Announcing:
The most important BOOK RECOMMENDATION we have ever made!


Fashioning Kimono
Dress and Modernity in Early Twentieth Century Japan.
Edited by Annie Van Assche. 327 pages.


This gorgeous coffee table book features nearly 150 kimono from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. Since Texuba is one of the rare kimono companies who specialize in the older gems from this era, finding this book was like a gift from heaven. What a shame this masterpiece was not available twenty years ago for all our serious customers to savor and learn from.
You can oftentimes save a lot by buying on Amazon. If you want to preview the book in person, I have seen it on the shelf at some Barnes and Noble's. Of course, any major bookstore can order it for you.
Hey, this is a call to all of our serious customers:
Get this book before our shows and study and drool over it. Then when you shop at our shows, you'll be light years ahead of the pack, because you'll recognize all the rare pieces. What you will learn is that we carry way more rare vintage treasures than you realized, and that all our racks have these cultural art pieces.

We will have some news soon on what's been happening with vintage kimono in Japan. (Y'all are in for a shock!)

Fashioning Kimono isn't really a first book for the kimono beginners out there. Many of you who have just started your kimono collecting have asked me what books are recommended so that you can begin to learn about the wonders of kimono. There are many beautiful kimono books available, some of which go into immense historical details, and which picture some priceless national treasures. But for those who want to start with all the BASIC, easy to understand facts, the two best books are The Book of Kimono, and Textile Art of Japan.

The Book of Kimono by Norio Yamanaka
Pub: Kodansha

This is a great basic book for those interested in a kimono as a garment. A little bit of history is covered, and there are step by step diagrams on how to wear the kimono and obi. Getting dressed can take over fifteen steps and an hour or more in time! This book has been so popular that I've even seen it in large chain book stores in large cities.

Textile Art of Japan
by Sunny Yang & Rochelle Narasin
Pub: Shufunotomo, and distributed in the U.S. by Kodansha

This is more a book for the textile junkie than The Book of Kimono. This book covers the weaving, dying and ornamentation techniques used to create the various kimono and obi textiles. After reading about the painstaking methods used, and the many months it takes to make one kimono, one walks away from this book with an immensely deepened appreciation for these treasures.

Japanese Design Motifs (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)