The Tokyo National Museum: Katabira

 

Katabira (summer kimono)

At the Tokyo National Museum (TNM), I came across a beautiful katabira (summer kimono). The fabric had a vibrant, sky-blue color and was so thin and delicate that you could almost see through parts of it. What I found so fascinating about this katabira was the layered narrative that it represented. This kimono has a historical layer as its design demonstrates what a noblewoman would wear during the summer while the season itself is visualized through the embroidery of trees, flowers, leaves, buildings, and water.

This katabira also has cultural layers of significance. The description explained that “characters for the poem Kimigayo are embroidered on the shoulders on the front and backside” (TNM). “Kimigayo” is the current national anthem of Japan, a celebration of the emperor, his reign, and his longevity. But “Kimigayo” originated as a waka (type of Japanese poetry) not intended to specifically refer to the imperial family or support a state-centric narrative. Rather, the original waka unofficially translates as, “May your life (last for a long time)”, and could be received by any person close to the speaker. With this waka embroidered onto it, the katabira represents a fluid or hybrid message of nationalism, poetry, and relationships through language that becomes wearable art.

Embroidered characters from "Kimigayo"

I was also drawn to this katabira because of another cultural layer represented that relates to The Tale of Genji, the world’s first novel, written by lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu. Embroidered all over the robe are small symbols of white patterned bars called Genji-mon (Genji crests) or Genji-kô (Genji incense). Each of these patterns was used to represent one of the fifty-four chapters of the novel. They also may recall the shape of the tally marks or vents of an incense burner used in a traditional incense identification game. The katabira can thus be interpreted as a representation of Japanese literature and cultural community practices. I also connected to the robe on a personal level because my mom and I had traveled to Uji while we were in Kyoto. Part of The Tale of Genji takes place in Uji and currently there is a museum dedicated to the novel, which we visited. Seeing this katabira in the TNM felt like coming full circle as I slowly uncovered and deciphered each of its layers of meaning.

Embroidered Genji-mon or Genji-kô, one for each of the novel's fifty-four chapters