Vintage Japanese Silk Kimono Yuzen Poppy Bouquet Roundels Pale Yellow Showa

Vintage Japanese silk yuzen kimono, scattered polychrome garden bouquet roundels with poppy, violet and white blossom on pale yellow ground, Showa era

Japan; Showa era, mid-20th century, c. 1960s–1980s

A bright and welcoming vintage Japanese silk kimono in a clear pale yellow (山吹色, yamabuki-iro) ground of smooth habutae-weight silk with a gentle satin sheen. The decoration is a free-scattered composition of polychrome floral bouquet clusters distributed across the lower body, front panels, and upper sleeves, each cluster set within a softly graded green bokashi (暈し) halo that fades imperceptibly into the yellow ground — an effect suggestive of flowers glimpsed in dappled garden light, the green atmosphere reading as leaf-shadow rather than hard outline.

Within each cluster, the flower content is vivid and naturalistic: large poppies (芥子, keshi) in saturated orange-red and clear yellow dominate each grouping, their ruffled petals and rounded forms rendered with confident yuzen brushwork; smaller white blossoms — likely shiraume (白梅, white plum) or jasmine — scatter around them; clusters of purple-violet flowers consistent with sumire (菫, violet) or small iris add depth and color variety; and green foliage fills the intervals between blooms. Small orange-yellow butterflies appear within several clusters, their wings painted in the same warm palette as the poppies, linking decoration and ground in color. The lining is plain white silk in the upper body with a warm gold-amber hakkake (八掛) hem lining.

The palette — clear yellow ground, green atmosphere, orange and red poppies, white and violet accents — has a spring-into-summer freshness that places this kimono in the tradition of seasonal garden-subject textiles appropriate for late spring and early summer occasions. The poppy (芥子) appears frequently in Showa kimono decoration as an emblem of dreamlike beauty; its appearance here in a garden-roundel composition with butterflies gives the garment a light, lyrical character distinct from the more formal floral treatments seen in other pieces in this group.

• Fabric: Silk, smooth habutae or light rinzu
• Decoration: Scattered free-composition yuzen garden bouquet roundels with bokashi green halo; keshi poppy in orange-red and yellow, white blossoms, sumire violet, butterfly accents; polychrome on pale yellow ground
• Lining: Plain white silk upper body; gold-amber hakkake (八掛) hem lining
• Period: Showa era, mid-20th century, c. 1960s–1980s
• Dimensions:
• Condition: This is a vintage silk garment and may exhibit minor age-related characteristics such as slight discoloration, faint spotting, or occasional pulled threads consistent with its age and prior wear. Please see photos for details and feel free to contact us with any questions prior to purchase.