According to experts, it takes over 55 steps to properly don the 18 pieces of apparel required to correctly wear a kimono. The process is complicated enough that specialists, known as kitsuke professionals, are engaged to ensure the kimono is worn properly.
The end result can be quite stunning as illustrated in these photos of the 14th generation Misses Kaga Yuzen, Rina Matsuda and Saori Okino, from Kanazawa Japan (photos by Kaga Yuzen Kimono Center in Kanazawa).
Japan’s kimono is, arguably, the most recognizable traditional costume in the world. The same basic design has been used for over 400 years. Author/anthropologist Liza Dalby provides this context in her book Kimono: Fashioning Culture, “The kimono that today claims the title National Dress of Japan is the ensemble of silk robe and brocade obi that a modern Japanese woman thinks of as a ceremonial alternative to a dress on her home turf – or as a way to impress foreigners when abroad. This kimono is the outfit in which a young woman chooses to be photographed for her official marriage dossier portrait. This kimono is the preferred dress for entrance ceremonies, graduations, and cultural pursuits where feminine character is on display.”
During a recent visit to Japan, we rarely saw Japanese women dressed “authentically” in a kimono. On the other hand, as mentioned in the previous mini-post Postcards from Japan #1, renting kimonos for a day’s outing was surprisingly popular.
We saw numerous women, both locals and foreigners, dressed in kimonos posing for photos and snapping selfies around the popular sites.
There’s a noticeable difference between the kimonos worn by the Misses Kaga Yuzen and those rented as costumes. But the way in which these garments impact the wearer appears to be similar. One Instagram poster dressed in a rented kimono (thank you @shotengal) wrote “this is probably the prettiest I’ve ever felt. I love the concept of kimono, where so little emphasis is put on the form of ones body. Being a humble pillar for the beautiful garments and fabric is such a wonderful feeling.”
Her observation aligns with this description from Marumasu Nishimuraya, a Yuzen Dyeing Studio in Kyoto, “the difference between kimono and western cloth[e]s is that kimono is a piece of cloth [which] becomes 3 dimensions when worn. That is why artists can create kimono designs as a big canvas that [can be] viewed from any angles like colorful sculpture”.
It strikes me, kimonos are actually wearable art. This illustration from Marumasu Nishimuraya demonstrates how a beautiful butterfly painting is showcased as a kimono. Note the kimono’s rectangular construction.
“A kimono is made from a bolt of cloth of a standard width of approximately fourteen inches. A bolt contains approximately twelve and a half yards, enough to make one adult-size garment. …Two straight lengths of fabric make up the kimono body. They are joined up the middle of the back and left open over the shoulders down the front. Two half-width sections (okumi) are sewed on to each side.” explains Liza Dalby. “The okumi provides an amplitude of fabric where the gown is lapped, left over right side, and held together by a sash at waist or hip. … Sleeves consist of another width of the bolt attached to the sides of the body.”
Interestingly, the entire width of the fabric is used regardless of the wearer’s size. Any excess fabric is stitched as wide seam allowances and tucked into folds. “A kimono is fundamentally adjustable because the original bolt-width is retained in its seams. In the past, when kimono were always taken apart for washing, each cleaning could also be a refitting.”
Bolts of long, narrow fabric were visible at the Marumasu Nishimuraya studio where we watched textile artists hand-dyeing fabric.
In The Book of Kimono: The Complete Guide to Style and Wear, author Norio Yamanaka elaborates “Since the kimono is cut and sewn in straight lines, it may be necessary to modify your body shape to preserve the kimono’s natural, smooth flowing, cylindrical outline. The areas to be dealt with are the hollows around the collar bone, the stomach, the waist, the hips and the breasts.” He goes on to describe how to smooth and flatten the female body shape with padding. Ensuring a kimono is shown to full advantage seems to be one reason for the 55-plus steps needed to properly don a kimono.
The notion of a kimono being wearable art was supported by the spectacular examples we saw in several Japanese museums. Shown below is a splendid example from the Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design. The rich, red background is elaborately embellished with elegant gold fans, florals and foliage. Note the thoughtfully-placed design elements along the hem, across the top of the shoulders and flowing down the sleeves. The left front edge of this kimono, with the elaborately embroidered peonies, is noticeably fancier than the right side, presumably because kimonos are always wrapped with the left side over the right side. The design matches perfectly at the seams indicating quality craftsmanship.
Unfortunately, the exhibit lighting was less than ideal for photos but, hopefully, the below closeups will help show the intricacies of the design, the skillful color blending, the lavish gold highlights and the embroidered peony petals.
This kimono was made using a technique called yuzen fabric dyeing. Typically, this technique follows a series of steps. First, the design is sketched on the fabric freehand with temporary ink. Then the outline is covered with a resist made of rice paste. Next, dyes are applied to the various sections of the outlined design using a brush—colors are carefully blended to create gorgeous gradients. The fabric is steamed. After all the design elements have been dyed, they are covered with more rice paste. This leaves only the background uncovered. Then, the background is dyed by brushing or dipping. After dyeing, the fabric is steamed again, then washed to remove the resist paste and allowed to dry. Naturally, the process varies from artist to artist. For instance, stencils may be used instead of, or in combination with, sketching freehand. Additional embellishments such as embroidery or gold leaf application may be added after dyeing.
We tried a simplified version of yuzen dyeing with stencils when we visited Marumasu Nishimurarya. We started by selecting simple squares of colored fabric for our projects. Then we selected a design from the vast variety available. Each design had at least two stencils—one for each color in the design. I chose a simple cherry blossom design which had two stencils.
After a brief introduction to the tools and materials, we were able to get started. The first step was to smooth out our fabric on the working surface, position the design and fix the first stencil in place.
We marked the corners of the first stencil with tape so we could align the other stencils. Then we used special bamboo brushes to apply the dye. The trick was learning how to prepare the brush, with just the right amount of dye, before touching the fabric. After we finished painting the first stencil, we carefully removed it and pinned the next stencil in place taking care to align it with the tape marks. We repeated this process until all the layers of our designs were dyed.
Our time in the studio flew by and, before we knew it, our projects were finished and it was time to leave. I really enjoyed experimenting with the dyes to create color gradations. Special thanks to the talented folks at Marumasu Nishimurarya in Kyoto. They were very accommodating to our schedule, provided clear instruction and thoughtful guidance, and ensured the activity was fun for everyone. Thank you!
Here’s how my project turned out.
Yuzen dyeing is one of many techniques used to create kimono fabric. At the Tokyo National Museum, I saw several other examples including this kimono made of embroidered silk crepe. As explained on the exhibit card “Kimono with Fringed Pink, the Moon, Flowing Water and Carp. Meiji era 19th-20th century | Plain-weave silk crepe. The vivid purple ground of this kimono was probably dyed using the latest technology in chemical dyes. However, the style of the big standing embroidered tree is a traditional one for court women. All of the kimono’s designs, from carps to willows, are suitable for summer.”
Designs can also be woven into the fabric. This sumptuous weaving was exhibited at the Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design. As explained on the exhibit card “Nishijin-ori/ Woven textiles Nishijin woven textiles are fabrics woven from already dyed yarn, and there are many steps in the process to complete the work. These textiles are used to make obi sashes, kimono, gold brocades, neckties, and interior items.”
Komon dyeing is another technique. It “uses a stencil dyeing technique. Its popularity has spread during the Edo period when it was used for samurai ceremonial costumes. Over time, the technique changed from using just one color to rich colouring and improved as it and yuzen fabric dyeing influenced each other.”
Yet another dyeing technique, Kyo-kanoko shibori, uses “a tie-dyeing technique which creates characteristic embossed patterns resembling the spots on a fawn’s fur. These fabrics are used for making kimono and obi sashes.”
This kimono, from the Tokyo National Museum, incorporates both komon and shibori dyeing enhanced with gold thread embroidery.
I mentioned briefly in a previous post (see Postcards from Japan #4) that I chanced upon some vintage kimonos in a street fair in Tokyo. It was great fun admiring the beautiful, colorful kimonos and guessing which techniques were used to create each one. As far as I could tell, most of the kimonos were made with printed fabric but the designs were gorgeous—probably originating from hand-painted, resist-dyed designs.
Several of the kimonos, such as the red one in the center below, were heavily embroidered.
The kimonos pictured below featured a tiny, square grid pattern which I’m guessing was created with the same shibori tie-dyeing technique I saw at the Tokyo National Museum.
The vintage sale also included accessories. There were woven obi sashes, traditional kimono slippers called zori, pretty purses and a stunning variety of braided cords, called obi-jime, which are used to secure obi sashes.
Although I’ve only scratched the surface, learning about kimonos has been a great part of my Japan travel experience.
More Info
The following locations, which we visited while in Japan, informed this blog post:
.Marumasu Nishimuraya, a Yuzen Experience Studio, in Kyoto.
.Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design in Kyoto.
.Kaga Yuzen Kimono Center in Kanazawa.
.Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Traditional Arts and Crafts in Kanazawa.
.Tokyo National Museum in Tokyo.
The following books, available on Internet Archives, were referenced for this blog post:
.The Book of Kimono: The Complete Guide to Style and Wear by Norio Yamanaka, a Japanese kimono consultant and author; Published 1982
. Kimono: Fashioning Culture by Liz Dalby, an American anthropologist and novelist specializing in Japanese culture; Published 2001
Check the FanningSparks’ Travel > Asia > Japan category index to learn more about my adventures in Japan.
Today’s Takeaways
1. Japan’s kimono is, arguably, the most recognizable traditional costume in the world.
2. The kimono is uniquely suited to showcasing beautiful fabrics as wearable art.
3. Various traditional textile arts, such as yuzen dyeing and nishijin weaving, contribute to spectacular, one-of-a-kind kimonos.
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