Maggs Bros. Ltd.

A beautiful and practical set of books on how to sew your own kimono and decorative accessories. This comes under the genre of wasai 'Japanese tailoring', which is quite different to Western pattern-cutting and sewing.

The first volume focuses on kosode 'small sleeved' kimono, which is the most commonly worn shape of kimono. Though they have been around for longer, kosode became popular during the Edo period for everyday wear. Every piece for a kosode is cut from a single bolt of cloth known as a tanmono, which is about 40cm wide and 12 metres long. The pattern cutting is explained with diagrams, which is particularly helpful as there is a specific way the tanmono has to be cut in order for a single kimono to be successfully made. This volume also shows how to fold smaller pieces of cloth to form them into floral decorations for pouches.

The second volume looks as awase, or 'pairing' clothing. This includes overcoats known as haori, ranging from light variations to those stuffed with cotton for use in winter. Again, these are cut from one bolt of cloth but require different pattern cutting and sewing. In the third volume we are introduced to hakama, which are wide pleated trousers. Today, these are often worn by students (male and female) for university graduations. This volume also includes brightly coloured patchwork patterns and how to sew these together.

Very rare. Only 1 copy in OCL (NDL Tokyo). Little seems to be findable on the author, Suzuki Genpachi (dates unknown), and the present title is the only one listed in OCLC under his name.