Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Meisen kimono with books and yarn spools
Not on view
This is an example of a classic “Taishō-mode” meisen kimono. An array of large-scale green and white open books and red yarn spools decorated with mandarin oranges and streams are arranged in an all-over design that minimalizes the black ground. Although both books and yarn spools were favored motifs in the Edo period (1615–1868), the combination of the two reflects contemporary ideas. The juxtaposition of everyday objects likely points to education becoming gradually more accessible to women and their increasing role in the textile industry. The kimono was probably produced in Isesaki City, in Gunma Prefecture (north of Tokyo). Brightly colored Isesaki meisen became popular from the Meiji period (1868–1912).
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