Kimono Mode and Marketing: Popular Textiles for Women in Early Twentieth Century Japan

Meisen was a commercial term for a popular, widely distributed textile used by lower- and middle-class women and children for everyday wear (kimono and haori) or special or festive occasions, and by many people for coverlets and sitting cushions. The cloth was relatively inexpensive and therefore popular among a new and actively growing market sector during the first half of 20^th century Japan - women of the working and middle classes. Meisen textiles – a silk or synthetic silk cloth woven with warp or weft threads that were patterned prior to the weaving process, displayed bright colors and bold designs that offered wearers a new identity. The aesthetics of this textile, considered “moderne” or “mod,” set meisen designs apart from the rest of Japanese traditional textiles, generally known for their sophistication and subtlety. The conspicuous popularity of these designs puzzles today’s viewers, both Japanese and Western. Written materials from the late Edo period until the early 1960s that promoted meisen and beauty posters published by Japanese textile makers illustrate how Westernization and industrialization pulled their country out of a medieval social structure into a modern capitalist one, wherein new marketing techniques emerged. Meisen textiles provide us with insight into Japan’s social and cultural climate during an interesting period of its recent history.