Dramatically coloured and finely detailed, the kimono conjures up all the elegance and refinement of traditional Japan. No other culture has valued its textiles more highly than the Japanese, who integrated them into religious ceremonies and made costume design a central part of the mostcelebrated of its art forms, the Noh and kabuki theatres.The kimono has its origins in the many-layered garments of Heian court ladies, and the patterning of its cloth, decorated with floral and leaf forms, animals, and divinities, was seen as long ago as the eighth century. Kimono design reached its height during the brief but brilliant Momoyama periodwhen, after a long period of civil war, all the arts benefited from the grandeur of the military rulers. Their patronage and the interest of the emerging merchant class combined to support no fewer than 10,000 weavers in the country's most important garment-producing area, Kyoto's Nishijin district.Richly illustrated throughout, this book explores the history of the kimono, from its antecedents to the bold designs and technical innovations of the Momoyama and Edo periods and its influence on contemporary designers such as Kenzo and Issey. Chapters on Noh and kabuki robes, religious garments,and folk designs fill out this portrait of Japan's most celebrated form of dress.