In this beautifully written and lavishly illustrated book Liza Dalby traces the history of the kimono - its designs, uses, aesthetics and social significance.

The colourful and stylised kimono, the national garment of Japan, expresses not only Japanese fashion and design taste but also reveals something of the soul of Japan, and is seen by many as a symbol for all that is Japanese - simplicity, elegance and beauty. Amazingly beautiful, the kimono has gone through many changes in the centuries since it was first imported from China, changes that reflect the way that Japanese society has also developed over the ages.

A wonderful book by the best-selling author of Geisha and Tale of Murasaki on the kimono and the fashioning of culture in Japan.

About the Author
Liza Dalby is an anthropologist specialising in Japanese culture and the only Westerner to have become a geisha. She is the author of The Tale of Murasaki, Geisha and consulted on Steven Spielberg's film of Memoirs of a Geisha. She lives in California with her husband and three children.

Reviews
She offers a tour of the cultural collisions that have become part of the fabric not just of the kimono but of modern Japan. It is a tour well worth taking * Wall Street Journal *
An impressive, unusual and beautiful book. There are many valuable insights here - not only about Japanese clothing but also about patterns of gender, class and identity in Japanese culture -- Joseph J. Tobin, author of 'Re-Made in Japan'
A lively, informative study of the kimono, tracing its evolution throughout Japanese history to its current status as the national dress of Japan... At once scholarly and enjoyable reading * Journal of Japanese Studies *



Book Information
ISBN 9780099428992
Author Liza Dalby
Format Paperback
Page Count 416
Imprint Vintage
Publisher Vintage Publishing
Weight(grams) 287g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 25mm