A riot of color and pattern! (Plus a couple of vacation photos.)

I've been on a couple of trips (Chicago area for work and Seattle for family) recently and am going to leave again for the North American Taiko Conference next week. So I've been a little bit lax in my postings! It's too hot to wear kimono anyway though.

First, I thought I would share this tidbit from my trip to the Seattle area: it's a park near my brother's house called Japanese Gulch. It was named after the many Issei (First generation Japanese) that lived here in order to work at the local Crown Lumber Company. Unfortunately, the mill closed in 1930 and they moved away to find other jobs. The area remains as a beautiful park for hikers; the houses long gone. 

And here is a nice sunset view of  Puget Sound and Whidbey Island. I also saw a pair of bald eagles, great blue herons, ferry boats, etc. It's a gorgeous area!

And do not forget the grilled salmon and halibut, the Everett farmer's market, and the cool weather. The trip was a refreshing break from the desert heat.  


Ok, enough of nature, now for the kimono stuff! This is a fabulous silk nagoya with a dyed pattern of a tsuzumi (hand drum) and sensu (fan) on a karabana-esque background of pale greenish-beige leaves and colorful flowers. It's in really good condition with some dye transfer (that hot pink seems to have migrated a bit) and some silver-leaf looking paint flaking off in a few places. The design is so busy that you don't even notice any dye issues, it just looks like part of the design. 
It has so many colors in it it will probably go with almost any komon kimono in my collection. I especially like the bits of turquoise,hot pink, and yellow; it lends the design a youthful feel to it. It's truly a riot of color and pattern. I can't wait to wear it when it gets cooler. I think this will look particularly nice with my navy blue tsumugi iromuji or blue orchid komon. It's the perfect obi to wear to an autumn taiko concert!

Hopefully the next posting will be some taiko conference photos. I may even get to wear a summer kimono!
Cheers,
Reb