11/15/08

My kimono tansu (chest of drawers) is from a prison

Kiri / paulownia chest of drawers is the best for kimono. Good kiri woods make inside vacuum and keep kimono from humid. Even it would be fired, inside kimono wouldn’t be burned. (I just heard. I haven’t tried it though).
But it is expensive! Usually it is inherited but my mother is still using hers. And hers is too big for my small tatami room. So I ordered it to a jail where trains prisoners to be a traditional craftsmen.
It is a small chest of drawers so I can keep half of my stocks. In winter, it keeps my summer kimonos. In summer, winter’s. A bit annoying but it urges my koromogae seasonal cloth changes like a mother!
I put nioi bukuro sachet Japanese incense in it. It keeps kimono from worm eaten. Especially silk and wool are risky.