Part 2 of my video for costumers and cosplayers is up! I include sewing advice and general tips for wearing your costume well. Have a great weekend and thanks for all your support on the newly revamped channel!

CLAMP's Kyoto Fantasy: Gate 7

The city of Kyoto looms large in the Japanese cultural mindset as a place of classical beauty and tradition. The capital of Japan for over a thousand years ("Kyoto" 京都 actually means "capital city"), it is still considered the heart of traditional culture today, famed for icons like its geisha, the gold-covered Kinkakuji temple, handicrafts like beautiful Kyo-Yuzen dyed kimono, and many more.

Priding itself on this reputation, Kyoto even offers a discount to some tourist spots if a visitor comes dressed in kimono.

Now CLAMP, the hugely successful circle of female manga artists behind titles like Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Cardcaptor Sakura, xxxHolic and RG Veda, has taken Kyoto as its backdrop for one of its latest series, Gate 7.

Focusing on a young man living and going to school in Kyoto amid very odd circumstances, the series presents the city through the trademark CLAMP lens: traditional sites become gateways to battlegrounds, characters lounge elegantly in highly-stylized and embellished ideas of kimono or swirl about in fantasy takes on traditional miko (shrine attendant) robes, and little touches of Kyoto can be found throughout the world.

Here in America, Dark Horse Comics has plans to release Gate 7 Volume 1 on October 25th, and I'll definitely be picking up a copy!

(On a related note, CLAMP artist Mokona loves kimono, and even released her own book with coordinate ideas and her own homemade kimono projects.)

Cosplay: Can You Use Real Kimono for Bleach Characters?

So lately I've gotten sucked into the anime Bleach. Yes, I'm amazingly late to the party, but you'll have to forgive me. I have a soft spot for stubborn heroes with giant swords (my favorite series ever is good old Berserk).

Now that I've seen a few episodes, I better understand some of the questions I've gotten from people at conventions and festivals about using kimono with Bleach characters. If you're curious, here's a quick breakdown of the differences between what your average Shinigami is wearing compared to traditional clothing.

 Main character Ichigo Kurosaki in the standard Shinigami uniform.

Kimono (top half visually): The collar and drape are similar to a real black men's kimono, but the entire front of the sleeve is open. On non-martial arts kimono the hole is only long enough for the hand to stick through, and is sewn shut the rest of the way down. The white you see along the sleeves and collar in the outfit is likely intended to be the underrobe (juban).

Hakama (bottom half, pants): These look to be largely the same, but traditional hakama ties are the same color and material as the rest of the hakama. The Shinigami have contrasting ties.

Tabi (socks) and straw zori (sandals): These look to be the same as traditional versions.

Captain's Coats (the white ones): The coats appear to be based on men's haori (kimono jackets) as they hang down the front rather than fold over, but the designs along the hems are not traditional, and the sleeves are wholly open again when normal ones are sewn shut below the wrist, like the above-mentioned kimono.

So, could you use traditional clothes to create a basic Shinigami costume? I think so. Here's what you'd need:

1. Black men's kimono and white juban (men's or women's, as women's are easier to find online in all white)- Use a seam ripper on the sleeve hole opening of the kimono and resew the hem along it to make it completely open.

EDIT (9/26/10): Having seen a few more episodes, it looks like the back of the sleeves are open too! Long story short, that means a woman's kimono is more accurate to the costume because men's sleeves and the body's side seams are sewn shut. In women's they're open (the side seam several inches), where you could physically stick your hand into the side of a woman's kimono under her arm and also into her sleeve from the back (the wider women's obi types normally cover up the side seam opening in normal kimono wearing).

Juban, the underkimono, shouldn't need any resewing as the sleeves on juban are normally open in the front, but you'll need a long, inch-wide strip of soft, non-slick fabric to tie it shut before you put the kimono on over it. Anything thinner will cut into your skin over the course of a day.

2. Men's obi-  This is worn over the kimono but under the hakama pants and is what keeps your kimono shut. The knot you tie in the back also helps create the bump seen under the pants in the back. As this isn't really seen except as a tiny line above the hakama ties (if you want to be traditional about it rather than hide it entirely), this could easily be faked with a cheaper substitute made of stiff fabric.

3. Men's black hakama- Cut off the normal ties and use them as guides to sew your own out of the white fabric of your choice.

4. Captain's coat- This gets trickier as men's haori don't often come in white. You'd probably be better off making your own than trying to find a vintage haori and altering it.

5. Tabi and zori- Check Ebay and online dealers for these as they're ready to go as is. Straw zori can be a bit tougher to find, however, as well as larger sizes.

If you assemble all or some of this down the road and would like to know how to traditionally put it on, there are some good videos on Youtube for dressing in kimono and hakama with a lean toward the martial arts angle (which I think the Shinigami definitely fall under!). My favorite is an easy-to-follow series by an Iaido practioner, which starts with this video on clothing basics and continues on with Part 2 (hakama), and more if you're interested in how to wear a katana. etc.

The sharp-eyed of you will immediately note he has white ties on his hakama, but he explains early on that he switched them out to a different color to make them easier to see. ;)

Kimono images courtesy Ichiroya and used with permission.

Pop Culture Samurai: Sengoku Basara

The Sengoku (literally "warring states" 戦国) period was a time of chaos in Japan, when just about everybody and his brother was fighting over their corner of the country and their neighbors' as well.

Sengoku Basara is a testorone-laden, over-the-top pop culture spin on that time, featuring real-life historical characters and some poetic license on the history involved. You can check it out in video game, anime or manga format.

I've recently seen a few episodes of the 2009 anime series, thanks to Funimation (Season 2 is this summer). It both surprised me and made me laugh: as a former resident and big fan of the city of Sendai, it was fun watching its ancient and revered founder, the "one-eyed dragon" Date Masamune, appear on-screen as a trash-talking punk wielding six swords and riding a horse with motorcycle handlebars strapped to it.

Fans: Uchiwa vs. Sensu

You may have already seen the two main types of fans in Japan, but do you know their names?

Sensu 扇子 are folding fans, and uchiwa 団扇 are the flat, round fans you see used in the summer, though sensu are also used during the summer as well. Both can be found in department stores, and you can even get cheapies in convenience stores.

In pop culture, the "Uchiha" clan and symbol in Naruto is a play on that, and during the hottest months businesses will sometimes hand out cheap uchiwa with their company logo at festivals or near train stations.

An uchiwa, courtesy Wikimedia.

"17th Miyako no Nigiwai" (Performance): Scene 2 Nagauta Ayameyukata 長唄 菖蒲浴衣
Geiko Tsunemomo and Hinagiku from Gionhigashi, photo by Onihide.

Dancers use larger versions of sensu, sometimes painted with gold and silver, but these are never used while fanning yourself at a festival or standing on the train platform, like normal sensu.

"17th Miyako no Nigiwai": Scene 3 Nagauta Kishi no Yanagi 

Geiko Naosome and Umeha from Kamishichiken, photo by Onihide.

Book Review: Okimono Kimono

When I do kimono panels at anime conventions, my goal is to introduce kimono and traditional culture to fans of pop Japanese culture in a fun yet informative way.

Next time I do one, I'm definitely going to recommend the 2010 English translation of CLAMP manga artist and kimono enthusiast Mokona's 2007 book Okimono Kimono. It's a great, lightweight introduction to kimono, which respects the garment's cultural importance but mostly focuses on it as a living garment worn with individual style and creativity.
  

I received my copy today, and had a lot of fun looking through Mokona's ideas and ensembles. The book features a collection of kimono Mokona designed herself, 17 coordinates created from vintage kimono and pieces, an interview with her and Onuki Ami (Puffy AmiYumi), a photoshoot, accessory ideas, a mini-comic and more. The only thing I was hoping for more of were illustrations like the one on the cover, but that's the only full illustration in the whole book beyond the mini-comic.

Overall, I found it a great book to get anyone started on what kimono are in a fun, unintimidating way. :)

One note, however: If you are a serious collector used to books like the scholarly Kimono by Liza Dalby or someone looking for detailed kitsuke (kimono wearing) advice, this is not the book for you. There are a lot of great photos and ideas for coordinates, but beyond a few tidbits here and there no hard facts about kimono history and proper kitsuke. In fact, Mokona actually suggests breaking "standard" rules in a few cases, for example, by breaking out summer kimono earlier in the calendar than usual and making collars out of tenegui towels.

Naaaaaame That Baby! Stroke Counts and Bleach Characters

There are a lot of factors that usually go into naming a baby in Japan, one of which is the tradition of trying to achieve a lucky number of strokes to guarantee a happy life for the kiddo.

When you learn kanji, the Chinese characters imported to Japan, there are a certain number of strokes each character should be made with, in a certain order. Strokes can go from the humble one-stroke 一, ichi, meaning one, to kanji like 鸞, ran, a mythical Chinese bird, clocking in at 30.

Naming a baby isn't just about the strokes in his first name, though, as I learned poking around the Net. Here's a very basic version...

Our example name will be Kurosaki Ichigo 黒崎一護, in a tip of the hat to fans of the anime and manga Bleach. Written vertically it would be Kurosaki Ichigo, family name first, with Kuro at the top and Go at the bottom. Individually, the kanji are 11, 11, 1 and 20 strokes.

There are five total stroke counts we need to examine to determine the luckiness of the name, as well as two "bonus" ones.

1. Total count of last name Kurosaki: 22
2. Total count of first name Ichigo: 21
3. Total count of all four characters: 43
4. Total count of "inside characters" saki and ichi: 12
5. Total count of "outside characters" kuro and go: 31
6. "Bonus" business success luck: Total of all four minus the first character kuro: 32
7. "Bonus" home life success luck: Total of all four minus the last character go: 23

A chart then gives all possible numbers within a four-level luck ranking: Very Lucky, Lucky, "Half" Lucky, and Unlucky. (Scroll down to the chart with all of the numbers written in it: from top to bottom it's Very Lucky on down.)

Ichigo's numbers are...

1. Unlucky
2. Very Lucky
3. Half Lucky
4. Unlucky
5. Very Lucky
6. Very Lucky
7. Very Lucky

Overall, this appears to be a fairly lucky name. The specific total number of strokes involved (as an example, 3. in our list) also has its own special characteristics. Ichigo's total of 43 suggests he will become fiercely independent from an early age and acquire fame and status early as well. He will also have a stubborn streak and will have to do the best with the personality he has. (Any Bleach fans here? How does that match up?)

Much like English baby books that give the old Latin meanings of names, some baby books in Japan will have this sort of chart and matching in the back of the book, and parents will at times consult professionals or religious authorities about auspicious stroke counts.

I will say it was fun learning about this! If anyone's got a real person, from history or pop culture, or a fictional character whose name you'd like to see, feel free to ask (no kanji required: if they're famous enough I can find them on my own). It's fun plugging stuff in to see what comes up. :)