Japan's traditional kimonos are being repurposed in creative and sustainable ways

TOKYO (AP) — The kimono, that elaborate, delicate wrap-around garment worn by geisha and samurai from centuries back, is getting a vibrant remake, appreciated these days for a virtue that’s more relevant than ever: sustainability.

A genuine silk kimono, which literally means “worn thing,” lasts a hundred years or more. In a Japanese family, it’s handed down over generations like heirloom jewelry, artworks and military medals.

It never goes out of style.

The design of the kimono and accompanying “obi” sash has remained basically the same since the 17th century Edo period depicted in Akira Kurosawa samurai movies.

But today, some people are taking a different creative approach, refashioning the traditional kimono, and also taking apart and resewing them as jackets, dresses and pants.

“I noticed that a lot of beautiful kimono is just sleeping in people’s closets. That’s such a waste,” said Mari Kubo, who heads a kimono-remake business called K’Forward, pronounced “K dash forward.”

Hers is among a recent surge in such services, which also turn old kimono into tote bags and dolls.

The most popular among Kubo’s products are “tomesode,” a type of formal kimono that is black with colorful, embroidered flowers, birds or foliage at the bottom.

She also creates matching sets, or what she calls “set-ups.” A tomesode is turned into a jacket with its long, flowing sleeves intact, and its intricate patterns placed at the center in the back. She then takes a kimono with a matching pattern to create a skirt or pants to go with the top. Sometimes, an obi is used at the collar to add a pop of color.

Kubo said many of her customers are young people who want to enjoy a kimono without the fuss.

A remade kimono at K’Forward can cost as much as 160,000 yen ($1,000) for a “furisode,” a colorful kimono with long sleeves meant for young unmarried women, while a black tomesode goes for about 25,000 yen ($160).

What Tomoko Ohkata loves most about the products she designs using old kimonos is that she doesn’t have to live with a guilty conscience, and instead feels she is helping solve an ecological problem.

“I feel the answer was right there, being handed down from our ancestors,” she said.

Recycling venues in Japan get thousands of old kimonos a day as people find them stashed away in closets by parents and grandparents. These days, Japanese generally wear kimonos just for special occasions like weddings. Many women prefer to wear a Western-style white wedding dress rather than the kimono, or they wear both.

Many of Ohkata’s clientele are people who have found a kimono at home and want to give it new life. They care about the story behind the kimono, she added.

Her small store in downtown Tokyo displays various dolls, including a figure of an emperor paired with his wife, who are traditionally brought out for display in Japanese homes for the Girls’ Day festival every March 3. Her dolls, however, are exquisitely dressed in recycled kimonos, tailored in tiny sizes to fit the dolls. They sell for 245,000 yen ($1,600) a pair.

The original old-style kimono is also getting rediscovered.

“Unlike the dress, you can arrange it,” says Nao Shimizu, who heads a school in Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto that teaches people how to wear a kimono and how to carry oneself while wearing it.

“In half a year, you can learn how to do it all by yourself,” she said, briskly demonstrating several ways to tie the obi to express different moods, from playful to understated.

Besides its durability, said Shimizu, that versatility also makes the kimono sustainable.

Younger Japanese are taking a more relaxed view, wearing a kimono with boots, for instance, she laughed. Traditionally, kimono is worn with sandals called “zori.”

Although it requires some skill to put on a kimono in the traditional way, one can take lessons from teachers like Shimizu, like learning a musical instrument. Professional help is also available at beauty parlors, hotels and some shops.

Most Japanese might wear a kimono just a few times in their lives. But wearing one is a memorable experience.

Sumie Kaneko, a singer who plays the traditional Japanese instruments koto and shamisen, often performs wearing flashy dresses made of recycled kimonos. The idea of sustainability is deeply rooted in Japanese culture, she says, noting that the ivory and animal hide used in her musical instruments are now hard to obtain.

She calls it “the recycling of life.”

“The performer breathes new life into them,” says the New York-based Kaneko.

“In the same way, a past moment — and those patterns and colors that were once loved — can come back to life.”

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

This story has been corrected in the “Reuse and recycle” section to note that the male doll depicts an emperor, not a samurai.

FILE - Young adults arrive at a venue to celebrate the Coming-of-Age Day, a centuries-old tradition and national holiday marking the milestone from childhood to adulthood, Jan. 12, 2026, in Yokohama near Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Nao Shimizu, Representative Director of Kimono Sunao Co., Ltd., left, demonstrates various ways of tying an obi on assistant Emiko Terai during a kimono presentation in Tokyo Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Nao Shimizu, Representative Director of Kimono Sunao Co., Ltd., left, demonstrates various ways of tying an obi on Emiko Terai during a kimono presentation in Tokyo on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Dolls dressed in miniature kimonos made by designer Tomoko Ohkata from recycled kimonos are pictured in Tokyo, on Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuri Kageyama)

Nao Shimizu, Representative Director of Kimono Sunao Co., Ltd., left, demonstrates various ways of tying an obi on dressing assistant Emiko Terai during a kimono presentation in Tokyo on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A woman displays a kimono in Tokyo Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Designer Tomoko Ohkata, left, and her assistant Koki Unami hold Ohkata's designs made from old kimono, in Tokyo, on Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuri Kageyama)

PARIS (AP) — Europe has “maybe six weeks or so (of) jet fuel left,” the head of the International Energy Agency said Thursday in a wide-ranging Associated Press interview, warning of possible flight cancellations “soon” if oil supplies remain blocked by the Iran war.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol painted a sobering picture of the global repercussions of what he called “the largest energy crisis we have ever faced,” stemming from the pinch-off of oil, gas and other vital supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

“In the past there was a group called ‘Dire Straits.’ It’s a dire strait now, and it is going to have major implications for the global economy. And the longer it goes, the worse it will be for the economic growth and inflation around the world,” he said.

The impact will be “higher petrol (gasoline) prices, higher gas prices, high electricity prices,” Birol told the AP, speaking in his Paris office looking out over the Eiffel Tower.

Economic pain will be felt unevenly and "the countries who will suffer the most will not be those whose voice are heard a lot. It will be mainly the developing countries. Poorer countries in Asia, in Africa and in Latin America,” said the Turkish economist and energy expert who has led the IEA since 2015.

But without a settlement of the Iran war that permanently reopens the Strait of Hormuz, “Everybody is going to suffer,” he added.

“Some countries may be richer than the others. Some countries may have more energy than the others, but no country, no country is immune to this crisis," he said.

Without a reopening of the waterway, some oil products may dry up, he warned.

In Europe, “I can tell you soon we will hear the news that some of the flights from city A to city B might be canceled as a result of lack of jet fuel," he said.

Birol spoke out against the so-called “toll booth” system that Iran has applied to some ships, letting them travel through the strait for a fee. He said allowing that to become more permanent would run the risk of setting a precedent that could then be applied to other waterways, including the vital Malacca Strait in Asia.

“If we change it once, it may be difficult to get it back,” he said. “It will be difficult to have a toll system here, applied here, but not there.”

“I would like to see that the oil flows unconditionally from the point A to point B,” he said.

Birol said more than 110 oil-laden tankers and more than 15 carriers loaded with liquified natural gas are waiting in the Persian Gulf and could help ease the energy crisis if they could escape through the Strait of Hormuz.

“But it is not enough,” he added.

Even with a peace deal, strikes on energy facilities means it could be many months before pre-war production levels are restored, he said.

“Over 80 key assets in the region have been damaged. And out of these 80, more than one third are severely or very severely damaged,” he said.

“It will be extremely optimistic to believe that it will very quick," Birol said. “It will take gradually, gradually, up to two years to come back where we were before the war.”

International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, at the IEA headquarters in Paris, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, at the IEA headquarters in Paris, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol arrives for an interview with The Associated Press, at the IEA headquarters in Paris, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, at the IEA headquarters in Paris, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)