Itchiku Kubota’s kimono: ‘Kimono: Fashioning Identities’ exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum

Some of the key pieces of the Kubota Collection were featured at ‘Kimono: Fashioning Identities’ exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum (30 June 2020 - 23 August 2020). ‘Kimono: Fashioning Identities’ exhibition traced the kimono from its inception some eight hundred years ago to its role today as a symbol of Japanese culture, with increasing sway on the contemporary fashion scene. Featuring some of the finest extant textiles, paintings, prints, and other artworks drawn from collections in Japan and around the world, the exhibition was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to consider the past, present and future of this quintessential Japanese garment. It was the first large-scale exhibition of kimono based on a comprehensive survey of its history, and the first extensive exhibition of textile at the Tokyo National Museum in 47 years. The Kubota Collection presented 15 works from Itchiku Kubota’s ‘Symphony of Light’ Collection and one of the master’s individual works, ‘Gen, Floral Illusio