I found a copy of Die schönsten Kimonos in a Jimbochō bargain bin. It includes a reproduction of an 1893 book of kimono/obi patterns (visual, not structural), either entitled or prefaced with the characters "意匠斬新" (Ishō zanshin, "Design innovation"), and einem Nachwort von Peter Thiele.

Here's one pattern that caught my eye:

It's called 海底, "Ocean floor". I like the seaweed and general bloopy forms, but what's up with the 3D-graphics-demo-from-1989 spheres? Anyone know?

Another good one: 古瓦, "Old kawara".

The word kawara, by the way, is thought to come from the Sanksrit kapāla meaning "dish" or "skull". This makes it almost suspiciously good supporting evidence for the reconstructed sound change of non-morpheme-initial Japanese /h/ -- from "p" to "f" to "0/w".