432 Men's Black Crested Habutai Kimono

This is a black crested kimono featuring five Maru ni Katabami (Katakami in a circle) crests, made from yarn with no twist used for both warp and weft.

The fabric, woven with untwisted yarn for both warp and weft, is characteristic of Habutae silk. However, this fabric has a slightly noticeable texture (unevenness) which is unusual for Habutae.

For Chirimen silk, twisted yarn is used for the weft, making it distinguishable. This type of fabric is unknown, but we will classify it as Habutae for now.

The right side of the first photo shows Gosen Habutae, while the fabric on the left with a slight texture is the one for this listing. (Photos 9-11)

The Habutae silk for this listing may have slightly thicker warp threads, possibly resulting in larger weave patterns where the warp and weft threads intersect.

Recently, we listed a crested Haori with the Ken Katabami (Sword Katabami) family crest. Both Katabami and Ken Katabami are family crests modeled after the leaves of the Katabami plant.

These crests, formed by combining three heart-shaped leaves, are said to be favored by women.

The supply of crested kimonos has recently become extremely limited, but we have managed to secure several crested kimonos. This is one of them.

One reason for this scarcity is the discontinuation of Habutae production by a major company and the closure of a major black dyeing house in Kyoto. Consequently, the availability of new crested kimonos, and even older ones, has drastically decreased.

As a result, ensembles of black crested Habutae from various production areas, as well as black Habutae crested Haori, appear to be in short supply.

The lining is fully lined with a strong blue-purple plain weave Kanekin cotton.

Dimensions (in cm):
Length (from center back): 144, Sleeve span: 66, Sleeve width: 33.5, Sleeve length: 52, Back width: 29, Front width: 25
The length is recommended for individuals around 174 cm tall, but the sleeve span is about 5-6 cm shorter.

There is a slight brownish stain and scuff mark on the right front panel (underlap).

The black dyeing for this crested kimono is done using the Beni-shita Kurozome method, where the white fabric is first dyed red and then with black dye. It appears that the red dye has bled through.
(Photos 2-5, 7, 8)

We have checked for stains and dirt as thoroughly as possible, but there may be instances of oversight. We appreciate your understanding.

These are images taken with a digital camera. Please note that colors may vary depending on your monitor.

Photos 14 and 15 are magnified images taken with a USB microscope.