A sight like this was once the norm before the end of the Pacific War and the era of jeans and stilettos arrived. Today, a kimono wearer is like a lunar eclipse – it doesn’t happen often but when it does, you can’t help but stop and stare. However, some fashion designers are looking to bring back Japan’s traditional dress for a modern audience.

Kimonos have long been part of the Japanese national costume. In the Jomon Period, the earliest recoreded period of Japanese history, both men and women clothed themselves in robes woven of hemp. Later, with the introduction of silk from China, the styles and cuts began to diversify. In the heyday of the Heian Period (792-1192), artistic tastes and love of the natural world began to be expressed in both formal and everyday wear. Maples leaves and cherry blossoms were chosen as suitable prints for kimonos, allowing wealthy Japanese to change their dress according to the season.

Japan’s golden age ended with a bitter century of warring clans and the eventual rise of the samurai. Kimono styles devolved into simple garments that allowed for maximum movement. When a national peace was reestablished in 1601, however, and new dyeing techniques were introduced, a ressurgence in the kimono as a form of art occurred.

A modern kimono design from Mamechiyo (Source: Strawberry Kimono)

While today’s traditional kimonos are without question stunning garments, they remain to most Japanese as practical as a wedding dress. Seldom worn and seen by the young as stuffy formalwear for special occasions only, the kimono recently seemed to be heading the same way as Japan’s aging population – into its twilight years.

Enter young, hip designer Mamechiyo. From her flagship store in Tokyo’s trendy Shinjuku neighborhood, this fashionista hopes to redesign and redefine the art of kimono wearing. With bold prints (think zig zag stripes and tasteful polka dot patterns) and vivid colors, Mamechiyo hopes to encourage the Gucci generation to reconsider their choice of daily and formal wear. If the streets of Japan’s cities are anything to go by, her avant garde ideas are starting to catch on.

“Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathway to the Modern World“ is now on display at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City.  It is an interactive journey along the legendary trading route, passing through ancient cities of the Middle East and Asia.  Based on the time period 600 and 1200 A.D., the exhibit provides opportunities to see live silk worms spin cocoons, join a raucous night market, and learn about ancient crafts such as papermaking and glassblowing. Sunday afternoons include live performances. 

The exhibit runs from now through August 15, 2010.

If you can’t make it to the exhibit, take a virtual tour here:

Two thousand soldiers, 100 chariots, 400 horses, 300 cavalry horses…all meticulously hand-crafted in terra cotta.  These magnificent statues are none other than the infamous Terra Cotta Warriors, discovered and extracted in 1974 from the tomb of Qin Shihuangdi, who ruled China from 221 to 210 B.C.

A true high point in the history of art and archaeology, the Terra Cotta Warriors are currently “on tour” as part of an awesome exhibit that has been a traveling show in the U.S. for almost two years.  The last stop on this tour will be at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C., November 19, 2009, through March 31, 2010.

Over 100 of the Terra Cotta warriors from the tomb of the emperor will be seen–the largest display of these statues ever exhibited outside of China.

For More Info…

- National Geographic Museum Exhibition Info
- Visiting the Exhibition: All You Need to Know
- “The Warriors Have Arrived”
- Visit the original archaeological site of the Terra Cotta Warriors with Asia360° on our “Marco Polo China” Trip!

>>> Check out the full itinerary for our Ancient Splendors of Angkor trip.

>>> Read the “Divining Angkor” article from National Geographic’s July 2009 issue.

>>> Watch this 52-minute BBC documentary on Angkor Wat:

The exhibit sweeps you away to 13th-century Mongolia, with tents, battlegrounds, marketplaces, live cultural performances by traditional Mongolian musicians, and more than 200 objects such as silk robes and gold jewelry that have never been seen outside of Mongolia or Russia.

The exhibition runs through February 7, 2010. 

MORE RESOURCES
>> Genghis Khan Exhibit Home
>> Denver Post article on the exhibit
>> Denver Mayor Hickenlooper visits the exhibit

Check out the video below, too, showing members of the Mongolian Cultural Center for the Arts assembling a traditional ger (the Mongolian version of a yurt) for the DMNS exhibit: