What is the Japanese kimono? In different countries, customs and traditions differ, which distinguish each country from the other, and is an example of its ancient history and civilization, and despite the disappearance of many of these heritage customs, some countries still adhere to them to this day, including Japan, and it's most important heritage traditions that remain until now. It is the kimono, so what is the kimono, to what historical period does it date back, and what are its features and the most important types, all these details and more will be explained in the following article from the contents of the site.
What is a Japanese kimono?
It is a traditional dress in Japan, and the word kimono in Japanese refers to everything worn, but now it is used to refer to traditional Japanese dress. Made of fabric, the left end is placed over the right end, except in cases of death, the ends are placed in reverse. It is worn with traditional Zuri or Gita shoes, and tabi socks, and is wrapped with an obi belt.
The origin of the word kimono
In the beginning, the word kimono in Japanese was referring to the thing that is worn in general, that is, to all kinds of clothes, but after the emergence of western clothes in Japan during the Meiji period, the word “wafuku” spread, which refers to ordinary Japanese-style clothes, and the word “yufuku” It was referring to Western clothing, and today the kimono means "wafuku" or "guru".
The history of the kimono
The existence of this type of clothing goes back to the most ancient times. As for the history of the kimono, it extends over long periods. It was present and present in most periods in the history of Japan with the difference and development of its forms, and from these periods:
- Jōmon period and Baiyue period: During these periods, not many traces of clothing were found, and archaeological clothing was found in the Jōmon period, made of seashells and stone.
- Heian period: During this period, the ambassadorial system in China was abolished, thus developing Japanese clothing away from Chinese influence. The oldest forms of kimono were similar to traditional Chinese clothing “Hangu.” Marilu is above it.
- Kamakura and Muromachi period: Here the first official clothes for warriors “Heitayan clothes” appeared, during which women’s dress became simpler than Junihitue, and the mu cloak became shorter and then abolished and no longer used, after which came the one-layer kosuda kimono.
- Edo period: The kimono was characterized by simplicity in that period, as it consisted of katagino, meaning the shoulder covering, with hakama. As for the kosuda kimono, it remained widely spread, and then the simple sado kimono appeared without bright colors, but many Japanese added gold threads to it. To add luxury, the single women's kimono had long sleeves in a furisode style.
- Meiji and Taisho period: During this period, women's kimono and chirimen varied in shapes, Renzo or Michi fabric was used in its manufacture, and kimono dyeing and the assure style of dyeing spread. Japan.
- Modern era: Although it is impractical at the present time, the kimono is still the official dress during official occasions and wedding parties, despite the presence of bright Western clothes in abundance, and young people wear yukata, especially from the youth group, for ease of wearing in the summer.
Features of the kimono
It has many features that distinguish it from other types of clothing in Japan, including:
- It is wrapped at the torso with the obi belt, to give the body stability and strength, and to keep it stretched straight.
- The width of the sleeve is larger than a human arm.
- It is distinguished from Western clothing by not using buttons for fastening, but rather using belts used, such as the obi.
- Its fabric does not stretch and does not shrink when stretched, because during its manufacture the ease of removing the threads is taken into account.
- The obi belt is made of fabric, not leather.
- It is made of one fabric, and all the cutting lines are straight, unlike western clothes that contain a lot of curved lines in the fabric.
- The kimono consumes all the used cloth, while most western dress wastes a lot of cloth during their manufacture.
- The body shape of women and men does not appear, only the width of the pelvis and the shoulder line are visible.
types of kimono
The type of woman varies according to the level of the occasion, and its type is defined according to the length of its sleeves, the type of fabric, and its colors that vary according to the occasion. The formal kimono for women has long sleeves of silk, while for men it has the same shape and has a dark color of silk. The occasion can also be known through the kimono accessories and the type of kimono. The fabric, the cotton or polyester kimono is worn on ordinary and simple occasions, while the silk kimono is for official and important occasions. Among the types of women’s kimonos we mention:
- Kurotome Soda: black in color with patterns below the waist, for official occasions for married women and mothers of the groom.
- Fawry Suda: It has swinging sleeves, its length varies between 39 inches - 42 inches. It is considered the official dress for single women.
- Irutomeh Soda: It has one color, and its drawings are below the waist. It is worn by married women on less formal occasions.
- Homongei: Visiting kimono, sleeves drawn, worn by married and unmarried women.
- Irumuji: It has one color and is the dress for all women's tea ceremonies.
- Komon: It is a simple kimono that is worn in daily life by all women.
When and how to wear a kimono
The popularity of the kimono these days did not remain as it was in previous eras, as it became worn especially on occasions, such as marriage and death cases, or even during popular celebrations. Movement in it smoothly and easily in daily life, however, after the elderly remained accustomed to wearing it always, as for the way to wear kimono, it is difficult and takes a long time compared to other clothes, and there are some schools in Japan specialized in teaching kimono wear, in addition to that there are some The training courses attended by women to learn how to sew and cut the kimono, and the domino measurements are taken according to the following:
- Mistake: tall.
- Yuki Tate: Sleeve length.
- Okuma Sagari: The meeting of the collar and sari is usually between 19 cm - 23 cm.
- Kata Haba: Shoulder width is usually between 30 cm - 32 cm.
- Kuri Koshi: The length from the middle of the shoulders to the back collar, and it is only found in women's kimonos, and it is from 2 cm-3 cm.
- Suda Gucci: Between 20 cm - 23 cm.
- Soda Taka: between 49 cm-51 cm.
- Souda Haya: between 33 cm - 34 cm.
- Daki Haba: 40 cm.
kimono parts
The Japanese traditional kimono consists of sixteen parts, and these parts are:
- Tomo Ray: Top collar.
- Jiri: Lower collar.
- Meiji no May Major: Right front main layer.
- Hydra-no-may-major: The main front left layer.
- Suda: Quantum.
- Tomato: Sleeve pocket.
- Hydari no Okumi: Front right hem.
- Meiji no Okumi: Front left hem.
- Mistake: The length of the kimono.
- Yuki Tate: Kimono Show.
- Kata Haba: Shoulder width.
- Souda Haba: Quantum Show.
- Suda Taka: The length of the sleeve.
- Sudha Gucci: Sleeve slot.
- Suda Tskeh: Sleeve link.
After this article, you will have known what the Japanese kimono is, with a talk about its history, the origin of this word, the definition of the types of this traditional dress, the way and times of wearing it, in addition to the definition of the parts of the kimono.