This boy's silk kimono presents one of the most powerful symbolic pairings in East Asian art: tora to ryū, the tiger and dragon. Through bold printed imagery arranged across alternating horizontal bands of cream and deep navy-black, these legendary creatures confront each other in dynamic tension across the garment's surface.

The tigers appear in golden-tan tones with characteristic stripes, crouching powerfully on rocky outcroppings amid bamboo groves—their traditional habitat in Japanese artistic convention. Despite never having lived in Japan, tigers captured the imagination as symbols of courage, strength, and protective ferocity. The dragons coil through swirling clouds and churning waves in gray-green scales, their fierce bearded faces embodying supernatural wisdom and celestial power.

Together, tiger and dragon represent the ultimate balance of opposing forces: earth and sky, physical might and spiritual authority, yin and yang. This pairing suggests complete mastery—the combination of grounded strength with transcendent wisdom. In Chinese and Japanese tradition, when tiger and dragon meet, their powers create perfect equilibrium.

The bold checkerboard arrangement of light and dark bands creates maximum graphic impact, while the large scale of these creatures gives the design commanding presence. This imagery expresses profound wishes for the boy: that he will embody both the tiger's earthly courage and the dragon's celestial wisdom, achieving greatness through the balance of complementary strengths.

Despite being in good condition, there are a few small tears present. Measuring 32 inches from sleeve-end to sleeve-end and standing at 38 inches in height (81.3 cm x 96.5 cm), its design is quite striking with these traditional symbols.