A yukata is a cool, lightweight kimono worn during the sweltering Japanese summers. Japanese love their tradition of matsuri, Shinto festivals celebrated during the hot summer months in Japan, and the yukata, made of soft cotton or silk, is the natural choice of dress for these hot nights. Both men and women adorn themselves in yukata during the festivals, the women donning brightly colored patterns with large, flowing obi (belts), while the men often choose darker tones and sober obi.

Yukata are also customary dress at Japan's finest ryokan (inns). The Japanese find the comfort, simplicity and beauty of the yukata a relaxing enhancement to a vacation. Yukata are made from dyed cotton or silk, sporting the most current patterns and forms. Believe it or not, an out-of-date yukata and obi can look as silly as a polyester leisure suit with bell-bottoms!

Mrs. Terada, whose works are featured here, has been making yukata for her local community for over 30 years. Prior to making yukata, she was dissatisfied with her job at a sento, a Japanese public bath. So she decided to put her seamstress skills to the test. Now, more than three decades later, she is a master of the craft, and with the help of her protege daughter, is creating some of the region's finest traditional yukata and kimono.

Click here to begin viewing yukata patterns.