Kimono with double lapel, crafted in silk organza. Underdress in cotton gauze with hand-finished details. This garment is inspired by the kimono worn by actors in Noh theatre (能), a form of musical drama performed since the Muromachi period.
DEEP FEELINGS
"Once, a young man fell in love with a beautiful girl who served in his household, though her status was somewhat beneath his own. His parents, fearing that their son’s affection might grow stronger, resolved to remove the girl from the house—though at first, they did no more than speak of it. The young man could not oppose their will, for he still relied upon them and lacked the courage to defy them. Nor could the girl act, bound as she was by her situation. And so their love grew, inevitably and in silence. Then, suddenly, the parents decided to send the girl away. The young man wept bitterly, but had no choice but to watch her go, powerless to intervene. Heartbroken, he wrote this poem:
Had she gone because she grew weary of seeing me,
I would understand—
but today, my sorrow runs deeper than ever before.
And with that, he collapsed in a faint. His parents were horrified. After all, they had only wished to protect their son and had never imagined things were so serious. Yet the young man remained unconscious, and all the prayers offered to the gods and Buddhas were of no avail. He had fallen unconscious at dusk, and remained so until dusk the following day. Such were the profound feelings of the youth of ages past — feelings so deep, not even the elders of today could rival them."
