- An especially high quality, black montsuki haori with exquisite silk donsu lining of a gathering of samurai at dusk. The black textle is beautiful habutae silk. The lining has glinting gold in the weave of the landscape and glinting silver on the spear blades. It is an extra special lining, even by donsu standards. Linings such as these often cost more than all the beautiful, expensive fabric used for the rest of the haori.
- Donsu is a Japanese damask textile and only the very highest quality men's haori have donsu linings, usually with wonderful scenes on them. The gold and silver thread woven into this lining make it even more special and costly. This really is a very top quality haori indeed
- This montsuki haori had 5 mon, making it the most formal type of haori. The mon (crests) are pine trees. It also has a signature on the front edge, likely that of the textile artist who designed the lining. It has very faint kanji just below that, which is very hard to see in reality.
- This looks very stylish worn with a long sleeved sweater or tee shirt under it, the ends of the sleeves showing at the wrists
- May have shitsuke-ito stitching around the edge; shitsuke-itois loose, temporary stitching that the Japanese put in to keep edges neat during storage, it just gets pulled out before wearing
- Awase (fully lined)
- Silk
- Colour: Please be aware that different monitors display colour slightly differently. Therefore the colour in the photos and description is a guide only
Condition:
Excellent
Measurements:
Sleeve end to sleeve end 130cm
Sleeve seam to sleeve seam 65cm
Sleeve depth 52cm
Length 101cm
Sizing:
Japanese clothing is usually of adjustable fit, being mostly wrap-over or tie-to-fit items, so most garments fit a range of sizes. Because of this (and only really knowing my own size anyway) I can't advise anyone on the fit. Please judge fit from the measurements given. Measure from centre back of neck, along shoulder and down the arm to the wrist, then double that and compare it with the sleeve end measurement to judge sleeve length.
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mh83 / 07/14
Samurai Donsu Lining Montsuki Haori
- Haori: Haori are designed to be worn on top of kimonos but also look great with western world style clothing, with jeans etc.
- Length: Haori are long jackets, most are from upper thigh to just below mid thigh length. Measure from base of back of your neck down to judge length on you
- Fastening: Haori do not overlap at the front and are not worn with an obi/sash. Haori can be worn without fastening but, if you want a fastener, they have little loops at the inner edge of the fronts, onto which a himo (front ties) are attached. Himo are usually bought separately. Men’s himo should not be untied to open the haori, you unhook one side to open it. The hooks are hard to find but they can be made using a hairgrip and round nosed pliars to cut a piece of the hairgrip to the correct length then bend it into the S hook shape
- Storage: Hang your garment to air when you receive it and do this at least three times a year if it is not frequently used.
The Japanese take great pains to store their traditional garments with the utmost care, which is why they stay in such exceptional condition. Some of my garments have large, white stitching (shitsuke) round the edges. The Japanese put these stitches in to keep the edges flat during long periods of storage, these stitches just get pulled out before wearing the garment. - Cleaning: Be very cautious about washing traditional Japanese garments. I would advise only dry cleaning for silk ones and for most synthetic ones