Yukata is a summer feature of Japan indispensable to festivals, fireworks displays, and cooling off in the evening. Yukata originally had been used as yukatabira in temple bathes in the Heian period (794- around 1185). As the custom of having a bath became popular among people during the Edo period (1603-1867) with the advent of public bathhouses, cotton yukata became popular to wear after a bath. Many ukiyoe woodblocks also have beautiful women relaxing in yukata.

Horii Corporation, founded in 1922 and established as a company in 1940, is an old, established Japanese-dress company handling mainly yukata. CEO Sadao Horii empathized with the Nihonbashi-bijin brand and designed this idea because he wanted Nihonbashi-bijin to express their inner beauty through clothes that highlight feminine beauty, especially by wearing kimono or yukata. Thus the Nihonbashi-bijin Yukata was born in 2006.

The Yukatais based on one made completely by hand by craftsmen, from the curving designs onto forming sheets to dying and tailoring using methods handed down from the Meiji period (1868-1912). Members of the Nihonbashi OL Club, consisting of workingwomen from Nihonbashi, chose 12 rich patterns. All are rich in emotion generated from grass, flowers, or other Japanese patterns, and the quality is highly sophisticated. The series was shown to the public in department stores and specialty shops nationwide including Nihonbashi.

You might have the impression that yukata is made from cotton and flat-woven, but recently some are made from cotton and hemp while others are woven in an untraditional way to provide greater cooling and comfort.

Why don’t you wear Nihonbashi-bijin Yukata to highlight the elegance and attraction of Japanese beauty from Edo-Tokyo and fashionably enjoy this stylish part of town?

Genji Monogatari Horii Corporation
Nihonbashi Hisamatsu-cho 5-3, Chuoku
Tel: 03-3664-7181
http://yukata.net