Japanese Taishō Tapa Style Haori

A Japanese men's silk haori 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.
• This artist for this haori undoubtedly took inspiration from patterns coming from both Africa and the South Pacific as evident from this Tapa cloth example from the South Sea Islands.