In a word, this book is a story. Nonetheless, it is a true story,
even though it is not a textbook.
It was told by one who drank it from his own roots and knew it as he knew
himself. It has been written by one who prefers to paint pictures, warmly, rather than to ferret out facts, coldly, and who believes that a picture painted in broad strokes of color can convey an impression more faithful, more vivid, and more enduring than that conveyed by a carefully annotated and accurately measured diagram.
The picture I would like to paint is not just the history of Japanese costume