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

Nagoya obi have a specialized shape - folded and sewn to a 6-7" width for the portion that wraps around the waist but left wide (13-14") for about one yard at the end which would be tied into an elaborate bow.

This obi features the type of brocade usually reserved for a more formal maru obi.  Perhaps it was converted from that style to a nagoya style, which is easier to wrap, tie, and wear.

The colors and patterning suggest a winter season to us.  Pairs of cranes fly along (upside down, it seems) across a landscape of elements that include fields of tiny traditional motifs as well as snow-covered bamboo, pine trunks and plum blossoms. Look closely to find a crane - almost hidden, outlined in a yellow gold.

The backside of the bow portion is a white silk that bears signs of age and use, see last photo.  Priced accordingly.

See videos below on the different styles of obi as well as ideas for displaying them. If you need a short wooden hanging rod to display your obi, add one (option above) when ordering.

The Fuller Collection – originally over 2000 kimono – 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 – especially wedding kimono. Richard saw that the mastery and artisanship of traditional Japanese textile techniques was waning – threatening to die out altogether – which sparked his mission to promote this industry and preserve what he could. Click here to read one of his interviews.

Together with his wife Janith, Richard invested in thousands of kimono and obi, opening Wind Whisper West, a kimono gallery in Wabasha, MN 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.