This listing is for a contemporary Japanese fukuro style obi from the Fuller Collection. See below for details on this exceptional group of Japanese textiles.

This obi is a bright green with a parade of imperial carts (palanquin, which used to carry nobility) in gold with red accents. Notice that the wheels of the cart do not fully appear in the design - this is part of a traditional Japanese design aesthetic where the viewer fills in the rest of an "incomplete" design in their mind's eye.

Fukuro obi are patterned on only one side and are the full 14" width throughout. They are worn for formal occasions and can "dress up" a less formal kimono to make it appropriate for a more formal event. There is a one-meter long "blank" section on the front of the obi where it would be hidden under the top layer wound around the waist. This is a savings in the cost of the item and can also make it a bit lighter to wear. See videos below on the different styles of obi as well as ideas for displaying them.

Excellent condition, though there is a bit of residue from a taped sales tag at one end on the back. Silk and within the typical fukuro measurements: approximately 11 feet long in total and 14 inches wide.

The Fuller Collection - originally over 2000 pieces - was the passion and pride of Richard Fuller of Chicago, IL and Wabasha, MN. Richard served as a US Marine in post-war Japan, and there began his love of and appreciation for vintage Japanese kimono and obi. Richard saw that the mastery and artisanship of traditional Japanese textile techniques was waning - threatening to die out all together - which sparked his mission to promote this industry and preserve what he could.

Together with his wife Janith, Richard invested in thousands of kimono and obi, opening Wind Whisper West, a kimono Gallery in Wabasha in 2003. Most of the collection was sold there but several hundred pieces remain. Richard passed in 2020, and Janith has consigned the remainder of the collection to Kyoto Kimono to offer through our website. We are honored and proud to be stewarding the Fuller Collection as each piece finds its new home and continues to bring wonder and beauty to admirers around the world.