Essays

gRealh Kimono for Modern Women

Romelle Whalen (2010-2011 Amherst-Doshisha Fellow)

  I was out to eat at a Japanese-style restaurant when a Japanese friend asked me if the kimono the waitresses were wearing were grealh kimono. At first I wasnft sure what he meant, but I assured him that yes, they looked like grealh kimono to me. He clarified that he was wondering if the obi were two-piece easy-on obi (gtsuke-obih or gnibushiki obih). I honestly could not tell one way or the other, but what was more interesting to me was that he seemed to think that if the obi were not regular tied and folded models, then the waitresses would not be wearing grealh kimono.
  What constitutes a grealh kimono? Is the opposite of a grealh kimono a gfakeh one? I do believe that I have seen gfakeh kimono. Garments sold as bathrobes to tourists in souvenir shops that are labeled gkimonoh (the ones made of shiny fabric, with skinny fabric belts), or gkimonoh that are made without an understanding of the basic components of actual kimono ensembles in Japan \ these garments I would not consider grealh kimono. However, these are the only examples of gfakeh kimono that I can think of.
  The general consensus on kimono in Japan seems to be that while beautiful, they are uncomfortable and ill-suited to modern life. However, I donft believe that comfort and ease of movement are inherent differences between kimono and yõhuku. I agree that a kimono is more constricting than pants, but so is a pencil skirt. There are plenty of other uncomfortable things modern women wear for the sake of fashion.
  Many people think that all kimono are uncomfortable, some people even have the experience of wearing a kimono tied so tightly that it can be hard to eat a meal or even get a full breath! I have had this experience myself. At the time, I thought that kimono were meant to be uncomfortable, that if they were not tight, they were not tied correctly.
  A few months ago, I went to a special event held by the kitsuke school I attend. The school advertises that after studying there, anyone can put on a kimono correctly and beautifully in merely five minutes and without even using a mirror. The event turned kitsuke into a performance. Women in choreographed groups dressed themselves and each other in a variety of kimono styles to instrumental songs and recent pop hits, with no mirrors in sight.
  Throughout the performances, there was a notable emphasis on advances in kitsuke that have made kimono more comfortable to wear. With kimono, there are no fasteners to speak of; each layer is held in place with thin strips of fabric tied around the body. Now, however, the discerning kimono-wearer has a choice of regular fabric or of elastic strips, which bend and expand, making kimono less restricting. Although the layers must be tied securely, it is not necessary to tie things so tight that the woman wearing it cannot comfortably sit, eat, or generally enjoy her day. This is possible even with the regular fabric strips, but the elastic bands make this balance of secure yet comfortable much easier to achieve.
  While tsuke-obi were not mentioned during the event, the use of something called a kairyõ-makura was key to the kitsuke performances. With this tool, the obi is never actually tied, just folded. Not tying the obi has several advantages: it makes getting dressed alone easier, it does less damage to the obi, and it makes it possible to use shorter antique obi that would not fit around the body if tied normally. A variety of obi styles can be made with this tool \ with the kairyõ-makura, it is even possible to get dressed in furisode without any assistance, even for the obi!
  The first time I heard about the two-piece tsuke-obi, I thought of it as a gcheater-obi.h Then, one day I saw a show on NHK featuring fashion designer Yokomori Minako (OshareKoubou 2009/11/23). She was on the show promoting a modern way to think about wearing kimono. She showcased a series of tsuke-obi, and even talked about making onefs own tsuke-obi on the cheap! She demonstrated how the obi could be prepared in advanced and held together with clothespins until she was ready to put it on. She also pointed out that once on, the tsuke-obi looked no different from a regular obi. Yokomorifs main point during the program was to show that a modern woman can wear kimono as casual fashion, that kimono does not have to only be for weddings and Coming of Age Day. This was when it first occurred to me that encouraging people to wear kimono by promoting new, easier ways to put it on is a good thing. What good are strict rules and the grighth way of doing things if it causes kimono to only be worn once or twice, if at all, in a personfs lifetime?
  There are a lot of rules about how to wear modernday kimono, but there is no rule that says kimono and obi that are easy to wear are gfake.h Kimono may not be for everyone, but I hope that anyone who is curious about kimono will not be overwhelmed by the reputation and will give the idea of kimono as fashion a chance.
(Reprinted from gDoshisha University Staff English Club News No.11h on May 31) Ja
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