Meisen – The Fabric, the Vision
- Kae Warnock
- Sep 3
- 5 min read
Updated: 12 hours ago
Before the early 20th century, most decorative kimonos were custom-made for clients and could take months or longer to create, making them expensive. During the late Taisho era, looms were mechanized, which helped weavers produce silk fabric more quickly and cheaply, making it readily available to a wider audience rather than just those who could afford it.
Meisen kimono fabric provided access to brightly colored, one-of-a-kind pieces at accessible prices.
First, let me explain that there are arguments regarding whether “Meisen” refers to the dyeing and weaving techniques or the actual fibers used. Rather than go down that rabbit hole, I will state here that I am sticking with the interpretation that the term “Meisen” means a specifically dyed and woven fabric. I would also like to clarify that, based on what I have read in both Western articles and translations of Japanese articles, most artists from the period these were made defined Meisen fabric as silk fibers dyed and woven in a specific manner. Again, there are other definitions out there, but I’m using this one.
Meisen was first produced in the late 19th century, though it did not become vogue until the late 1920s. One of the draws to these kimonos was the fact that Meisen could be produced quickly and cheaply, making them accessible to the average Japanese woman. However, Meisen gained popularity by incorporating non-traditional motifs or modernized traditional motifs, and leaning into bright colors, while emulating Western art. This use of colors and patterns that evokes modernist themes – think Picasso, O’Keeffe, Matisse - was pleasing to the eye and was attractive to women in that era. Kimono historian Sheila Cliffe - The Social Life of Kimono, called Meisen, the ‘Jeans’ of the kimono world.
Let’s talk a little about dyeing techniques and the difference between Ikat and Meisen. The dyeing and weaving technique – Kasuri – of pre-dying threads before weaving likely originated from Ikat. In straightforward terms (weavers out there, please forgive me, I know that all these techniques are much more complicated than this simple description, but I am trying to help my friends see how this fabric was constructed.) Warp ikat is where the dyer binds the warp threads to create the pattern, and a different plain color is used to weave the weft. Weft ikat is where the weft thread is bound and dyed, and a plain warp is used. Double ikat is where both the warp and weft are tied to resist certain dyes and then woven together.
In Meisen, the artist used resist techniques and pattern techniques, but accomplished this by using a set of stencils (Katagami) first to apply a plain rice paste to resist any color (to preserve some of the white silk threads) and then subsequent stencils for each color on the warp until the basic pattern was achieved. Then a solid color weft was woven in to create the final fabric.
To see this technique in action, visit Arakei_Orimono on Instagram and scroll through the step-by-step photos posted April 9, 2025. They are the coolest!
From what I have been able to glean from historians like Sheila Cliffe, and the Chichibu Meisen Museum, this stencil technique may have originally been used just on the warp in Meisen kimono studios until artists in Isesake began stenciling the weft as well in the 1930s to create a form of double Meisen. The process of stencil dyeing the warp and or weft was termed “Hogushiori” in Chichibu around 1908. Chichibu Meisen is known for being glossy. It is lovely stuff!
And, just to be clear here, both Chichibu and Isesaki claim to have invented the Meisen dyeing process I am describing. I am not getting in the middle of that one either. Clearly, both Isesake and Chichibu Meisen studios created unbelievably gorgeous fabric, and their techniques do differ. These complex dyeing and weaving techniques resulted in detailed designs that had blurred edges since it was impossible to dye the fibers for the pattern perfectly.
This blurred pattern made the fabrics seem even more luxurious, and using a different-colored weft fiber added an iridescence to the fabric. One of the benefits of this dyeing and weaving technique is that both sides of the fabric have the same pattern, meaning that if an owner needed to reverse the fabric to hide worn or faded fabric or if they needed to repair their kimono, they could use any of the fabric because there was no “right or wrong side”.
During the late 1920s, according to Sheila Cliffe, Meisen was the only kimono that was booming primarily because the brightly colored garments were inexpensive. She also found in her research that Meisen fabric was produced from thickly woven glossy fabric from raw or waste silk. Using raw and waste silk made the fabric more reasonably priced. According to Ms. Cliffe, about 70 percent of Japanese women owned at least one Meisen kimono piece during the depression era.
While I am not an expert on the whys and how’s of kimono, I have noticed that many of my Meisen garments have a cotton upper lining and a silk lower lining (Hakkake) and sleeve lining. Being that these garments were worn more frequently, rather than just for formal occasions, the cotton upper lining may have been an added protection of the bodice from sweat.
Meisen fabric continued to be produced through the 1950s, though by the 1960s it was going out of fashion as western garments gained popularity.
Areas Where Meisen Was Produced:
Chichibu (Saitama Prefecture): Known for its characteristic "tamamushi iro" (iridescent) weave and focus on floral and plant motifs. See Dyeing and Weaving for more information.
Ashikaga (Tochigi Prefecture) : In addition to making silk Meisen, Ashikaga was known for creating a silk-cotton called Bunka Meisen. The area was known for producing silk Meisen that rivaled Isesaki during the Showa Period. See Dyeing and Weaving for more information.
Isesaki (Gunma Prefecture): Isesaki fabrics included splash patterns that were attractive for being abstract. Initially, Kasuri Ito fabric was made with stripes that later became Meisen. Since the fabric was primarily developed during the Meiji era it earned the name Meisen. See Dyeing and Weaving for more information.
Hachiōji (Tokyo) – Also produced Meisen according to several sources – Sheila Cliffe, the Met Museum, and JFW Textile Online Salon. It appears this fabric was manufactured post-World War II.
Kiryū (Gunma Prefecture): Famous for high-end silks since the Nara period, when fabric and silk was delivered to the Imperial Court. It is also of note that Kiryū produced Jacquard woven fabric and was the first to use Rayon.
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