Video: Japanese Family Crests and Kimono

A quick introduction to Japanese family crests and their use in kimono, with special guest star Cat! He is very bad at being quiet when he wants your attention, and shutting him out of the room will just make him grab the bottom of the door with his paws and bang it in its frame. lol So I decided to try to have some fun with him being in the background. Thanks for watching!

How To Build a Smart Kimono Wardrobe

Here is my video, a reader request on how to build a smart kimono wardrobe. Let me know if you have any questions or ideas for future videos, and thanks for watching!

Youtube Channel Revamp, and New Video Every Thursday!

Exciting news! I’ve decided to revamp my Youtube channel and move to a more conventional (and much easier to create) Youtube talking-at-the-camera format, which will let me move to a weekly posting schedule. I’ll cover your questions, requests, and interesting info about kimono and traditional Japanese culture every Thursday.

 Wish me luck, and let me know if you have any questions or requests!

Maiko, Oiran, Geisha: What is the Difference?

Happy Holidays, everyone!

I've made a video version of one of the most popular posts on this blog, the basic visual differences between a geisha, maiko, and oiran. Hope y'all enjoy!

Kimono Seasonal Motifs, Colors and Flowers: Finished!

Here it is, my final post containing the text-only translations for August-February, plus links to the other months already done. (For why I'm stopping this blog, please see here.)

This has been a really intense, interesting project and I learned a lot from doing it. I hope it will be helpful to you and please let me know (on Facebook or Tumblr) if you have any questions about something in the translation.

The source for this translation is a tea ceremony website, as a note, and therefore the rules are much stricter than for everyday wear.

(If you're looking to buy kimono, I recommend Rakuten for new ones, especially casual wear, and Ichiroya for nice vintage ones!)

One last request: Please credit me if you copy and post this elsewhere. I've been working on this project for almost a year. Thank you!

March

April

May

June

July

August

Kimono

Light-weight/sheer materials like ro, sha, and hemp. The beginning of the month is still the height of summer so hemp rather than silk is still predominant. With fabrics like Echigo, Ojiya, and Noto, when they are dyed it gives a nice feeling of coolness if a white background is used.

After the first official day of autumn (around August 8), dark colors are desirable. Things like ro and sha silks are the same: after the first day of autumn dark color backgrounds are preferred to white, as they help create the sense of coming fall.

Patterns are mostly autumn plants and flowers, as we want to express without delay the coming of the season. The beauty of light-weight (sheer) kimono is in one who wears their transparent beauty skillfully.(1)

Obi

Hemp obi are paired with hemp (linen) kimono. Ro obi are paired with ro kimono, and sha fukuro obi with sha kimono. Outside of fukuro obi, ones like ra (silk-gauze) Nagoya/fukuro or dyed Nagoya ro obi can be used.

Obi for this time are lightweight as the aim is to endure the heat of the season.

Choosing colors like light beige, tea (brown), and light light blue (mizu-asagi) 70A19F that refresh us and pairing them with patterns that look like plain colors from a distance but show themselves to be small designs close up is beautiful. The most important thing to remember about the color scheme is that it should create a feeling of coolness.

Komono

Obiage are ro or mon-sha in plain colors or gradations, while thin kumihimo style obijime are used.

Use silk nagajuban with silk kimono, and hemp nagajuban with hemp kimono.

Collars should also match the nagajuban they are attached to in terms of fabric: a silk ro collar for a silk nagajuban.

Footwear will be made of things like vinyl or panama: any summer-like material that gives a sense of coolness.

Colors:

Dark blue (nou-kon), white (shiro), light light blue, aster violet (shion-iro), off-white (kinari), tea, crimson (aka or sha), transparent background material using dark colors.

Patterns:

Japanese pampas grass (susuki), pinks (nadeshiko), bush clover (hagi), Chinese bellflower (kikyou), or any of the classical “seven fall plants” (nana-kusa), Asiatic dayflower (tsuyukusa), flowing water or rivers (ryuusui), insects (mushi): anything that invites the feeling of autumn is a good choice.

Flowers Associated with August

Cotton rose (fuyou), Asiatic dayflower, Joseph’s coat (hageitou), bush clover, Chinese bellflower, Japanese pampas grass (obana), thoroughwort (fuji-bakama), Japanese arrowroot (kuzu), morning glory (asagao), patrinia (ominaeshi), mizu-hiki-sou (no English name), Job’s tears (ju-zu-dama).

Patterns Associated with August

Dragonflies (tombo), Chinese lantern plant (houzuki), lightning (inazuma), swirls or whirlpools of water (uzu-maki)

(1) You always wear two layers under a kimono, one the underkimono and one a simple shift, so in case you’re wondering no one’s running around in see-through kimono alone during August. ;)

September

Kimono: Sheer or unlined. The first part of the month is the final days of summer, and sheer ro is used. Sha, being lighter than ro, can be worn during middays on especially hot days. Choose colors, materials, and patterns that are reminiscent of autumn.

On September 9, which is the traditional “Chrysanthemum Festival” in the old “Five Seasonal Festivals” calendar, kimono change over to unlined.

Fabrics like hitokoshi chirimen, kawari chirimen, and mon-ishou are suitable, but brilliant rinzu silks are to be avoided.

Colors that harmonize with nature at this time of year are good choices: deep blue, grey, scarlet, yellow ochre, light tea, and colors that are tinged with yellow.

Patterns center around things like autumn grasses, cages for insects, and flutes. Dyed patterns shift from monochrome to color.

Obi:

Ro tapestry (tsuzure) is best, because while sheer fabric weaves like ro and sha are used in fukuro obi this month, just as they were in July and August, it’s good to suggest the coming fall by using a slightly heavier material.

Unlined kimono (not just sheer ones) can be tied with a ro tapestry obi. However, in the last third of the month obi change over to fabrics like brocade (nishiki-ori), tapestry weave (tsuzure), and pongee (tsumugi).

Calm colors in neutral hues are appropriate. Create a stylish, high-end look by carefully balancing the lights and darks of your outfit through your kimono and obi choices. Consider also how the pattern of your obi will harmonize with the pattern of your kimono.

Accessories:

Obi-age are ro, obi-jime are slightly thin. Naga-juban (underlayer kimono) are ro, as well as han-eri (collars). For footwear, summer zori in dark colors are beautiful.

Original Author’s Notes:

Kimono fabrics are ro in the first half of the month and solid, unlined ones (hitoe) starting mid-month. While September usually sees ro used for naga-juban and han-eri, they can be traded for heavier material if cold weather arrives.

Ro obi are worn with ro kimono, and obi made of things like ro-tapestry and brocade are worn with unlined kimono.

Colors:

Deep navy (fukai kon) 1A4472, light ink grey (usuzumi) 939598, ochre (oudo-iro) BA8448, scarlet (ake) ED1A3D, light tea (usu-cha) C5956B, grape (ebi-iro or budou-iro) 691C2A. Starting at the beginning of the month, slowly add warmth (warm colors) to monochrome outfits.

Patterns:

Wear ones like combinations of the “seven grasses of fall”* (nanakusa) or insect cages (mushi-kago) until mid-month. After that switch to chrysanthemums (kiku), the moon (tsuki), flutes (fue), and gourds (hyoutan).

*The seven all together are: bush clover (hagi), Chinese bellflower (kikyou), arrowroot (kuzu), thoroughwort (fujibakama), patrinia (ominaeshi), pampas grass (susuki), and pinks (nadeshiko).

Flowers Associated with September:

Fields of flowers (hana-no) filled with the “seven grasses of fall”, small chrysanthemums (ko-giku), Asiatic dayflower (tsuyu-kusa), burnet (waremokou), mizubiki-gusa (no English name, but the Latin is “Polygonum filiforme”).

Patterns Associated with September:

Pine crickets (matsu-mushi), bell crickets (suzu-mushi), insect cages, the first wild geese of the season (hatsu-kari), grass with dew (tsuyu-shiba), and flutes and taiko drums due to autumn festivals.

More Original Author’s Notes:

Regarding wearing unlined kimono in the first part of autumn:

September is the same as June in that technically sheer items should not be worn. However, given that the weather can still be hot in the last lingering days of summer, summer transparent fabrics can be worn during the first part of month if the kimono gives a sense of the coming fall through its color and the obi matched with it.

Because the weaker fall sunlight is tinged with yellow, kimono that are too white or too bright will look dull.

With sheer kimono in sha, ro, or the like, choose a dark, deep color background over a white one. Colors reference the colors seen blooming in fall fields, like the purple of the bush clover (hagi), the yellow of the patrinia (ominaeshi), and the brown of burnet.

A naga-juban’s color should be similar or complementary to the kimono used.

The 9^th of September is called “Chou-you”, and is the Chrysanthemum Festival, one of the traditional Five Festivals (Sekku). The meaning of the name “Chou-you” (literally “increase of days”) is that you have two 9s: the 9 of September and the 9 of the day itself. So the two 9s pile up.

This festival originates in China, and during the Heian time it was called “chrysanthemum season” in the imperial court. On that day poets and authors were invited to write pieces and enjoy chrysanthemum sake.

In addition to the chrysanthemum sake, in a typical household there was the custom of the “cotton cloth” (kisewata). A cloth would be covered with chrysanthemum petals, and once the cloth was infused with the scent of the flowers you would cleanse yourself with it. The belief was it would purify you and keep away illness.

October

Kimono:

The calendar switches over to lined kimono as we enter the month we can call “The Chrysanthemum Month.” Appropriately colored rinzu silks and beautifully lustrous fabric with woven patterns are preferred. Since long ago the colors for this time have been the many true ones of fall, such as calm reds, yellows, browns, black, and red-brown (azuki-iro).

Patterns are overwhelmingly dominated by chrysanthemum. Next are dignified ones like scrolls of sutras or religious writings (kyou-kan), scattered treasures (takara-zukushi) or classical court patterns (yuu-soku).

On plain kimono, it’s nice to have the lining at the bottom hem feature a seasonal pattern.

Other than rinzu silk, chirimen is also worn.

Obi

We could also call October “Shioze Month,” as both dyed Nagoya and dyed fukuro obi are made of shioze silk. For motifs, hand-drawn chrysanthemums are especially popular this month so it’s fun to try creating interesting coordinates of kimono and obi with them.

Woven Nagoya obi of the same formality (light, casual) can be used as well.

When it comes to brocade fukuro obi, keep them as casual as possible. Stylish fukuro obi are good, too. Patterns are dignified ones like “famous imported patterns” (mei-butsu-gire) and patterns reminiscent of Noh theater costumes (nou-shou-zoku).

Accessories

Obi-age are made of things like winter-weight rinzu or chirimen in plain or shibori styles. Obi-jime are flat style (hira-uchi, also known as hira-gumi) or yurugi style.

Because yurugi-style obi-jime can be worn throughout the year, they are very handy for tea ceremony wear. Naga-juban feature the same lined sleeves as winter-weight ones, but are unlined in the chest area. Collars are also fabric like shioze habutae silk or chirimen. Footwear is “enamel”(vinyl) zouri.

Original Author’s Notes:

Regarding the color of the lining of the skirt, if it matches the kimono itself in color that will give the garment a high-class feel. Also, a monochrome pattern matched according to your personal tastes works well, too.

Colors

“Fallen leaf” warm yellow-orange (kuchiba-iro), tea brown (cha-iro), yellow ochre (oudo-iro), asa-murasaki (light purple), reddish-brown (azuki-iro), gold (kin), silver (gin), ink black (sumi-iro)

Patterns:

Chrysanthemums along a wooden fence (magaki-giku), gingko (ichou), autumn leaves/fall colors (kouyou), nuts/fruits/berries (ki-no-mi), scattered treasures (takara-zukushi), classical court patterns (yuu-soku).

Flowers Associated with October:

Large-bloom chrysanthemums (tairin-no-kiku), spider mums (ran-giku), small chrysanthemums (ko-giku), wild chrysanthemums (no-giku), fall colors, gingko, ivy (tsuta), fallen leaves (ochi-ba).

Patterns Associated with October:

Ears of rice (inaho), grapes (budou), persimmon (kaki), flutes (fue) and drums (taiko) due to fall festivals, and sparrows (suzume) and small clapper-style instruments (naruko) due to rice.

More Original Author Notes:

Regarding the beginning of wearing lined kimono during the “simple” (wabi) tea ceremony season:

This month marks the end of using the portable furnace for heating water during the tea ceremony. It’s nice to have a tea room that feels old or worn-out, in the spirit of the “remains” (nagori) of the season. This word, “remains”, comes from the tea leaves used to make both thick and light tea. Chatsubo, the pot used to store a year’s supply of tea leaves, runs out around now and always has a few leaves left around the mouth of the pot after a year of use, and these are called “remains” and honored with the “nagori-no-chaji” tea ceremony.

October kimono should also reflect the “wabi” spirit and be subdued and tasteful.

With tasteful, subdued color kimono, wear an obi with fall scenery drawn in black, and an obijime in a color like red or yellow to give the sense of autumn leaves and color. This way we can truly match the feeling of the season, don’t you think?

Choose colors that match the season in fabrics like chirimen or rinzu, and go with moderate or subtle patterns when wearing kimono like houmongi or tsukesage. For komon, go with small patterns like flowers or fallen leaves. Whichever you choose, stick with only a few colors, close to a monochrome color scheme.

November

Kimono

Kimono are lined and made of fabrics like rinzu and donsu (damask) silk with patterns woven into the fabric itself, mon-ishou. The woven patterns are interlocking Buddhist swastikas (sayagata), chrysanthemums, chintz (sarasa), crepe weave (nashi-ji), and dignified ones like scraps of old patterns mixed together (kodai-gire) are suitable.

Also, for tea ceremony we want to avoid shiny and lustrous fabrics to help create a tasteful atmosphere. With chirimen, choose chirimen of a rough, bumpy texture to help deepen the feeling of fall.

Colors are autumn ones that are soft and dark like yellow ochre (ou-do-iro), beige (be-ju), dried-leaf brown (kareha-iro), green tea (matcha), vermillion/scarlet (shu-iro), and dark red (enji). Beyond these colors, gray (gure-) and navy (kon) can be charming as well.

Preferred patterns are fall flowers or fruits, nuts, berries,  or picture scrolls depicting natural scenes. The “kuchikiri-no-chaji” tea ceremony, when the seal is broken on a jar of tea for the next year, is like New Year’s for tea people, so kimono with family crests and formal outfits are worn.

Obi

Fukuro obi with flowers done in Chinese brocade (kara-nishiki) are suitable. However, big patterns should be avoided. Even if they’re younger-looking, go with small or medium patterns.

Use patterns like ones reminiscent of Noh theater costumes (nou-shou-zoku) and classical court ones (yuu-soku). For dyed obi, you can also use ones with tea flowers (cha-ka) drawn on them.

Accessories

Obi-age are plain or shibori made with fabrics like rinzu and chirimen. Suitable obi-jime are ones like kara-gumi style or yurugi style. Naga-juban are made of fabrics like rinzu with lined sleeves and an unlined chest area. Hada-juban (the underwear layer worn beneath the naga-juban) are made of gauze. Collars are white shioze habutae silk.

For footwear, it’s good to choose deep, dark color “enamel” (vinyl) zouri with a slightly high heel.

Original Author’s Notes: “Kai-ro”, when people start using the built-in hearth in a temple or tea ceremony, is equivalent to the New Year’s first tea ceremony, so bright and showy kimono are allowed.

Colors

Yellow ochre, “fallen leaf” warm yellow-orange (kuchiba-iro), green tea (matcha-iro), navy, silver-grey (gin-nezu), orange (daidai-iro), and dark red.

Patterns

Fruits/nuts/berries, wild chrysanthemums (no-giku), fruit, wild geese (kari), a mix of scattered nature and court patterns (go-sho-doki), patterns coming from old stories and legends (mono-gatari), and classical court patterns (yuu-soku).

Flowers Associated with November

Camellia (tsubaki), which can be used from October to April, scattered fall leaves (chiri-kou-you), gingko (ichou), a medley of fruits/plants (fukiyose), Chinese aster (kan-giku), Christmas camellia (sazanka), bamboo (take) due to the peaking of new leaves on bamboo at this time called “bamboo spring”(take-no-haru), and pine needles (matsu-ba), which can be used from now until the “first bath” (hatsu-yu) of spring in April.

Patterns Associated with November

Fruit/nuts/berries, bamboo due to “bamboo spring”, and cranes (tsuru).

More Original Author Notes:

The “kuchikiri-no-chaji” (“breaking of the seal ceremony”) tea ceremony in November follows the “end” of the tea ceremony year in October. From this month on, we start using new tea and to do this break the seal on a new jar of tea for the year. With this and the return to using the built-in hearth ceremony (kai-ro), it’s like a new year has begun for tea people. This ceremony in formality is much like the actual New Year tea ceremony.

If you are invited to a kuchikiri-no-chaji or kai-ro ceremony, wear a kimono with crests paired with a formal obi featuring a classy pattern. In this situation there is a need for formality. It’s appropriate to wear high-level patterns like old court patterns (koten) or houmongi or tsukesage with fall-like painted patterns, don't you think? Obi are brocade-weave (nishiki-ori) fukuro obi.

Also, on the holiday called Culture Day, we can see various traditional events and activities, including “ryuu-rei”, where a tea ceremony is done with a table and chairs. In the case of this sort of tea ceremony, nice-quality items or ones that are a little showy are appropriate. Obi can also be less formal, with ones like woven Nagoya ok to wear.

December

Lined kimono are worn. In the case of fabrics that have patterns woven into them, the type called “mon-ishou” is a good choice. Patterns include small, repeating ones like crepe weave (nashi-ji), interlocking Buddhist swastikas (sayagata), interlocking chrysanthemums (muji-na-giku), and arabesques (kara-kusa) done in a slightly glossy sheen. If chirimen is used, go with hitokoshi-chirimen or kawari-chirimen.

For patterns, we can generally see ones like the “loyal retainer” (giji) or “safety in the home” wishes (ka-nai-an-zen) style of tiny, repeating patterns (edo-komon). Choose unsaturated colors like grey (gure-), purple-chestnut brown (murasaki-kuri-iro), or reddish-brown (azuki-iro).

When going to a tea ceremony in pongee silk (tsumugi), wear a plain or dyed one. Splash pattern kimono (kasuri), even high-priced ones, are not appropriate and should be avoided.

Obi

Fukuro obi, Nagoya obi, chuya obi: the point of any kind of brocade obi in this situation is not to be flashy. Instead, choose restrained monochrome designs in lacquer (urushi) or gold and silver leaf (kin-gin-haku). With a less-formal komon kimono, a pongee obi works as well. Patterns are ones like “treasure house” large stylized circles (shou-so-in), arabesques (kara-kusa), and various chintzes (sarasa). The idea is to bring the whole body together through the choices of pattern for both kimono and obi.

Accessories

Obi-age are plain-color chirimen while obi-jime are plain-color yurugi style: accessories should have a look of clean simplicity.

Naga-juban become lined, while collars are white shioze habutae or chirimen silk. Footwear is leather or “enamel” (vinyl) zouri, and with slightly-low heels will look sharp. Coats are essential for the cold weather. Long kimono coats (douchuugi) are appropriate. Plain, deep colors and fine patterns (komon) are appropriate.

Original Author’s Notes:

When considering colors, it’s good to match the naga-juban in terms of brightness to the colors of the kimono itself.

Colors

White, grey, reddish-brown, brilliant scarlet (hi-iro), madder red (akane-iro), reddish-purple (ko-dai-murasaki), mustard yellow (karashi-iro), dark green (shin-ryoku).

Patterns

Fallen leaves (ochi-ba), Chinese aster (kan-giku), barren fields (kare-no), barren winter trees (fuyu-kodachi), nandina (nan-ten), arabesques and chintzes.

Flowers Associated with December

Daffodils (sui-sen), coral berry (man-ryou), Japanese allsprice (rou-bai), combinations of chrysanthemums, camellia, and bamboo

Patterns Associated with December

Snowy landscapes (yuki-geshiki), barren fields, snowy mountains (fuyu-yama), frost-covered trees (ju-hyou), floating sleeping birds (uki-ne-dori), Japanese citrus (yuzu)

More Original Author Notes:

Wearing lined kimono at the year’s end: For tea ceremony lessons, when wearing informal materials like wool or pongee (tsumugi) there are many chances to wear them, but be careful about how informal your outfit is.

Newly-available materials include synthetic kimono, which you can wash in your washing machine at home and come in a variety of patterns and colors.

With komon or a plain kimono, young women can wear a narrow (hanhaba) obi tied in a butterfly knot (chou-musubi) or bow-tie knot (ichi-mon-ji). Those who prefer a stylish look can wear a woven Nagoya obi of the hassun variety.

For kimono colors, go with light colors but not a variety of them all at once, and for komon kimono choose smaller rather than larger patterns.

There is a word: “from the beginning to the end” (pin-kara-kiri-made). This “kiri” refers to an ending, in the case of this month the end of the year. There is another “kiri”, which means “paulownia”, and because of this connection of the “end” kiri in sound to the “paulownia” kiri, we can see paulownia patterns on both kimono and obi in December.

January

For New Year’s Week (Matsu-no-Uchi), formal kimono with family crests are worn. Irotomesode, houmongi, tsukesage, and so on. Young women wear chuu-furisode.

Fabrics are rinzu or donsu (damask) with a glossy sheen. If chirimen is used it’s good to pick the kind that has a rough, bumpy texture. For patterns woven into fabrics, choose from ones like somewhat large repeats of your family crest, interlocking Buddhist swastikas (sayagata), stylized rising steam (tatewaku), mist (kasumi), stylized ocean waves (seigaiha), flowing water (ryuu-sui), large arabesques (oo-karakusa), or any of the many, many auspicious patterns out there!

Colors are those appropriate for early spring: cheerful light colors are focused on like pink (pinku), blue (buru-), light purple (usu-murasaki), cream (kuri-mu), beige (be-ju), and young grass green (waka-kusa-iro). Grey (gure-) is also a nice choice if it is a bright tone.

With patterns like auspicious ones (kichi-jou), a mix of scattered nature and court ones (go-sho-doki), and classical court ones(yuu-soku), a single embroidered family crest on the middle of the back will lift the formality of the kimono higher than a crest that is only dyed.

Obi

Chinese brocade (kara-nishiki), colored brocade (iro-nishiki), gold or silver brocade (haku-nishiki), haku-ichou (an obi made from only gold leaf and a single color’s thread, the contrast creating its monochrome pattern), saga-nishiki (a brocade mixing a dyed silk weft with gold/silver/lacquered paper warp). Various brocades are used and so mainly fukuro obi are worn.

Appropriate patterns include very dignified ones like “famous imported patterns” (mei-butsu-gire), patterns reminiscent of Noh theater costumes (nou-shou-zoku), auspicious ones, and classical court ones. While keeping age-appropriateness in mind, it’s fun to create refined coordinates with gorgeous obi that use gold and silver threads mixed in with color ones!

Accessories

Obi-age are plain or gradated rinzu silk, or beautiful fabrics like full shibori. Obi-jime are styles like yurugi weave in dignified colors.

Naga-juban are lined and collars are white shioze habutae silk. Additional fake collars can be layered to suggest an elegant effect.

Footwear is zouri in “enamel” (vinyl) or saga-nishiki brocade. Colors should be bright and cheerful to coordinate with the kimono and suggest the beginning of spring. The heel should be a little high, to go along with the month’s gorgeous kimono.

Original Author’s Notes:

Coats used with houmongi and tsukesage are generally made of rinzu or mon-ishou and are the michiyuki type. To protect against the cold, warm items made of things like velvet and cashmere are must-haves. Also, for cold weather you can put in another layer of lining on the sleeves of your naga-juban with the same fabric as the outside of it.

Colors

Bright colors like pink, blue, cream, beige, young grass green, or auspicious colors like deep green (fuka-midori), deep red/crimson (kurenai), madder red (akanei-iro), gold (kin), silver (gin).

Patterns

Lucky patterns like the auspicious set of pine, bamboo, and plum (shou-chiku-bai), scattered treasures (takara-zukushi), as well as court patterns, “famous imported patterns”, snow on bamboo leaves, a holly-like plant (sen-ryou), coralberry (man-ryou) and Chinese winter camellia (kan-tsubaki).

Flowers Associated with January

The set of pine, bamboo, and plum, old pine trees (rou-shou), young pine (waka-matsu), pine in stylized diamond shapes (matsu-bishi), old pine trees (ume-no-koboku), weeping plum (shidare-ume), vertical plum branches (yari-ume), plum blossoms and branches done in a circular pattern (ume-no-maru), nandina (nanten), willow (yanagi) specifically a decorate cord made of tied-together willow (musubi-yanagi), winter peony (kan-botan), Thunberg spirea (yuki-yanagi)

Patterns Associated with January

Crane (tsuru), tortoise (kame), red-crowned crane (tanchou-zuru), folded paper cranes (ori-zuru), sparrows in winter (kan-suzume), bush warblers in plum blossoms (ume-ni-uguisu), auspicious patterns like phoenixes (hou-ou), scattered treasures, treasure ships (takara-bune), open folding fans (sen-men), colored paper (iro-gami) because of the New Year’s “first writing of the year” (kaki-zome), small narrow papers (tanzaku), toy balls (ke-mari), the character for long life (kotobuki 寿), and the character for good fortune (fuku 福).

Original Author’s Notes

On wearing lined kimono for the celebration of the New Year: There are many times of year that call for formality in the tea room, but this time of year we can truly experience a ceremonial atmosphere as many people wear formal kimono like irotomesode, houmongi, and layered white habutae collars. Young women wear formal kimono like furisode or houmongi.

For the first tea ceremony of the year, we can also wear tsukesage or iromuji. Either way, all kimono should have a family crest. Kimono patterns should be auspicious ones, classical court patterns of a formal variety, plants and flowers, or the like.

For kimono patterns, try to avoid very large or showy ones as they will throw you out of harmony with your surroundings. For kimono worn this month, fukuro obi match best. Choose obi in heavy brocade featuring noble and dignified patterns like those mentioned above.

February

Kimono are lined and made of materials like rinzu, mon-ishou, chirimen, tsumugi (pongee). Finely patterned designs of blizzards or small hail, seigaiha (stylized ocean waves), small arabesques, kikkou (stylized tortoise shell), shikishi (paper boards used for writing), and other seasonal patterns are appropriate.

In the case of chirimen, hitokoshi chirimen or kawari-chirimen are good choices.

Colors are warm, quiet ones such as navy (kon), purple-red (aka-murasaki), ink black (sumi), bracken green (warabi-midori), and yellow ochre (oudo).

For tea ceremonies held at night, pale colors will look nice in the darkness of the tea room. Also, remember that the first half of February is still winter while the last half marks the beginning of spring, so outfits will need to be coordinated appropriately.

Obi

It’s easy to suggest the coming season by wearing a dyed Nagoya obi featuring early-blooming spring flowers.

Accessories

Obi-age change to plain rinzu, while you can play around more or less with which type of  obi-jime you’d like. Naga-juban are lined. Han-eri (collars) are white shioze habutae or chirimen.

Footwear features colors like navy, wine red (enji), tea brown (cha), and scarlet (aka): strong colors that are clearly defined. Zouri with heels that are a little high are nice.

Colors:

Light crimson (usu-beni), egg yellow (tamago-iro), young shoot green (wakana-iro), celadon (aoji-iro), navy, purple-red, and ink black.

Patterns:

Plum (ume), daffodil (suisen), camellia (tsubaki), holly (hiiragi). The first third of the month should show the last traces of winter, while the last third of the month should suggest spring.

Flowers Associated With February:

Plum, rosegold pussy willow (neko-yanagi), winter flowering quince (kan-boke), bracken sprouts (sawarabi)

Patterns Associated With February

Barren trees in winter (fuyu-kodachi), light snow (awa-yuki), stylized overlapping pieces of broken ice (kori-wari), bush warbler (uguisu),  and for Setsubun (Bean Throwing Festival) picture prayer boards (e-uma) and bells (rin).

Original Author Notes

About Lined Kimono for the First Day of Spring (around Feb. 4): The day before the First Day of Spring is the Setsubun festival. On Setsubun, in order to ward off evil spirits fish/dragon scale patterns (uroko) and “seven color cords” are good choices for patterns.

On this day we can see many people using red, white, purple, yellow, green, blue and gold for obi-jime colors and fish/dragon scale patterns on obi.

If you’d like to use a seasonal pattern, go with snow. Snow on bamboo leaves (yuki-mochi-sasa), stylized snowflake rings (yukiwa), blizzards, large snowflakes (botan-yuki): there are a lot of patterns using it!

Another favored pattern is plum blossom, a prized flower of early spring. The first to bloom, its chaste beauty appears in the deep cold of winter. It is also considered an auspicious flower. 

When it comes to variations like plum branches (eda-ume) and stylized plum blossoms (kourin-ume), there are many designs but ones done in the bright, sharp colors of spring are best, don’t you think?

Secrets of the Apprentice Geisha TV Show

Maiko, apprentice geisha, are mysterious even to many Japanese, and on this variety show, they go through a list of things viewers might be surprised to learn about maiko.

Maiko Kanoyumi is the guest. Here's a quick rundown of what they talk about!



Included are the following "secrets":

-They can't use their cell phones in front of people.

-They wear kimono everyday.

-They don't wash their hair for a week (due to it having to be set in the traditional style with camellia oil, etc.).

-They have lessons everyday.

-They are not supposed to talk when walking down a street (to add to their elegant personas, I believe).

-They are not supposed to enter any "low-brow" places like convenience stores, Starbucks, or McDonald's.

-For one month they wear the same hairpin decorations (kanzashi). (The reason for this is the kanzashi reflect the seasonal flowers or motifs of each month.)

-For one month they wear the same formal kimono when they dress up. (Same reason as the kanzashi.)

-They wear tall wooden "okobo" clogs.

-They call male guests "onii-san" (older brother) and female guests "onee-san" (older sister). I've read this is to respect their privacy at parties, where things can easily be overheard in other rooms.

At the end there's a funny bit where one man in the host audience asks Kanoyumi about the hair washing, and what day in the 7 days it is. She says it's been three days since she's washed her hair, and he asks the old man next to her to smell her hair.

He pronounces it "good-smelling." The maiko and the guy in front (I'm assuming a sumo wrestler) say they do the same sort of hair styling, so the guy asks the old man to smell his hair too! He agrees that it's the same good smell. :)

My First Akita-Style Shamisen Lesson

The shamisen lessons worked out! So here is my first experience with Akita shamisen, a cousin of the northern-Japan Tsugaru style that the Yoshida Brothers and others have made famous. :)

My lesson was two hours and held at my teacher's house, and I will take lessons more or less once a week barring trips out of town, etc. We began with seated bows and "Yoroshiku onegai-itashimasu" (Let's do our best together.) and when we ended as the student I said "Arigatou gozaimashita" (Thank you very much.) while we did seated bows.

Like my buyo (dance) classes, there wasn't much of any learning of "steps" or "notes", like I'd expect in a Western-style class, before we started a piece. He let me borrow one of his shamisen, (futozao, the kind used in tsugaru), showed me how to hold the plectrum and pluck a note properly, and within twenty minutes or so we started on a song. Shamisen have no marking for where the frets are, so because I was a beginner he glued on temporary dots on the side of the neck to help me get used to their position.

I would play through a line of the song, and once I'd done that a few times he'd play slowly and I would try to keep pace with him. There is no Western-style 4/4 beat in shamisen from my understanding, so like my steps in buyo I have to time my notes to him to figure out how long to extend certain notes, etc. (I am a musical idiot, so this part may be wrong! All I know is I asked him if it was 4/4 and he said it wasn't quite the same.)

We added a new line one at a time until we were halfway through the song by the end of the two hours. Needless to say, I wasn't playing that first half like he was. ;) But once he felt I had a basic grasp of the line, we'd move on to introduce more and then come back at a later point to everything we'd done so far.

The sheet music is written as three lines, the top one the highest string (furthest from your body when you hold the shamisen up), with numbers written in on each line for which fret you're hitting per note. A Roman numeral under that number shows which finger you use (I - index finger), and there are small katakana below that if different techniques are used (ス "su" for plucking up rather than down, etc.). Again, there are no indications of how long a note is held, so my complete ignorance of Western musical notation was not actually a problem here.

He also said I can continue to borrow one of his shamisen for practice during class for as long as I need to, which was nice because shamisen are ungodly expensive.

Also, the entire two-hour class was in seiza (where you kneel on a pillow with your legs and feet under you). He, of course, had no problem doing this but an hour in I had to ask for a bathroom break just so I could get up and move around. So I'm definitely going to have to practice sitting in seiza at home.

Overall I really enjoyed it, and even though I have no musical background my teacher was pleased with the progress I made and said he was surprised I was doing this well my first lesson. So there is hope for me yet! :)

Akita Shamisen Concert... and Lessons?

Today I had the chance to go to a small, local shamisen concert by Akita shamisen player Houshuu Asano! He played, among other songs, Akita Obako and Akita Nikatabushi, two famous songs from the area.

It was fun, interesting, and it turns out I might actually have the chance to start lessons with him, but we're still trying to work out the schedule and details for now. Here's a sample of the Akita style:


The shamisen is a three-stringed instrument that is often compared to a banjo and is heard in traditional Japanese music. There are several main styles, but if you've heard of the Yoshida Brothers or their music, they play Tsugaru, a close relative to the Akita style. They're also famous for adding new and modern styling and instruments to the traditional shamisen sound. Here's one example:



After hearing so much shamisen during my traditional dance practices, it's grown on me and I've wanted to try learning how to play since I came back to Japan, but couldn't find any classes held during my off days. While talking with Asano after his performance, it came up that he teaches and he offered to be my teacher! So we'll see. :)

Now on Tumblr!

Just a quick note here!

I may be late to the party, but I now have a Tumblr account. :)

Its focus will be photos I snap of kimono-related stuff and general life in Japan, as well as reblogs of related things I think y'all might like. In no way will it affect my productivity as a human bei-- wait, did I just spend an hour looking at kimono scans? XD

Wasou Kimono Class Update!

My casual matroshka-doll pattern zori.

All this fall and winter, one morning a week, I load up my little carry-on suitcase with kimono goodies and trundle off to my kimono-wearing (kitsuke) class. It’s something I look forward to all week. :)

As I mentioned in an earlier post. I’m studying with the Wasou school, and I’m happy to report I’ve had an excellent experience with them so far. It turns out I and the other student in the early class are more advanced than most beginners, in the words of our teacher, so we’ve been able to move quickly through the basics and focus more on getting little details right.

Our teacher is a kind and enthusiastic woman, who is unfazed by my foreignness and very pleased that I’m interested in kimono. She’s quite surprised at how much I know already and she and my fellow student were happy to hear that I am doing my best to help educate English-speakers about kimono.

The first few classes have focused on basic casual dressing and otaiko knots. We bring our own kimono and accessories, and she walks us through the steps, giving us tips and advice. A couple of tips I’ve picked up so far:

- When wrapping the kimono around your hips, the seam on the right front panel should vertically line up with the middle of the split in your tabi.

- Korin belts: for convenience’s sake, clip them to the back of the kimono’s sleeves before you put the kimono on. That way it’s already in reach when you need to clip them to the collars later during the dressing process.

- When you go to sit seiza (on your knees) in a kimono, keep your knees a little wider than usual as you kneel and when you sit the kimono won’t be too tight across your thighs and legs.

And for the vintage collectors and wearers out there, a reassuring note about seasonal motifs. I asked about them, and my teacher said that while seasonality is important in things like tea ceremony, not many people will be upset if you wear a particular pattern out of season in a casual situation.

Why? In modern times, most women have so few kimono asking for a head-to-toe casual seasonal outfit is just not possible for most. I was happy to hear that the kimono world is becoming more flexible and open-minded in this regard, and hope it’s a sign of the kimono’s continuing rebirth with younger women in Japan.

Japanese Folktales: The Mysterious Tama-Geta

I'm working on my write-up of Sapporo and my kimono classes, but in the meanwhile... :)

"Japanese Folktales" is a new series born of my love for folktales and my ongoing practice with the Japanese language. Every now and then I'll post my original translation of a folktale I myself haven't seen available in English yet. The first is a tale about greed and odd footwear!

The Mysterious Tama-Geta

Note: Geta are casual wooden sandals, and "tama" ("round" or "jewel") type geta are unique-looking ones with a rounded-off single peg on the bottom of each sandal, as you can see in the picture on the right. They're meant to be worn for balancing practice, not for actual travel.

Long ago, a boy named Sasuke lived together with his mother. One day, his mother fell gravely ill but they didn’t have enough money for a doctor.

“If this keeps up, she’s going to die! I’ll go to rich Old Man Gonzou and borrow some money,” Sasuke thought to himself. And with that, Sasuke set out to visit the old man.

Upon hearing what Sasuke wanted, Old Man Gonzou shouted, “What? You say you want to borrow money? If you want to borrow any, you’ll have to plow my fields!”

Wanting to help his mother as quickly as he could, Sasuke did his best and was able to plow the fields in one day. But Old Man Gonzou shouted, “Huh! Well, I’m still not loaning you money. Next, you’ll need to carry a lot of water out to the fields by bucket!”

The following day, Sasuke set about carrying the water. But he was given a bucket with a small hole in it, so that no matter how much he tried he was never able to bring enough water all the way to the fields. “You lazy boy! I’m not loaning you any money. Go home!” And with that the old man sent Sasuke away.

The rejected boy trudged wearily away and some time later came to a Shinto shrine. “I’m so hungry. I can’t walk anymore. What should I do, I wonder?” He sat down, and started dozing off.

“Clack clack! Clack clack!” Was he dreaming? The sound of someone walking on tama-geta grew closer, and an old man with a kind face came into view.

“Look, it’s Sasuke, the boy who’s worried about his mother! To you I give these tama-geta. When you wear them, if you fall down a gold coin will appear. But every time you fall down, you’ll get a little shorter. So don’t overdo it falling down!”

Sasuke nervously answered, “Y-Y-Yes. Thank you very much!” And the man disappeared with a poof.

“Huh? Was that a dream? But the sandals are still here!” He timidly tried putting the sandals on, but they were tama-geta after all, and so he ended up falling over with a thump when he tried to stand.

“Ow, ow ow!” he said, and Clink! went the sound of a dropped coin.

“It’s a gold coin!” Sasuke was overjoyed. With the gold coin in hand, he hurried to the doctor. After a visit from the doctor, his mother quickly got better. Not wanting to abuse the power of these strange tama-geta, they put them away and went back to their daily lives and hard work.

A while later, Old Man Gonzou came around to see how Sasuke and his mother were doing. Peeking in, he saw them enjoying a bountiful meal. “Hey, hey! How did you two afford this? So you came to my house to borrow money even though you had this kind of money in the first place?”

“Now, now, calm down. There’s a reason for this!” And Sasuke explained the story of the tama-geta.

“What? Tama-geta that give gold coins? Amazing! But something like that should be owned by a rich man like me, not paupers like you. I’ll take them now.” And Old Man Gonzou returned home with them.

Upon returning, he immediately laid out a large cloth in his house so as not to dirty the floor. Putting on the tama-geta, he stood atop the cloth. “Heh, heh, heh. First, one fall!” he said, and fell over with a thump.

Clink! A gold coin appeared. “Oh! It’s the real thing!” he said.

And so, after that he began to sing: “Fall down, fall down! Gold coins for me! Clink, clink! Clink, clink! Gold coins for me!” Old Man Gonzou excitedly fell down again and again.

“Oh! So many gold coins! I’ll make a pile bigger than me! I’ll be the richest man in Japan!” He didn’t notice that every time he fell down he was getting a little smaller.

Meanwhile, Sasuke remembered that he had forgotten to tell the old man about how you’d get smaller each time you fell down. In a panic, he hurried to Old Man Gonzou's home.

From the closed-up house he could hear clinking sounds. “Old man! Old man!” he called, but there was no reply. He tried as hard as he could to open the door, and it finally opened, clinking gold coins streaming out.

“Oh no! Mr. Gonzou! Where are you?” Pushing aside the coins he entered the house, and found the old man, now the size of a grasshopper, next to a mountain of gold coins. But Old Man Gonzou was still falling and standing, falling and standing, coins appearing one after another.

Finally, when the old man had shrunk to the size of a tiny insect, he flew away and was never seen again.

After that, Sasuke took over Old Man Gonzou’s house and became a millionaire, spending his life with his mother in happiness.

Greed isn’t a good thing, is it?

The End 


Translation © 2012 The Kimono Lady
The original Japanese tale: 不思議な玉下駄

Comments Missing and Free Kitsuke Classes

The bad news first... I have very limited blogging skills. I just open, write, and post. Today I decided to go into the Dashboard and try things out and get all fancy!

So I saw I had a ton of comments, all of which I had read on the blog itself. So I decided to delete the giant pile of what I thought were comment notifications so I would be better informed when new ones popped up. Nope. I instead ruthlessly and unwittingly deleted every comment that's ever been made on this blog, 50 at a time. >_< It took me a while. I wondered why there wasn't a button to delete all the notifications at once...

The moral of the story is don't let me near Dashboard. So if you notice your comments are missing, I apologize. It's because I'm an idiot.

But hopefully a better-dressed idiot soon.

The good news: Thanks to a newspaper ad passed along by a friend, I am now enrolled in Wasou's free autumn kitsuke classes!

Wasou is one of the big kimono schools here in Japan, which exist to help Japanese women learn how to wear kimono ("kitsuke") and become more knowledgeable about them. They exist because kimono are no longer a part of daily life for most younger Japanese women, so while they know a bit they're usually not much more familiar with them than your average American.

The lessons (15 in all) are truly free minus a few small fees here and there (300 yen for a student photo taken your first day, 1,200 yen for a bento box lunch during a couple of "lunch seminars", and 8,000-12,000 yen for an optional all-kimono party at a local hotel at the end of the course). The way Wasou makes its money is if you choose to purchase any kimono or obi at the two lunch seminars, where kimono and obi makers come and basically do a trunk show.

Wasou also makes a few bucks off of any dressing doo-dads you choose to buy that they demo for you during the first class: elastic koshihimo cords that are more comfortable than the traditional cloth ones, bias-cut collars that never wrinkle, etc. They made a few bucks off me once I saw how handy some of the things were. :)

Once I have a few more lessons I'll post more about my experiences with the school. And hopefully not delete anything along the way! Arrrrgh!