gift of John C. Weber
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art