Examines the entire sweep of Japanese clothing history, from the sophisticated fashion systems of late-Edo period kimonos onwards, providing possible theories of how Japan made this fashion journey and linking theories of fashion to the Japanese example. This book provides a full history of the last 200 years of Japanese clothing. Slade sets himself very ambitious targets in Japanese Fashion: A Cultural History, an analytical survey of a whole clothing culture, which he successfully meets. Dr. Slade is an imaginative historian who has the ability to synthesize a wide range of sources, ranging from the offical record to the ephemeral and teh vernacular.