Rumi Ota Borgese dons white gloves to examine the kimonos found outside the Jewish Community Center resale store. Miwako Patton, the Morikami’s marketing and public relations manager, looks on. The white wedding kimono possibly dates to the 1940s. The black formal kimono would have been worn during traditional ceremonies. Photo provided
By Janis Fontaine
In an act of cultural compassion, eagle-eyed Eric Goldman, vice president of retail services at the Levis Jewish Community Center’s Resale Boutique, rescued two kimonos left in a plain, unmarked cardboard box by the back door of the store in east Boca Raton.
Goldman’s experience told him these garments might have real cultural significance, so he reached out to James Rodgers, the collection manager at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, who invited Goldman to meet. Jennifer Giacone, the Levis JCC’s chief marketing and communications officer, was there.
“When I saw what Eric presented and how it was handled, it was really extraordinary. We watched the staff at Morikami put on white cotton gloves so caringly, almost reverently, and then look at these two artifacts, really examining them and trying to point out where historically they belonged. It was a very special moment.”
On initial examination, Rodgers said, they knew little about the pieces. The black kimono was a kurotomesode, “a very formal type of kimono typically worn at weddings by the mother or grandmother of the bride or groom. This one is particularly formal,” he said.
Kimonos are deeply symbolic, reflecting artistry, tradition and critical life moments, Rodgers said. This kimono probably belonged to an important family because of the presence of five “mon,” the family’s emblem or symbol, that were included.
“In Japanese it’s called maruni tachi omodaka, which in English translates to standing arrowhead in a circle. It denotes that they might have come from a samurai family. They were probably middle class to wealthy.”
Rodgers thinks the family may have had to sell the kimono during or after the war. “When the U.S. military was occupying Japan after World War II, a lot of families, particularly those in areas that were bombed or destroyed, found themselves on really hard times and ended up having to sell their precious family belongings to U.S. soldiers just to survive. The soldiers brought them back to the United States as souvenirs,” he said.
The museum has gotten kimonos before that were carried home by servicemen.
“We’ve been collecting kimonos from the very beginning, since 1976,” Rodgers said. “We get kimonos fairly often, but because our collection is fairly large, we don’t put too many into the collection.”
The second kimono was an uchikake, or wedding kimono, which have great history, Rodgers said. “Daughters in samurai families would have a very formal kimono that they would wear when they get married. You’ll see the sleeves are very long, which indicates that the woman who wore it was unmarried. This one is quite colorful with a four seasons theme, so you have spring, fall and summer colors, different flowers and plants that give it that year-round, very seasonal motif,” he said. “In our collection, we have about 25 or so more modern uchikake; this is a good example of one of the older ones.”
This was the JCC’s first interaction with the Morikami, but it has already opened doors between the two groups.
“I’m delighted to say that as an outgrowth of that experience, we’re in contact with Miwako Patton to pursue some opportunities through our Sandler Center for Arts, Culture and Learning,” Giacone said. “We’re brainstorming ideas; maybe a JCC series at Morikami or guided tours of the museum and gardens.”
A shared history and intersections of the cultures can be explored, Giacone said. “Years ago, we had a film festival that screened a film about a courageous Japanese diplomat who saved thousands of Jews in Lithuania. He was an unsung hero who understood this is not OK and helped save people who were running for their lives.”
The film, 2015’s Persona Non Grata, tells the story of Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, who defied orders and issued more than 2,000 transit visas to Jewish refugees, allowing them to travel through Japanese territory. He risked his career and his family to save people fleeing Poland and Lithuania. Experts estimate he saved more than 6,000 lives before the Nazis invaded Lithuania a year later in 1941.
“They were very interested in screening that film with us. I think that there’s a lot of opportunity for us to partner on, to present our community with opportunities to learn about different cultures and the intersections between them,” Giacone said.
Rodgers agrees it’s important to foster local relationships. “We took the kimono because we wanted to build a relationship with the JCC,” he said. “It’s always good when museums and nonprofit organizations work together. With that in mind, we took this into the collection.”
Giacone agrees. “South Palm Beach County is an extremely culturally rich area. We have such amazing cultural and educational opportunities here. I think cultivating that is going to go a long way to really fostering better understanding of one another.
“I think people sometimes are afraid of what they don’t understand, and so by opening these doors to understanding, we learn more about one another and we appreciate each other’s cultures. It makes us a better community.”
Of course, Giacone can’t help but see divine intervention at work. “Everything lined up the way it was supposed to. Eric saw something special. He reached out. We connected. All the stars aligned for that.”
The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens currently has an exhibition of uchikake called “Threads of Silver and Gold,”which runs until Sept. 20. Five uchikake, each with a different motif, are on display. Around mid-July, the museum will switch them out and display five more. Visit the museum at 4000 Morikami Park Road, Delray Beach. For more info on the exhibit, visit morikami.org/current-exhibitions/.
Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at fontaine423@outlook.com.
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