Relevant books
I'm lucky to have some books available to hand that I can use – all of these are to do with Japanese arts and culture. If you ever have a question about one, drop me a message on my Talk page. I'd be happy to help. Unless otherwise stated, all of these books are in English.
Some books are out of print, and can be difficult to find for sale in the West. However, this doesn't mean they're not for sale at all; often, they can be found second-hand on Japanese websites like Japanese Amazon and Yahoo Japan Auctions with much greater ease.
I would suggest searching for the Japanese title of any one book on a number of proxy bidding websites that allow those outside of Japan to purchase goods from these websites, which otherwise don't ship outside of Japan. You can find a small list of them here on Chayatsuji Kimono's WordPress site. I've used FromJapan before with success.
- Shaver, R., 1966. Kabuki Costume. 1st Ed. Charles E. Tuttle Company: Vermont.
- Shaver goes into a lot of important detail in this book, but it does have some translation inaccuracies. Kitsuke, for example, isn't another term for kimono, or the Japanese term for kimono. It describes how someone wears their kimono – I think this is just a "lost in translation" issue, as the rest of the book has some brilliant research on the history of kabuki. Every time I open this book to look up some reference or another, I come away learning new things I didn't even intend to find. One of these days, I'll have read through the whole book this way(!).
- Though I own the 1966 1st edition, I kind of wish I'd bought the 1990 reprint... the first edition is way too nice. I find myself very, very carefully peaking through it whenever I use it, aha. There's also an ebook version available now, released in 2013, which may be more practical than this very chunky book.
- Tetsuo, Ishihara, 2004. The World of Traditional Japanese Hairstyles – Hairstyles of the Maiko (日本髪の世界-舞妓の髪型編, Nihongami No Sekai – Maiko No Kamigata). 1st Ed. Nihongami Shiryōkan: Kyoto. (Both Japanese and English text)
- This book is out of print and can be difficult to find for sale in the West, but I didn't find it especially difficult to track down a copy for sale on websites like Japanese Amazon and Yahoo Japan Auctions.
- This book covers not only the construction method of hairstyles, but also details how a maiko is dressed, the process of applying oshiroi, the obidome they wear, and also gives some background on each of the geisha districts of Kyoto. It goes above and beyond what you'd hope for, to be honest, and though it doesn't chronicle every hairstyle, it chronicles most, to the point where it's possible to deduct the construction process of some hairstyles shown only in finished form.
- Some university libraries may hold a copy of this book, which you can request to be sent to your local library to borrow. I'm fortunate enough to have a copy myself.
- Tetsuo, Ishihara, 1991. Kyō – Shimabara Tayū – Tayū – Kamigata No Sekai (京・嶋原太夫―太夫・髪型の世界). 1st Ed. Kyoto Shoin: Kyoto. (Only Japanese text)
- This book is the earlier companion piece to Maiko no Kamigata, and though it isn't as extensive in showing the workings of each hairstyle, it's still very valuable as a resource, as the hairstyles of tayū are often myriad and obscure. It's difficult to find for sale in the West, but not that hard (or expensive) if using a proxy service.
- Crihfield, Liza, 1978. The institution of the geisha in modern Japanese society. 1st Ed. Stanford University Press: California.
- The institution of is a more comprehensive and academic study into geisha of the 1970s and in the decades before this, being written in a more academic style than Geisha, with the addition of appendices, data taken from Japanese-language sources I would not be able to read myself, and more nuanced takes on many of the more important aspects of the karyūkai that are not, through virtue of the book's length, given as much space in Geisha. The thesis was type-written, with all the of accents, underlining and kanji throughout hand-written in; the thesis was then transferred to microfilm, before being scanned in as a PDF. It's possible to purchase a physical copy through research publishing companies such as ProQuest. I think it was from ProQuest that I originally acquired the thesis.
- I have finished transcribing the thesis for more workable, and word-searchable, use. However, some of the kanji in the thesis are difficult to discern, and so some aspects of the glossary, and the text itself at one point, still need work.
- I also intend to produce a version with explanatory notes, cross-referenced and sourced fully for the modern day; this version is a work in progress at the minute.
- Crihfield, Liza, 1983. Geisha. 1st Ed. University of California Press: California.
- The original research for this book was conducted in 1974, and is found in its purely academic form in The institution of the geisha. It was conducted for the majority in Kyoto's geisha district of Pontochō, which does colour it a little – its views on kimono and geisha reflect the more traditionalist style of Kyoto's hanamachi, and its observations of the place of women in Japanese society are of their time, though Dalby does visit hanamachi outside of Kyoto, and her observations of them don't malign them as "lesser" in any way. This book has never gone out of print, and so prefaces in later additions address this in retrospect. I'd recommend the 25th anniversary edition (2001). Most kimono enthusiasts likely own a copy of this book somewhere.
- Crihfield, Liza, 1993. Kimono: Fashioning Culture. 1st Ed. Vintage Random House: London.
- Though Dalby races through the initial history of kimono, this book has a long section on Heian period colours and clothing, and discusses primary sources and their provenance, such as when and under what circumstances Sei Shonagon's observations on clothing were written. There is also a small but valuable section on Japanese folkwear, something often ignored in Western observations of kimono. This book is out of print, but not hard to find; I'd recommend purchasing the hardback edition, as it features colour illustrations in places, which are invaluable for the Heian period section.
- Yumioka, Katsumi, 2005. Kimono and the Colors of Japan. 1st Ed. PIE Books: Tokyo.
- Covering the colour palettes used in Japanese kimono, Yumioka explains their names, meanings, and how they are created. Though Yumioka pulls from a collection of Meiji-, Taishō- and likely early-Shōwa period kimono, the colours presented are still used today. It's an invaluable introduction to the basic colour sensibilities of kimono, as well as exploring the dye techniques used to achieve these colours and colour trends in kimono history.
- Yumioka, Katsumi, 2006. Summer Kimonos and the Colors of Japan. 1st Ed. PIE Books: Tokyo.
- Building on a background of colours presented in the first book, Yumioka expands in Summer Kimonos to explore production techniques, more colour names and various motifs in-detail. Both weaving and dye techniques are covered, side by side with some of the best examples of antique and vintage kimono I've seen.
