The shawl-collared jacket, no size, is made of black poplin and features a red crepe de Chine liner. The inner collar area retains its original “Mitsukoshi, Tokyo” manufacturer’s tag. Includes a black obi-inspired multitiered sash with buckle end, and a pair of Western-style trousers with blue-and-white suspenders, with an inner pant pocket bearing its original hand-annotated Mitsukoshi label: “Specially made for Mr. Charles Chaplin, Mitsukoshi, Tokyo, Date May 32, Cut. G.F. K.” In fine condition, with some light looseness to the stitching, and a chip and old repairs to the sash buckle.
During Charlie Chaplin’s 1932 world tour promoting City Lights, his visit to Japan in May placed him unexpectedly close to one of the most consequential political assassinations in modern Japanese history. Chaplin arrived on May 14, 1932, at a moment of intense political instability marked by the rise of ultranationalist movements within the military. A group of radical naval officers had allegedly conceived an assassination plot that included killing Chaplin, a symbol of Western culture, during a welcome reception hosted by Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi. The plan was ultimately thwarted when the public announcement of the reception was delayed, preventing the conspirators from acting as intended.
Fate intervened the following day. While the officers carried out their attack and assassinated Prime Minister Inukai on May 15, 1932, Chaplin was not present. Instead, he was attending a sumo wrestling match alongside Inukai’s son, Inukai Takeru—an unplanned diversion that likely saved both of their lives.
Accompanied by several pieces of provenance related to the suit’s manufacture, Chaplin’s wearing of the suit in Japan, and his subsequent gifting of the suit to his friend, Frances Louise Ward, a model and MGM actress who befriended Chaplin in the early 1940s and, purportedly, played matchmaker with Chaplin and his fourth wife, Oona O'Neill. The accompaniments include:
- three modern prints of photographs depicting Chaplin in Japan in May 1932, each showing Chaplin wearing the offered suit and posing with his brother, Sydney Chaplin, his valet and secretary, Toraichi Kono, and politician Takeru Inukai, the son of Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi, who was assassinated on May 15, 1932, one day after Chaplin arrived in Japan.
- copy of a handwritten note from Frances Louise Ward, addressed to her daughter, Susan: “This silk scarf is for you when I pass! Charlie Chaplin gave me this scarf & the black silk suit in my closet with red lining & his suspenders! Also the brown silk kimono…His name is in the black suit.”
- copy of a notarized letter of provenance from Ward’s former husband, W. Shelby Coates, Jr., who states: “In December of 1959 we moved from a rented house into our permanent residence located at 200 Piping Rock Road, Locust Valley, Long Island, New York. After we unpacked she displayed for me two garments — a kimono and a suit — which she told me had been given to her in the nineteen forties by the renowned actor, director, producer, screenwriter, and composer: Charlie Chaplin.”
- copy of a letter from Toyotaro Okuda, archivist of Mitsukoshi, Ltd., who describes the suit’s background and history, in part: “The garment in the picture you enclosed seems to be the ‘Chaplin Jacket,’ which was highlighted in our in-house magazine ‘MITSUKOSHI,’ published on July 1st, 1932 (No. 22, 7) with the picture of three men, including Mr. Charlie Chaplin…According to the article, Mr. Chaplin designed this new style because he was eager to introduce the beauty of KIMONO into Western dresses. He was extremely satisfied with the jacket and proudly said that it would cause a sensation in his country's fashion industry…Regarding the label within the pocket, which says ‘Specially made for Mr. Charlie Chaplin Mitsukoshi Tokyo Date May 1932 Cutter GFK,’ we tried to find out what GFK indicates. At that time, Mitsukoshi had eight cutters, but we did not find anyone whose initials were GFK. We had a cutter named Jitaro Fukuda, but K is not included in his initials. Possibly it might be an abbreviation of sewing factory, but we are not sure.”
- signed letter of provenance from Ward's daughter, Susan White, who writes: "Charlie Chaplin gifted this black silk suit to my mother in 1943. My mother, Frances Louise Ward, was a top model and actress in NYC and a Hollywood starlet who was under contract with MGM studios. She had been in several films, including a Bette Davis film and a Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland film, and MGM Studios had positioned her to be one of their next new stars. MGM called her ‘the next Carole Lombard.’
My mother was introduced to Charlie by his son, Sydney, who brought my mother to Charlie’s house. She then became good friends with Charlie and was often a guest at his home, and had many happy times with him. Her friend, Oona O’Neill, told my mother that she had a crush on Charlie, so my mother introduced them on the phone. Oona later married Charlie and had eight children together.
Charlie was very proud of this silk suit. He said that he had it designed during his first trip to Japan in 1932 and wore it during his meetings with the Prime Minister’s son and the Emperor. There are photos of him wearing the suit with the Prime Minister’s son. Tragically, that same day, the Prime Minister, whom Charlie was to meet, was assassinated, so Charlie never met him.
Additionally, Charlie told my mother that the Emperor Hirohito of Japan gifted him a commemorative real gold and silk kimono during that trip, too. When Charlie gave the silk suit to my mother, he expressed that he wanted her to show it to the fashion world in NYC. This is also stated in the letter from the company that created the suit for him. They had told the story about it in their magazine. This is a very unique and beautiful silk suit that was designed and prized by Charlie Chaplin himself."
