Kyoto shop turns traditional Japanese kimono into teddy bears, with special meaning hidden in their patterns

Kyoto shop turns traditional Japanese kimono into teddy bears, with special meaning hidden in their patterns

Mimirin in Gion gives us a new way to embrace Japanese culture… literally. Japanese kimono are an important part of the country’s cultural identity, but with changing lifestyles there are now less and less opportunities to wear them. This has led some people to come up with new and creative uses for kimono, to help keep the culture alive in the modern world, and one of those people is Mina Ichikawa, who came up with the brilliant idea to turn ki…