​PASSIONEER

I went to reach for my grandmother's katabira — an unlined summer linen kimono — for a reunion dinner with friends I've known since my Paris days. To my surprise, it had torn, right at the seat. There was no shikiate (reinforcing lining) sewn in at all — it truly was an everyday garment, simply made. Perhaps, after all these years, it had finally given out. Seventy years later, my grandmother's katabira has been fully unpicked. Not broken — simply ready to be born again. I he