Unknown artist, Japanese

The motifs depicted on this adult woman’s kimono signify the plants or grasses of autumn. The large pine tree with bush clover and pinks; an insect cage or bird-scarer for noisemaking insects such as crickets; and a flock of sparrows are key motifs for an early autumn kimono. The sparrow is the subject of a popular Japanese folktale, “The Sparrow with the Cut Tongue.” In the story, it exemplifies the virtue of repaying one’s obligations. A common virtuous pairing in poetry is the sparrow and bamboo. In this kimono, sprigs of bamboo are embroidered just beneath the birds.

Bush clover is not seen on any other object in the exhibition. Like the cherry blossom, bush clover is a metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life and thus appropriate for the end of summer. Etiquette allowed one to wear summer-weight kimono even during the month of October, because it was not unusual for the weather to be extremely warm in some areas of Japan during autumn.