​PASSIONEER

The same kimono, reborn. Re-dyed, resewn — the butterflies from my seventh year still dancing. My Shichi-Go-San. This white kimono would one day be reborn as deep purple. The butterfly motif, carried forward into its next life. It is widely known that KIMONO — Japanese traditional clothing — is made to be remade. The needles used in Japanese sewing are exceptionally fine. Unlike the holes left by a sewing machine, the needle's path disappears once the fabric is unstitched and

Unpicked and washed silk fabric returned to its original bolt form, ready for its next life. The Sole Reason Wasai is Hand-sewn Wasai (traditional Japanese tailoring) is a garment designed from the very beginning with "remaking" in mind. If sewn with a machine, needle marks permanently scar the fabric. That is precisely why Wasai needles are crafted to be incredibly fine, and even our basting threads are far more delicate than those used in Western dressmaking. Our tools are

The hakama became an obi, and now wraps around my waist. From my grandmother, to my mother, to me. This crimson obi was once my great-grandmother's ceremonial hakama — the long trailing skirt worn by court ladies in the Imperial Palace. Passed from my grandmother to my mother, it arrived in my hands already transformed: my grandmother had remade it into a nagoya obi for my mother to wear. I am not a small woman, and it is a little short on me. But as long as my arms can reach

1928. The enthronement of Emperor Showa. My great-grandmother attended in a kouchigi court robe. This is where the hundred-year journey begins. In 1928, my great-grandparents attended the imperial enthronement ceremony of Emperor Showa.My great-grandmother stood there in a ko-uchigi, dressed according to court custom. After the war, during a time of severe food shortages, my grandmother—who had married into the family—kept this garment.She never sold it.Even then, it must hav

Unfolded. Laid flat. Time taken to think. Whose shoulders will it rest upon next? In the 2010s, I had my mother's furisode from the 1950s re-dyed for my daughter's coming-of-age ceremony. I chose the color of the deepest ocean floor. Beneath that depth, only the gold leaf remained visible — rising to the surface like light from another world. The mysterious beauty seemed to whisper of my daughter's unknown future, stirring both anxiety and wonder. And now, that re-dyed furiso

My mother's coming-of-age ceremony. The white palace shimmered with hand-applied gold leaf — Baroque grandeur woven into silk. My mother's coming-of-age ceremony photograph. In those days, the kimono world was swept up in Rococo and Baroque influences. The spirit of postwar Japan — catch up, surpass — poured itself into design. An overwhelming longing for the West made its way into silk. My mother's furisode was white, painted with Entasis columns and a palace in vivid color

The crepe texture of ichikoshi chirimen created by strongly twisted silk yarns. Fashion designers around the world often use silk crepe. However, traditional Japanese chirimen silk is almost never used in global fashion. Why is that? The answer begins with the structure of kimono fabric . Kimono cloth is woven as a tanmono — a narrow bolt of fabric measuring about 38 centimeters in width . This width already makes it difficult to meet the needs of modern fashion design. Gar

Modern coat made with traditional kimono tailoring techniques This coat is built using the techniques of kimono tailoring.Even without wearing a kimono, it is possible to wear the craftsmanship of kimono making itself. This coat is an example of that idea. The outer fabric is Oitama tsumugi , a silk textile woven from pre-dyed threads. Because the yarns are dyed before weaving, the cloth has no true “front” or “back,” making it an ideal material for an unlined coat. It resis

The moment the boundary closes, existence begins. 　A garment is not born at the moment it is cut.Nor at the moment it is sewn.Even when it takes shape, it does not yet fully exist. A garment begins to exist at the moment it becomes capable of movement. In traditional Japanese tailoring, one of the processes that determines this boundary is fuki .The outer fabric and lining are brought together, and the needle advances while the edge is adjusted by fractions. What takes place

Straight-line cutting enables dismantling and reconstruction, preserving garments across centuries. Japanese garments are designed with reconstruction as a premise. When the wearer’s body changed, the garment was dismantled, washed, and reassembled. Sleeves could be replaced, sections recombined, and the fabric given new life. This continuous chain of transformation is the essence of straight-line cutting. In traditional tailoring, this practice is called kurimawashi , a rati

Jun Ichikawa at the 2026 Winter Olympic Closing Ceremony. A reconstructed 1970s fabric transformed into a contemporary dress. The closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics. Italy-based actor Jun Ichikawa took the stage. She wore a pink and black dress, a reconstruction of a 1970s fabric. This was no mere "remake." It was a structural transformation. Kimono are traditionally constructed with flat cuts. The fabric is not cut to fit the body; the body adjusts to the fabric. H

Scarlet once worn at court. Time reshaped, not erased. The scarlet hakama my great-grandmother wore at court.It is now an obi. This color is too young for me.Too vivid, too alive. Yet this scarlet is proof that she lived.A trace of time that has not disappeared, only changed form. Clothes do not end when they are remade.They continue, quietly, waiting. One day, this piece will be passed on again.Her time will move forward, carried by another body. Time leaves its mark on cl

A kimono partially unpicked and set aside, bearing traces of time and care from being worn and loved.

Once undone, the work of those who came before disappears. 　 A brown mawata tsumugi.An everyday garment, sewn by a seamstress of the Fushimi household for her own son.It is not a fine or luxurious piece. Yet the care embedded in ordinary handwork from the past is immediately apparent. More than anything, it carries the trace of a woman’s hands—hands shaped by years of service within the Imperial Household. That alone makes it a rare garment. It was given to me by a friend of

The structure of a garment expresses the philosophy behind it, before it even looks. Wasai (traditional Japanese sewing) and kimonos are garments that are designed to be re-tailored. They are never intended to be a "one-off" garment. This philosophy is built into every aspect of their construction. The reason they are not sewn with a sewing machine is not out of nostalgia or a celebration of handcrafted work; it is to avoid leaving stitches. Stitches made with silk and hand-s