Edward Thorp Gallery Opens Display of Japanese Propaganda Kimonos Today

Edward Thorp Gallery is pleased to present the first New York gallery exhibition of primarily pre-World War II Japanese Propaganda Kimonos. On display will be approximately 30 pieces showcasing the inventiveness and diversity of these garments. Printed, dyed, and embroidered wovens of silk, wool, cotton, and rayon, these kimono (meaning 'something to wear'), nagajuban (under-robes), and haori (short jackets), are a remarkable graphic record of an extraordinarily complex and turbulent time.

The tradition of pictures on kimonos is not a modern invention, but with the Sino- Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars in 1895 and 1905, it took a marked turn. Images of troops, cannon, and battleships were soon commonplace, reflecting the country's perceived prestige and strength. The Japanese annexation of Manchuria in 1931 furthered these textile depictions of conflict. Manchukuo, the colonial rebranding of Manchuria, was a potent leitmotif in many kimonos. Traditional motifs and folk tales appear in dynamic interplay with the militarist ethos of the prints, many of which bear the unmistakable stylistic influence of Art Deco.

While battles, banzai charges, and kamikaze are prominent, the military ships and planes interspersed with maps, newspapers, jazzy cartouches, children, and pets were especially cherished as measures of futurity and sophistication. The first streamlined train in Asia, built in Japan, appears on one kimono, along with other technological advances like Nippon Go, the first Japanese planes to set world air speed records.

Modernity took many forms in 1930s Japan, and in the years before militarism pushed the country towards war, it was most visibly associated with consumer culture. Inundated with jazz age trends and new technologies, kimonos were a key source in visualizing what it meant to be modern in Japan.

These rare and unfamiliar graphics reflect a unique melding of history, cultural import, and beauty. Astonishing not only for their visual impact, the kimonos provide an unmatched insight into a rapidly transforming nation.