À la recherche du temps perdu/Hajitomi, structural silence Kimono Tailoring Techniques in a Modern Coat — The Story of the “JFK Coat”
- Hamanaka Akiko
- Mar 12
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 15
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 resists water stains and does not easily shrink when exposed to rain.
To function as a single-layer coat, the garment needs a certain spread at the hem.
In Western tailoring this would usually be achieved by cutting the fabric into an A-line shape.
Kimono tailoring does not do this.Kimono are constructed through straight cutting, preserving the grain of the cloth.
Instead, small triangular inserts—machi—are added to create the necessary flare.
The coat is also quite long.
To stabilize the hem and give the garment a quiet sense of weight, raw silk floss is inserted inside the hem.
Today this technique is rarely used.Most modern garments replace it with thin layers of fabric.
But this coat contains real mawata—silk floss—generously placed inside the hem.
If you pinch the edge of the coat lightly, you can feel its soft, full presence.
Within the firmness of the tsumugi fabric lies a hidden softness.
The mawata holds air, gently grounding the long silhouette of the coat.
With every step, the hem moves with the wind.
Almost like a kimono.
Why I call it the “JFK Coat”
The fabric itself carries another story.
Okitama tsumugi flourished under the encouragement of Uesugi Yōzan,an 18th-century leader who rebuilt the struggling Yonezawa domain through discipline, frugality, and the promotion of local industries.
More than a century later, his philosophy crossed the Pacific.
When speaking about leadership, John F. Kennedy famously referred to Yōzan’s principle:
“If one tries, it can be done. If one does not try, it cannot be done.”
A textile encouraged by Yōzan. A principle admired by Kennedy.
That quiet historical line is why I call this garment the JFK Coat.
A coat that carries kimono craftsmanship
This coat does not look like a kimono.
And yet its structure is entirely rooted in kimono making:
☆straight cutting
☆preservation of the fabric grain
☆inserted machi for movement
☆mawata in the hem to create balance
It is possible to wear kimono craftsmanship without wearing a kimono.
And when the coat finally settles into its shape—when the hem falls quietly into place—
that is the momenta garment truly begins to exist.
You may never wear a kimono. But you can wear the art of Wasai.
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