Keiko NitanaiKimono Design: An Introduction to Textiles and Patterns

I am studying the Japanese language and Japanese history, I'm also an avid collector of antique kimono and obi. I bought this book to further my knowledge of the meaning behind all the symbols, patterns and designs on my kimono and obi. Although this book has many good pictures and a very basic reference to patterns and designs, it is sadly lacking Any in depth or in some cases even basic description of the meaning behind anything! It even goes off on weird tangents about stuff that has nothing to do with the pattern they were talking about and sometimes no description at all! I don't know if it was a translation issue or what, but for anyone looking for ANY in depth information on Japanese textile patterns, designs, or symbols this is not the book for you.For anyone who likes pretty pictures or very basic information then you would enjoy this.

Beautiful illustrations on every page and tons of great information!

nice overview of patterns, for somebody who know a little bit about kimonos

Amazing book.

Beautiful photographs

Not quite what I expected but the many color images satisfy.

This book is a wonderful source for anyone interested in the fine art of Japanese kimono. I would love to visit the site and even more of a dream would be to meet Ms. Nitanai.

I'm interested in kimono and Japanese culture in general. In fact I've collected some kimonos and Japanese antique myself, but I was not familiar with the meanings behind those patterns. After reading this book, I feel that I have gained more insights into this artistic field. There're some very interesting stories behind those patterns, e.g. relevant poems from the Tale of Genji. The book also contains lots of colour photos and the paper quality is good, so even if you only use it as a "casual art magazine", it's still worth the purchase. All in all, I'm very pleased with this book and can recommend to anyone who likes Japanese art.

A lovely book, which for the price has a good amount of information (compared to Symbols of Japan: Thematic Motifs in Art and Design) and some very nice colour photographs of kimono textiles.

Love the pictures inside and the way it's divided into seasons.

Wunderschönes Bilder- Buch für Leute, die sich für Kimonos, japanisches Design und Modegeschichte interessieren, mit durchgehend brillanten, farbigen Abbildungen auf dickem, hochwertigem Kunstdruckpapier. Die Autorin hat das Buch in vier Teile, die den Jahreszeiten entsprechen, aufgeteilt und schreibt fundiert über die Bedeutung der Muster und Stoffe, die z. T. auch stark vergrößert gezeigt werden, so dass man die Strukturen gut erkennen kann. Es gibt außerdem ein kleines Kapitel über obi-dome (Gürtel-Broschen). Das Buch ist 23 x 15,5 cm groß und 2 1/2 cm dick, leider kein Hardcover (hätte es wahrhaftig verdient!!!) und in englischer Sprache.