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"Chinese Cuisine" Vintage Maekake Apron

"Chinese Cuisine" Vintage Maekake Apron

South of Tokyo

Regular price $50.00
Regular price $50.00 Sale price $50.00
Sale Sold out
Shipping calculated at checkout.
  • Ships from NY
  • One-of-a-kind
  • Sourced from Japan

This listing is for a vintage Japanese apron called a maekake, used by shop keepers and merchants to advertise their goods. 

They are usually simple, single-color canvas-weight cotton with a crest, logo, or company name in large characters on the front along with the address and phone number. Some - but not all - are reversible. The long orange, blue and white ties go around the waist and there is usually a row of fringe at the bottom.

This maekake is from Kanaya, south of Tokyo, from a restuarant offering Chinese cuisine or perhaps from a shop that offers the required ingredients.  Same pattern on the back.

We suspect this apron pre-dates 1968, when Japan updated its phone number system and discontinued using non-numeric characters.  The kanji plus the digits at the bottom of the apron are the shop's phone number.

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Length: 30"
Body/Hips: 18"
Made In (Estimated): 1960s
Condition: Very Good
Fiber: Cotton
Technique: Dyed
Colors: Blue
Motifs: Kanji

SKU:0324miscFEA8

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