カテゴリー: Knowledge

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There are a lot of events ever since that can be enjoyed with Yukata robes such as Obon holidays and summer festivals in August.This is the lowest threshold for people interested in kimono, and events such as this type of summer festivals are where they can participate willingly.

And because it is a festival where you can spend cool summer nights, you will have no problems wearing a yukata without any undershirt. However, it is not recommended that you wear it directly to the skin.

Recently, almost all yukatas are made of transparent materials. If you wear it directly to the skin, the body line will be visible.

The safest way is to wear the specialized “Kimono slip”, even if it is a slip for western clothes, and wear it in combination with long petticoat and a camisole with a wide neckline. The length of petticoat or slip is better if it’s longer and you won’t feel any discomfort even if it’s transparent.

If you purely wear a yukata robe as opposed to casual wear, you can freely choose a colored pattern. And it is gorgeous to ignore the season rules with butterflies and peony so it is popular.

If you choose the traditional patterns, then the basics are the pink or balloonflower and the seven flowers of autumn.

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July is a season of wearing thin kimono. Thin kimono means komono which is transparent, and not only silk but also linen is used.

However, these days, only those who wear kimono all the year round such as teacher of wearing kimono and tea ceremony prepare thin kimono. In general, most people wear yukata,which is easier to handle.

Originally yukata had been used when taking a bath, and it was rude to wear yukata and walk around in old days. But the yukata at that time and the one we wear now are completely different.

The yukata worn when we go out is a thin one made of cotton, simply speaking. We can wash yukata by wash easily, and it is the best kimono in summer when we have sweat.

The characteristics of yukata is “not to wear juban”, but when we wear when we go out, we usually wear it as kimono by showing haneri and wearing tabi. As for obi, we use not thin obi for yukata but Nagoya obi for summer or stable hannhaba obi.

You have a large selection of design for yukata, but when you wear when you go out, it is good to select the one with design of traditional morning glory and gold fish.

People says that strange design is not elegant, and you should be careful about it.

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June is a season of hitoe. As for obi, Hakata obi which has no back or summer obi which is transparent might be good.
If you don’t have them, obi of thin awase is good.

Formally small item such as obiage and obisime are also for summer. But only small part of obiage is visible, and some people use the thin one for winter. Some obisime can be used throughout a year, and it is economical to select this kind of one.

unless you go to formal place, it is a good idea to use hanhabaobi.

There are various ways of tying of obi, and some are introduced in book or website. If you find your favorite one, you should challenge it.

June is a month when we have much rain. It is hard to wear rain prevention clothes such as coat and zouri for rain if you are not used to them. Therefore we must consider a measure to “have kimono made of waterproof material” and “to have extra tabi to swtich if feet get wet”.

In June, willow and hydrangea are used as design often, but in latter half of this month, people tend to like firefly and arrow bamboo which are more summerlike.

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May is called season of “obitsuki”. Obitsuki means to show obi without wearing haori. Recently in March and April, we don’t need outer wear in many days, but in the past it had been custom to wear something until May.

Of course, you can wear some outfit in May. If we wear expensive obi in particular, we wear thin coat called “chiriyoke” to prevent the kimono get dirty when we walk.

When we enter a house, it is good to take off outer wear as season of obitsuki. We should not wear haori which has a custom not to take off in the house.

In May in some years, it is hot enough to have sweat. On very hot day, you can wear hitoe, which is earlier than usual.
Recently at the end of May, most people wear hitoe.

From May, design which puts emphasis on summer has been used often. Iris ensata var and iris sanguinea are popular, but swallow are hydrangea, which are kind of early a little, start to be used in this month. It is a month when coolness is liked as color.

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The warms days increase on April and there are a lot of instances when you want to go out in a Kimono. The kimono is also suitable for cherry-blossom viewing events, but we do not recommend it if you will spread it on the leisure sheet when drinking.

We recommend a cotton and wool Kimono if you will still be going to a cherry-blossom viewing event. It has been popular as an everyday wear for a long time, you can wash it yourself, it can be ironed, and you won’t be bothered about a little bit of dirt and wrinkles.

But the people wearing Kimono everyday has gradually decreased. Due to this, the cotton and wool Kimono is hard to obtain and it would be a good opportunity if it is something handed down from your mother or grandmother.

In addition, some people hate wearing a kimono and obi for the cherry-blossom viewing and some view it as being inelegant.
It’s like the meaning of the flowers drawn to painting is something that is not possible in real flowers, and you do not need to dress that way just to be hated.

That kind of kimono and obi can be worn another time such as during a dinner party or a walk in town. And the picture of this period, which are popular in addition to the cherry tree, are finished with peony and wisteria.

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March is graduation season. Hakama is trending in recent graduation ceremonies, but, in fact, it is not a thing as old as history.
Hakama is old in itself, but the wearing of a Hakama during graduation is a story of the last few decades. So there are no strict rules and everyone can enjoy and freely wear them.

On the other hand, when mothers attend their kid’s graduation ceremony, they seem to take caution in various ways. It should not be too noticeable, should be top quality, and dressing appropriately for a formal ceremony, so it is finished with solid colors.

I think that solid colors around the double-woven obi is safe for the graduation ceremony, but the tradition changes depending on the region, so it will be better to consult with the people around if this is a concern.

Rather than being concerned with the event, a casual outing is the period that the spring kimono color pattern is noticeable. I think because it is tradition to incorporate little flowers earlier than when they actually bloom on pictures of flowers, for example, such as a band drawn with cherry blossoms, so it is just the right time starting March.

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When wearing a Kimono, there are various required items besides the Kimono and the belt.Normally, all the required items are gathered in case of rentals, otherwise, you would need to prepare it yourself.

The 3 main items are “Undershirt”, “dressing accessory”, “Kimono accessories”.

The thing to wear under the kimono undershirt is an important item to be treated the same way as the kimono. The dressing accessory is a necessary tool to adjust the kimono and is not visible from the outside.

With the exception of the special kimono, such as bridal gown, you can use all kimonos in common. And when you request for a dress up such as from a beauty salon, or when you are preparing to learn the dressing method, please prepare the specified items since the tools used by teachers and dressers will differ. Unless otherwise specified, a “small set” suite is sold at the dry good stores or department stores where you can easily purchase one.

The Kimono accessories are matched and coordinated with the Kimono and the obi with the items that are visible from the outside. The 4 minimum requirements are socks, decorative collar, obi sash, the obi cord.

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It is very cold in February, and we need to have a measure to protect us against coldness. We have no clear rule for outfit to prevent coldness. If possible, we can use the one for western clothes.

As we cannot hide sleeve of kimono when we wear coat for western clothes, we need a coat for Japanese clothes. But we can use poncho in stead depending on design.

We cover neck by shawl, but if we wear casual kimono, knit muffler goes well with it.

The sleeve of kimono is not closed, and we sometimes feel cold at our hands. It is useful to have long glove and arm cover that are as long as elbow.

As for tabi (socks when wearing kimono), the one with cotton flannel at back for winter is sold, but some people wear tabi after wearing socks with five fingers and tabi socks.

We feel warm with under shirt whose length of arm is as long as 70 percent of the arm and spat. But if we select long one, people can see the shirt, and please select the one whose color is similar to beige if you put priority on warmness.

It is very cold in February, but it is also time to select design of spring for kimono and obi. The most typical design is daffodils and plum, but after middle of February design of doll festival is used as motif.

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In January, we have a occasion to wear kimono such as hatsumode (visiting shrine or temple to pray for good luck for the new year).

In Japan, we have a custom to wear kimono on New Years Day.If we assume that hatsumode is “greeting of new year for God”, it is natural to wear formal kimono including furisode.

In the meanwhile, if we consider actual situation where we spend in large crowd outside for a long time, it is a reasonable selection to wear komon and tsumugi which are comfortable to wear.

Everyone has a different way of selection, and we cannot say which is correct.
You can wear what you want.

Unless new year party is very formal, formal and casual kimono will be welcomed.

Speaking of kimono and obi in January, design of zodiac is very popular. Even if it is not zodiac of the year, for example, we are allowed to wear design of zodiac
when we were born, but we mind about what people think of us.

We can recommend the one where 12 animals of zodiac are described, especially the one where several animals of zodiac are described, because we can use it every year without worrying.

Other than that, “takarazukushi” and treasure ship, which have good luck, make us happy and lucky.

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Kimonos can be largely divided into three types, Awase, Hitoe, and Usumono.

From autumn to spring, you wear Awase.You begin to wear Hitoe in early summer, and when it becomes hot you wear Usumono.When the heat begins to cool down, you wear Hitoe again, and in autumn you go back to Awase, and the cycle goes on.

Awase is a kimono with lining cloth.Specifically, the season to wear Awase is difined as October to May of next year.This period consists more than half of a year, so you wear Awase most frequently.

Therefore, if you say kimono, it normally indicates Awase.

Hitoe is a kimono which doesn’t have a lining cloth, but the material is the same as Awase.You wear Hitoe around June and September, as a rough indication.

Usumono is a kimono made from translucent material, with no lining cloth.Normally, you wear it in July and August.

Of course, in days during the change of season, there are cold days in spring or hot days in autumn, and there is a temperature difference between places, so there are times when you wear Hitoe in May or Usumono in September.You should adjust it according to the actual weather, based on the basic seasonal range.