Kimono

Last year, Yoshino Japanese Antiques was one of the featured segments on Lynette Jenning's Design which is shown on the Discovery Channel. The topic of the feature was kimono. Unfortunately the medium of television doesn't allow for in depth detail in such a short space of time, so we thought it appropriate to include a more detailed article about kimono. In the last fifty years, the wearing of Japan's traditional clothing has been relegated to a few special events, however, the kimono still represents the essence and the nature of Japan. The beauty of the kimono lies not only in its magnificent artistry of design and decoration, its underlining beauty is its ability to display the inner beauty and qualities of the wearer. In its straight lines the kimono does not accentuate the curves of the body as form fitting Western clothes do, in fact it negates them. However, because of the way the kimono is made and worn, it requires the wearer to move with grace and thoughtfulness, thus demonstrating the wearer's inner qualities. There are few things more graceful than someone who knows how to wear and move in a kimono. Kimono are worn by both women and men, but most of our discussions will be focused on women's kimono.

The Evolution of the Kimono

The term kimono which means "things to wear" is a relatively recent term for the traditional clothing of Japan. The term began to be used in the early to mid 19th century to distinguish Japanese clothing from yofuku, western clothing. Prior to that, it was called a kosode, which means "small sleeves" which refers not with the length of the sleeve but the sleeve's opening. The kosode actually began as an undergarment some thirteen hundred years ago, when the ladies of the court were wearing the kasane shozoku, the many layers of garments seen during the late Nara through the Heian period of the 8th to 11th centuries. This layered look is also known in more modern terms as juni-hitoe which literally means "twelve unlined garments". Twelve is somewhat of an arbitrary number since sometimes up to twenty layers may have been worn. Eventually, sumptuary laws of the Edo Period standardized the number of layers to five, the outer most of which was a robe called an karaginu. This robe would eventually evolve into the uchikake . The first inner layer was the kosode. This style of dress followed very strict protocols in which specific color sets of the layers took precedence over any design motifs. In fact, specific colors followed the Chinese convention of court rankings. Over the course of centuries, from the Muromachi period onward through the Edo period (1572- 1857), the kosode eventually became the outer garment. The multilayer style of sedentary court life was too restrictive for the active lifestyles of the samurai who preferred the single layer kosode instead. From about the late Muromachi period on, the uchikake became strictly a ceremonial robe worn only on special occasions. The single layer of the kosode freed the design aesthetic from the strict color sets of the layered style; now both color and decorative motifs were designed together.

By the mid Edo period, the ruling samurai class was feeling the financial pinch of their years of consumption. The lowest class in the social strata, urban merchants and artistians called chonin, were becoming the most affluent class. This shifting of economic status introduced the nouveau-riche chonin to the hedonistic world of the pleasure quarters of the large cities, such as the Yoshiwara in Edo, Shinmachi in Osaka and the Shimabara and Gion areas in Kyoto. In the floating world -ukiyo- fashion was dictated by courtesans and kabuki actors. Everyone was eager to see what new costume or fashion was being worn by their favorite actor or higher class courtesans in those areas. Ukiyo-e, the woodblock prints of the time, also were vehicles to display the fashions seen in those quarters. The chonin would then flock to their local textile merchants to have similar styles made. Of course, the samurai did not particularly like seeing all this conspicuous consumption by the chonin, so the shogunate enacted sets of sumptuary laws restricting the wearing of silks and luxurious textiles. These restrictions were pretty much ignored or circumvented by the chonin. Often they would wear luxurious silk linings under plain cotton kosode. Eventually, the sumptuary laws were more strictly enforced, but what resulted were new inventive designs of stripes and checks in indigo and other natural tones. The laws actually aided in the creation of a new fashion aesthetic. Kimono continued to be worn until the Meiji period (1867-1912) when Western clothing styles started making their way into the daily life of Japan. Men in particular were the first to change to Western style clothing. Although some of the adventurous, urbanite women wore western clothes, the majority of women continued to wear kimono up until WW II. However, after the war very few women wore kimono on a daily basis. Nowadays, kimono are mainly seen only at weddings, New Years, coming of age ceremonies or if a person is demonstrating a cultural art such as the tea ceremony.

What is a kimono

Patterns for making kimono are fairly simple and similar for everyone. It is essentially two widths of fabric draped over the shoulders and sewn in the back and sides. The sleeves are also folded-over widths sewn together to the other portion allowing for arm holes. There are also front pieces to allow the kimono to be wrapped and collar pieces and linings. This simple pattern changes very little from individual to individual. The height of kimono is adjusted by pulling up the kimono and letting it blouse over a small sash. The outer sash which holds everything together is called an obi, which we will discuss at greater length later.

We think of kimono as being made only of silk but they can actually be made from a number of different fabrics. There are different silks used ,such as reeled silk , crepes, spun silk, silk gauze, leno weave gauze. In addition to silk, fabrics made of cotton, linen, wool and now synthetic fibers are also used. Kimono are said to be either woven kimono or dyed kimono depending on whether the fabric was dyed before or after weaving. Kasuri (thread resist dyeing), striped, checked patterns are usually predyed before weaving.

Examples of dyed kimono fabrics are: katazome (stencil rice paste resist), roke-tsu (wax resist), kata komon (stencil small design), tegaki-zome and tsutsugaki (hand drawn rice paste resist), muji-zome (patternless monochrome dyeing) and yuzen -zome both (hand drawn and stencil starch resist dyeing). Yuzen dyeing was an important dyeing technique to the artistry and popularity of the kimono. It was said to have been developed by Miyazaki Yuzen who was a Kyoto fan painter around the Genroku era (1688- 1704). His rice paste resist dyeing method allowed freehand designs to be drawn and brushed with color which gave the kimono the look of a painting. The kimono became a canvas for the design artist. Yuzen-zome first became the rage of Kyoto then it spread throughout all of Japan. Another stencil dyeing process is called bingata which originated in Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa) and was adopted by the mainland.

Kimono Styles

There are many types and styles of kimono which are worn depending of the formality of the occasion, the age of the wearer, their marital status, time of day, and time of season. In addition to colors and styles, the way kimono are worn differs between whether it is a single or married woman. All of these factors come into play when deciding what kimono is appropriate to wear and how to wear it. Those conventions dictating which kimono is appropriate developed over the Edo period and those rules are still observed today when kimono are worn.

The most formal kimono is the kuro tomesode which is dyed black with decorative motif from the obi to the hem. Family crests are either stenciled or embroidered on it. Married women wear kuro tomesode. It is lined with white silk either in rinzu (raised pattern) or plain. Next in formality is the iro tomesode. which is similar in style except that it is colored rather than black.

If you are single and the occasion is festive, then you wear the furisode, literally swinging sleeves. Furisode are usually very colorful in order to attract the eye of young men. The long flowing sleeves of the furisode are also supposed to beckon men toward them. There are varying sleeve lengths: oburisode (the longest), chuburisode (medium), and kofurisode (the shortest).There are black furisode which used to be worn on very formal occasions for single women. The furisode was developed during the Edo period and was said to have come from the kabuki actors and courtesans of the pleasure quarters.

If you are visiting or attending semiformal occasions you may wear a homongi kimono, literally visiting wear. It is somewhat less formal and usually has lining that is different than the material on the outside. It is decorated with full patterns. Sleeve length varies according to marital status. One must be careful when choosing the appropriate homongi because your kimono should not outshine that of the host you are visiting.

There are the very special occasion kimono such as the pure white shiromuku , wedding kimono. The purity of the white silk symbolically represents the bride's acceptance of her cloth being dyed into the color that her husband sees fit, i.e. fittting into her new family situation. Also seen at weddings are the elaborate uchikake robes which are worn over kakeshita kimono. As we stated before, the uchikake was the outer robe worn by the court ladies and the samurai ladies prior to the Muromachi period. The robe was worn off the shoulders during the heat of the summer months and was bound together by a kakeshita obi. Usually uchikake can be determined by the red or white silk lining at hem which is heavy padded with cotton to hold the hem down. There are kimono for times of mourning called mofuku which are black with family crests and no decorative motives. At this time, it is probably appropriate to mention the dressing convention when one dies. The body is dressed in a kimono and the right side is wrapped over the left, opposite of the usual left side over the right.

Kimono are also classified according to the type of materials, dyeing, patterns and the regions where they come from as well. There are tsumugi which is spun silk kimono. Tsumugi was the silk used after the best grades were sold. Usually stripes, checks and kasuri (thread resist dyeing) are the patterns used for most tsumugi kimono. Another style of tsumugi is the Kihachijo, this type was produced on Kihachijo island near Edo (Tokyo). It is dyed in yellows, brown and blacks usually in striped or check patterns.

Other kimono types are iro muji which are single-colored figured silks which have raised, repeating patterns woven-in such as mon rinzu, these can be worn on formal or informal occasion by women of either marital status. When a crest is stenciled or embroidered it is a formal kimono. Tsukeage kimono are dyed in a specfic way from the hemline front and back to the top of the shoulders of the back and top of the sleeves. Komon kimono are patterned kimono made by stencil dyeing, the fabric is usually figured silks, spun silks or crepe. Another kimono type is called omeshi , which originally was the term that described the type of kimono worn by court ladies, later this the name was used for a certain type of heavy silk crepe in which the silk thread is resist dyed and woven together. Although wool had to be imported, it was a material used in both winter and summer kimono. The one advantage to wool was that it did not require the kimono to be taken apart to be cleaned.

Katabira were unlined summer kosode/kimono made of silk. They were as luxuriously decorated as lined kosode. Many of us are familiar with the next type of kimono, called the yukata.. The yukata is an unlined, cotton summer kimono usually decorated in medium sized patterns. It is usually worn at hot spring spas. It can also be worn by men at summer festivals. Yukata are unlined and no underkimono is worn. Geta (wooden platform shoes) are usually worn with them as opposed to tabi (split toed socks) and zori (sandal type shoes) worn with other kimono. Another summer kimono is the jofu ,which is high quality handwoven linen.

Obi

All kimono are worn with an obi sash hat keeps the kimono wrapped around the body. Prior to the Azuchi-Momoyamama period the obi was a braided, blind stitched cord which was wrapped around the kimono. Its only function was to hold the wrapped kimono in place. It was tied in the front, side or back dependent on the preference of the wearer. The obi that began the transition to the obi styles that we are most familar with is the nagoya obi. It was a braided cord with tassels on the ends which was wrapped around the body about four times to make a wider waistband. From the mid Edo period the obi became a wider woven piece and with its wider width, its importance as a design element increased as well. There is a story that the reason obi got so wide was because there was a famous onnagata (kabuki actor who plays female roles) whose body was long. In order for him to appear shorter, he wore a wider obi, which became the rage for the general populace. Whether this is true or not, it makes a nice story. But one thing is certain and that was that the courtesans and prostitutes also wore wide obi and that trend was probably picked up by the chonin from them. In either case it shows the fashion influence that the denizens of the floating world had on the general public. Obi were tied in the front to mimic the prostitutes of the pleasure districts, but later the convention was changed to having single women tie theirs in the back and married women tie in the front. The intricate musubi (bows) worn by single ladies came directly from Kabuki actors who were noted for the new ways they would tie their obi. People would emulate the latest intricate obi bows worn by the onnagata. There are hundreds of different ways the obi can be tied. Later, we will list a few of the more popular styles.

Obi can be both woven and dyed textiles. The artistry that is used in kimono fabrication is also used in obi. Widths of obi also vary. Generally men's obi fall into two categories soft (heko) or stiff (kaku). There are many more choices of obi for women. The most formal is the maru-obi.. It is fully patterned (zentsu ) on both sides, so it is a double width which is lined, folded over and sewn together. It is usually double the width of ordinary obi at about 12 inches wide. It is folded over and stiffened with a lining. Maru-obi are traditionally worn with the most formal kimono: tomesode, furisode and homongi. Now, however, it is rarily worn with tomesode, and is mostly seen on ceremonial occasions such as weddings. Like the accompanying kimono, the single ladies maru-obi is brightly decorated and brocaded to attract the eye. Married womens colors and patterns tend to be more subtle. The fukuro (double fold) obi is next in line in the formality rankings. It can be worn at both formal and semiformal occasions. There are two types real double fold and sewn double fold, with sewn double fold the more common these days. The fukuro-obi normally has only sixty percent of the front of the obi decorated or patterned (called rokutsu), the back side is plain.

Another style is the nagoya obi , but not the same as the nagoya obi of the Momoyama period. This type of obi first appeared in the Taisho period (1912-1926). It usually is seen with half of its length being half width with no decoration and the remaining length is full width with decoration. Odori obi , as its name implies, was originally for odori dancing.These obi which are not as wide as maru-obi are the longest and can be worn on semiformal occasions.Haraawase obi are nonformal obi which are made by sewing two pieces of cloth over a stiff lining. These were introduced and worn during the Meiji and Taisho periods. Hitoe obi are unlined, woven obi usually worn in the summer months, so they can be worn with causal kimono or a yukata. Han haba obi , the most informal, are half width obi worn casually at home.

There are other accessories that accompany the obi depending on its formality. The obi ita is inserted between the obi and the kimono to keep the kimono from being wrinkled. The obi makura is a pad which is worn in the back and used to shape the obi bow. The obi-jime is a decoratively woven cord which is wrapped around the obi and tied in front. The obi-age is a silk crepe bustle sash which covers the obi pad and keeps the obi upper edge in place. It is usually seen just above the obi. The obi dome is a pin or a broach that is worn in the front of the obi.

Obi Bows

Obi were tied in the back for single women, and this convention eventually was adopted for married women as well. It is said that there are almost five hundred different ways of tieing an obi bow. Musubi, bows or knots, have a significance in Japan that go beyond their technical intricacies. Musubi was sometimes written with the Chinese characters meaning "living spirit". Knots were often, in early times, given as a token of love or an amulet to ward off evil spirits. The beauty of the obi is shown off by the how the bow is tied. One of the first wide obi bows seen was the darari-musubi. It was a large, flowing, loosely tied knot that was worn with furisode by Kabuki actors and courtesans. Another bow is the taiko musubi which means drum bow. Its name actually comes from the Taiko-bashi bridge at the Tenjin Shrine in Tokyo and was developed for its opening ceremony. There are many variations of this popular bow such as the niju-daiko which literally means double drum bow but also means to double one's joy. There is also the fukuju bow which is named after a grass but also is the homonymn for good fortune and longevity. There are also standing arrows, plump sparrow, plover bows, box bows. The list goes on and on, for it is a topic all unto itself.

The Artistry of the Kimono

In Japan, there was no clear distinction beween the fine arts and decorative arts as there is in Western countries. Artists of the Edo period would often lend their artistic talents to the decoration of different media such as ceramics, lacquerware, and also kosode/ kimono.There were many famous artists of the Edo period who painted decorative motifs on the kimono of their well-to-do patrons. Ogata Korin whose family were Kyoto textile merchants, was such an artist, as was Nanga artist Matsumura Goshun. The Rimpa school provided the kimono with a myriad of design possibilites through the ages. It was not uncommon for a kosode designer to copy a famous painting as a subject for the kosode. The subject matter for kosode/kimono decoration was the same as that of other artistic media except that the "canvas" of the kosode required a different scale.

The artistry of the kimono is the culmination of the highest level of the artistic brush, textile production, dyeing and embroidery techniques. It was the textile, dyeing and embroidery artisians that were challenged to come up with fresh designs. Many of these designs were documented in books that were used as notes for other artisans working on the kimono. Kosode/ kimono were not only considered art that you wore but artitself. Often remanants of kosode were mounted onto painted screens as part of the decorative design of the screen, usually applied to a painted iko, kimono stand. These are reminescent of the Tagasode, the suggestive "Whose Sleeves?" paintings of the Edo period.

Design motifs, color selection, embroidery, and type of fabric were all important considerations in kimono making. Beyond the artistic rendering of the design, the motif may have important emotional meaning to the owner. Designs may be allusions to Chinese classics or Noh plays, establishing a certain cultural status for the wearer. Designs may have auspicious meanings as well. For example, tortoise and crane designs represent longevity , fans represent prosperity, bamboo represent flexibity, and pine trees symbolize fidelity.

Colors are equally important in evoking feelings and mood. Everyone understood the allusions associated with the colors worn. Reds were considered sensual, and purple had an undying love connotation, most likely from Lady Mursaki's Tales of Genji. Colors also had seasonal appropriateness: white and green for early spring; pink, lavender and green for late spring; yellow with maroon for summer; purple or red with white for the fall. Of course, many of these color combinations followed the seasonal flowers, which were the most comon motifs used to designate the seasonal dress codes. If a kimono is painted with a silver decoration (silver being a cool color) it is usually a summer kimono. Shochikubai: - pine, plum, and bamboo motifs are only seen in the winter, sakura cherry blossoms in the spring, iris in the early summer, chrysanthemums and red maples in the fall. All the colors associated with these plants and flowrs have their seasonal appropriateness.

Color sensibilities changed over the years as well. After the sumptuary laws were enacted and enforced, certain colors could only be worn by certain people. Reds made of safflowers, benibana which was very expensive, were only to be worn by samurai class. Purple was restricted to the court and the upper echelon of the clergy. Dyers were clever in using substitute dyes for the reds and purples, thereby circumventing the restrictions. But the laws eventually had their impact as more white ground was employed, then eventually the bright colors shifted into more somber shades of indigo blues and browns, first worn by the kabuki actors, then adopted by the townspeople. Even the nobility, who were free to wear restricted clothing chose the more somber colors, mostly influenced by the style of dress and frugal nature of Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune. Of course, these restrictions were removed when the shogunate was abolished, but by then subdued colors had already become ingrained into the aesthetic of Japan.

Design motif and placement during the Edo period

Over the course of the Edo period, design changes were dictated by the fashion of the moment. In the early part of the Edo period, kosode/kimono the majority of the design covered the back. From the middle toward the latter part of the 17th c. the design on the back swept from the seam of left sleeve to the middle of the right sleeve and then the design would sweep down to the hem from the bottom of the right sleeve. The design changed in the latter 17th c when the design swept from the left top shoulder sleeve to the bottom of the right sleeve. Over successive decades the design again took up more area on the back of the kimono. These are called the Kanbun styles, after the era in which they were the most prominent. This progression of design continued until the early 1700's when the obi became the center of attention. The widening obi changed the designs on kimono since it broke up the plain of the kosode/kimono into two sections. After the mid 1700's, the kimono design areas were sectioned off to top and bottom due to the width of the obi. This style lasted until the latter 18th century, then the designs were placed on the hems of the kosode/kimono. During the remainder of the 19th century, the hem and outer edges of the kimono were the areas of decoration, with the obi commanding the majority of attention. With the focus on it, the obi decoration became as elaborate as the kimono. All the skills accumulated though the centuries by dyers, weavers, and embroiders were used to make obi.

Kimono which are made from the finest silks, dyed in the yuzen-zome style and are hand embroidered are extremely expensiveprobably comparable to the haute couture of Paris . It is not uncommon for a fine kimono to cost in the $30,000 to $60,000 range which is why kimono rentals are more popular than purchases in Japan these days. A collection of kimono and obi was quite an investment, which is why a geisha would spend a good portion of her life paying off that debt.

Care of kimono

Most people are unaware that the kimono of old, except those made of wool which can be dry cleaned, must be taken apart to be washed, block dried and resewn together. That is why one must take care in wearing kimono not to soil them. Usually kimono are aired out after each wearing then folded along the seams and stored in stiff folding paper storage wrappers,tatogami.. They are usually stored flat on shelves and the drawers of kimono tansu. Woll and synthetic fibers, of course can be dry cleaned.

Kimono and obi in today's world

It takes about ten minutes to dress in a formal kimono including all the appropriate undergarments padding, underkimono, kimono, obi bustles, obi and its accessories. Of course, these days there are pre-tied obi bows which expedite the process a little. In the past the conventions of kimono wearing were passed down from mother to daughter. Unfortunately, now most mothers don't know how to wear a kimono properly themselves, so they don't know how to instruct their daughters. There are now schools which give classes on how to wear the kimono. These schools are also tasked with effort to preserve kimono as a cultural icon. It is inevitable that everything changes including styles and fashions of clothing. That's why it's important to try preserve this art and understand it's place in history.

Western appreciation of the beauty and craftsmanship of kimono and obi is usually expressed by hanging these articles of clothing on our walls. We appreciate them as art to beautify our homes and brighten our surroundings. Take the time to look over different types and styles of kimono and soon you'll develop an eye to discern good from not-so-good. Whether it's an elaborately decorated uchikake or a colorful yuzen dyed furisode, either make wonderful wall hangings. It is recommended that if you are going to keep these pieces hung up for long periods of time, you encase them in UV protected plexiglass box in order to prevent the color from fading due to sunlight. Obi, of course, make great table runners, accent pieces draped around windows and furniture, or they can be made into pillows, vests or jackets. We hope you enjoyed this article as much as we did writing it.

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