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The excellent kitsuke site at Somesho has added videos on how to wear yukata and tie different hanhaba obi musubi! You’ll need a very fast connection to download them, as they’re big files (the kitsuke videos range from 3 to 19 meg, while the obi musubi are from 25-40 meg). If you plan on viewing them more than once, do save the videos to your hard drive, as this will save you a long wait and spare Somesho bandwidth costs, which can be very expensive. To save a video to your computer, just right-click on the link and select “Save Link Target As…” or “Save Target As…” depending on your browser.

These videos are great for seeing the actual movements that go into putting on kimono, as the basics don’t change too much from yukata to silk kimono.

Yukata Kitsuke Videos

Here’s a translation of the titles, with my own explanation in parentheses:
How to put on a yukata
1. Fastening the waistband (first koshihimo at the waist, but they use an elastic band)
2. Attaching the sash (datejime, though here they use an odd type of datejime with incorporated kohlin belt that I haven’t yet seen for sale on the web)
3. Attaching the mae ita (also known as “obi ita”. Again, one with elastic attached.)

How to tie hanhaba obi
1. Choucho musubi (butterfly musubi, resembles a bow tie)
2. Obunko (bunko musubi, the one most seen on yukata. Note that it’s different from a bunko musubi tied with a fukuro obi. Also, you don’t have to fold up the front diagonally to show the opposite side, but it can be a fun variation to do.)
3. Kai no kuchi
4. “Ribbon” musubi (a trickier musubi to tie, but very pretty)
5. Aoi (the most challenging of the five)

You may notice that the same two base folds are used for most: tying the short or long end around the other. This is also true for obi musubi done with Nagoya and fukuro obi, so practicing these will help quite a bit.

Note: Somesho also has a page called Somesho Internet Project with an English version (which that link points to). You can find more videos there, plus links to accompanying photo directions where available.

I received my tsumugi and meisen kimono a month ago, and got a new tsukesage-komon (my first!) and haori in the mail today. They’ve been added to the gallery, here are direct links:

o Kiku tsukesage komon – which has a chic vintage look that I really like.

o “Patchwork”-dyed tsumugi

o Fans and arabesques synthetic tsumugi

o Kasuri meisen – it has a surprise in store!

o Woven checks haori – I think it’s kawaii ^.^

An excellent post on shibori with several links can be found on MetaFilter today. Examples of shibori in my own gallery include the following: purple Edo komon and shibori kimono, aizome (natural indigo) yukata, deep red haori with shibori flowers, camellia and arrows Nagoya obi, and my favorite shibori garment, this grey-blue kiku (chrysanthemum) haori.

For Christmas I was given the book Shibori: The Inventive Art of Japanese Shaped Resist Dyeing – Traditions, Techniques, Innovation. A veritable encyclopedia. The first part of the book details shibori’s history and has several color examples. Then come 70 pages on different techniques: each technique is accompanied by a photograph, diagram(s) and detailed instructions.

Following that is an incredible 75-page black and white gallery with photos of kimono and other textiles, then a section on modern innovations and shibori artisans. This section has breathtaking color photos that include tsujigahana kimono done by Itchiku Kubota, who revived the technique this century. Finally, the appendices contain information on cloth, dyes (recipes!), suggestions for beginners, a glossary, and three pages with diagrams of tools used (hooks, bobbins, scissors, stands and winding mechanism). In short, this is a superb English-language book to have for those interested in shibori.

Happy New Year! To celebrate 2004, I finally tried on my red and black furisode:

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From left to right: The first photo is with a datejime, before putting on the obi; the second and third photos are fully dressed. I’ve posted the first photo because of what becomes apparent in the second: my furisode is too short to be worn with an ohashori. You can see that the hem is well above the floor, when furisode should just touch the floor. (That way when you wear zori, your heels are completely covered by the kimono.) The third photo shows that the kimono has started to sag at the waist, which is due to the too-short ohashori. It only just covers the koshihimo beneath! Because of this, next time I’ll try wearing it without an ohashori, much like wedding kimono are worn. The obiage also needs some work, but aside from those concerns, I’m very happy with the ensemble.

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I also tried on my favorite komon with a fukuro Nagoya obi. This kimono is just the right length, and it makes all the difference! The obiage looks very good (hurray!), as does the obijime, the collars are well done, the ohashori is just right, and my Nagoya obi musubi looks nice, although it has a slight tilt to it. As for the downsides, my han eri inched up in the back (it should be covered at the nape) and the front panel is too far to the side.

Overall, progress has been made! And my furisode rang in the new year :)

Photographed instructions that I hope can act as a complement to others online:

o How to wear a kimono

There are three pages of instructions in all, not counting the collar preparation that I posted earlier. Please note that I’ve done my best to make clear instructions that are as thorough as possible, but by the very nature of kitsuke, they are not exhaustive or authoritative; there are different ways to proceed (the devil is in the details, as the saying goes). They do give as proper a look as I am capable of!

I’ve updated the instructions I had for how to put on a juban, added how to tie a datejime, and have started on instructions for wearing a kimono. As with previous instructions, all are interlinked.

o Putting on a juban (with a chikara nuno)

o Putting on a datejime

o Preparing the kimono collar (first step of wearing a kimono)

Joy, joy joy – three meisen and tsumugi kimono in my size (and in great condition) will soon arrive by post to be added to my collection.

I had to go to three different post offices in Nice just to find an IPMO form today, to send the seller. Would you believe there was only one form left in the last post office I visited? The first two simply had none left and didn’t know when more would arrive. The effort was worth it, however, because while arriving at the last post office, I wound up behind a young mother with her cute two-year-old son, walking up the slick rain-covered stone stairs with great effort. The little boy saw me behind them and stuck his hand out. At first I just grinned and waved at him, but then he grabbed my hand! His mom looked at him wide-eyed, then said to me with an embarrassed look, “Oh! That silly boy, he always does this! Always!” Meanwhile her son happily steadied himself against the both of us and only let go of my hand once we reached the top of the stairs. Very outgoing young lad :)

Here are the three kimono:
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The first is a dyed tsumugi kimono, with a motif of fans and arabesques in batik style (not true batik, I think). The second is meisen with a large cross weave that looks very much like traditional kasuri, and the third is another tsumugi kimono with a dyed patchwork-like motif. The two tsumugi kimono have solid deep red hakkake (lower linings), whereas the meisen kimono has a solid dark pink lining. I love linings like that! All three kimono are really long – I have seen several beautiful Oshima tsumugi kimono for tall women on ebay in the last month, but all of them were snatched up by a Japanese ebayer with much deeper pockets than mine. It is nice to know they’ll be worn in Japan, though! These two weren’t labeled as tsumugi, so I suspect that’s how I managed to win them. All three are from ebay seller ryujapan-99.

Here it is, my new site dedicated to kimono. There will be quite a few updates in the next week or two, especially to the links and favorites.

All posts related to kimono previously on anna no nuimono have been moved here, along with comments.