Japanese Taishō Yoruba Style Kimono

A Japanese women's kimono from the Taishō period.

• Western and Japanese designers have often looked to other culture's art for inspiration, particularly during the Art Deco period. Greater ease of travel and new archeological findings made the “exotic” more accessible, and interpretations of its art were fresh and innovative in its time.
• The designer of this kimono seems to have used motifs drawn from traditional African art, as seen in this wooden carving block and block printed textile from the Yoruba of Nigeria, which, to the untrained eye, is fairly similar.