Boro Kimono, early 20th century
Unknown maker, Japan
Indigo-dyed cotton patches, sewn and darned, 48 x 49 in. (121.9 x 124.5 cm)
Mended, date(s) unknown
Courtesy Stephen Szczepanek, Sri, Brooklyn, NY

This early twentieth-century kimono is representative of a longstanding Japanese folk textile tradition of reuse and mending that has come to be called boro, after boroboro, a Japanese term meaning “tattered” or “worn.” In nineteenth-century rural Japan, no material was wasted. People living in impoverished regions repurposed worn rags and pieces of cloth, stitching them into everyday garments and textiles to mend and re-mend over time. This kimono includes moiré-patterned cloth pieces (kumanozome), which required meticulous craftsmanship and some expense to produce, and indigo ikat (kasuri) patches produced in the early twentieth century.