5 minutes kimono wearing!

To show my special welcome to my old friend visited my house from Oregon, I made his wife wearing kimono. It was my honor I could help her first kimono experience!

Since they didn't have much time, she wore kimono over her shirts and tied hanhaba sash. I made it in 5 minites...this was my first experience, too!  it was so exciting experience.

The colors of kimono and obi sash really match her, right?

First kimono kitsuke party in 2012

Today's my handmade oyatsu snack was sweet potato cake with honey lemon sauce. For our kitsuke party!

It was a bit crowded but was a great fun! because we welcomed a new member on board.

This party's details are on her blog. Please read how she was excited on her first kitsuke!.

Shamisen banjo new year party

We are preparing

Shamisen stage!

Now it's my turn...I am nervous...

So many people are on the stage. Hei, don't hit me with your shamisen neck, please!

We are playing nagauta which accompanies the kabuki theater. It is very long (one song is over 20 min). My issue is not the technique but my legs....I can't sit on the knees so long!

Anyhow, we finished. Cheers for happy new year!

What to Wear to Kabuki and Sumo?

One of kimono class students asked me what to wear to the kabuki theater and sumo tournaments. It seems many people wearing homongi (formal for going out) she doesn't have.

My opinion is there is no regulation. But these are the best places to watch beautiful kimonos so you might be watched.

The homongi wearers you may see at the entrance of the theater are kabuki actors' wives. So you don't need to wear like them if you are not a wife of a kabuki actor.

Koshiro's wife and Somegoro's wife

Danjuro's wife and Ebizo's wife

At sumo tournaments, you may see beautiful kimono women sit and watch sumo behind wrestlers.  

Most of them are madam of bars wrestlers often visit.

Most of customers are like below. But be careful, they always watch what others wear. 

When you go to bathroom at the theater, there is always a long line. After you finish your job and get out from a restroom stall, somebody must say from your behind. 

"Your tare ( obi's trail) is rolling up!"

Don't be shy or nervous. Just turn around to her and reply quietly. "I know ma'am, I will fix it after I wash my hands" 

Kimono and boots trip in Europe

With facebook friends' advice, I walked around cities in kimono and boots.

In London, as well as a wool cap. It was cold and cloud over...

In Rome. Orange shawl over haori was perfect to protect from cold and pickpockets.

In Genoa. I wore my uncle's haori.　My grandmother sewed to her son about 50 years ago but no one has ever worn, and both were passed away already. It was fond last autumn as just a brand-new. so I wore it! It's nicely warm.

I showed the Mediterranean sea to my new shibori obi,  Higashi-san  made for this kimono. Kimono was renewed by Lyuta . The color red was really a good match to the ocean, I believe.

Kimono Year-end Party!

We, Tokyo kimono club had a kitsuke session in my house.

Telling each other how each of us wear kimono is a great fun and useful.

She is showing us her secret for loosing datejime belt on the stage (stairs).

We all set!
And then a party!!

Japanese traditional karinto fried dough and Duch traditional sweet joined the party.

This is my handmade. Tofu cream on a chocolate cake!

Reversible obi sash is the best for travels

Do you know how to tie-dye? I didn't and now I know!

Tie

Die

and Dry

And then, sew brown cloth and  green cloth in one.

Green side, brown side and a core for obi sash 

Brown side is for the red kimono.

Green side is for my orange base  calico sarasa kimono. Mission is completed. Do I and my red kimono look nice?

It's exciting to design my own obi sash!

I plan to wear my red komon and orange based calico sarasa kimonos on my travel to the Mediterranean. If it is overseas at sea, I don't need to be tied by Japanese old custom that matured women should wear quiet colors! (right?)

Both asanoha komon and sarasa have intricate motifs so obi sash should be simple and has a large pattern.

How about snow flake yukiwa on hemp leaves asanoha and arabesque karakusa on calico?
Higashi-san agreed to make shibori obi sashes with these patterns. Hyahhow (=Japanese wow ), how exciting! (to be continued...)

snowflake yukiwa (left) hemp leaves asanoha (right)

arabesque karakusa (left) calico sarasa (right) 

How to wear red for my age

I like to wear red and pink. Actually I liked. Recently I feel guilty wearing these good-for-young colors. But how do I do for this red asanoha komon kimono?  I can't dump it...Still I want to wear it!

Me about 5 years ago in red komon 

Lyuta suggested me to change its red hakkake lyner to dark-brown. Higashi promised me to make nice obi sash for this red kimono. Please see his beautiful shibori tie-dyeing work for his tea master. If he would make me a cool obi sash only for me....(to be continued)

Tokyo is hot (muggy) and safe.

We think foreigners visit current Japan are so brave. So we welcomed her from the bottom of our heart. As much as we could.

We cooked

One of us danced,

And enjoyed muggy and hot night with her.

Berber!

Please come back to us again. Hopefully soon. Since Tokyo is safe. right?

How to get a sexy kimono appearance from behind

I read a book of Tamao Nakamura, who has been an actress over 50 years. She also married with a famous samurai movie star and director Shintaro Katsu until he died.

In her kimono book, she gave us tips of how to wear kimono sexy, as she showed on a TV advertising. Please see the movie from here. (Sorry, sipping noodle is Japanese traditional manner. Please do like this when you come to Japan.)

She suggested that when we wear kimono, we must adjust kimono center straight on our backbone. But under the waist, it is better to slide the kimono center 4-5cm (1-2 inches) to the left or right whichever we like. If we do like this, the kimono buttocks back shot becomes three-dimensional and looks sexy.

Really? I have never heard of this. Will try next time.

For your reference. Another kimono books with many photos.

International Kitsuke Session

For kitsuke session at my house, a Slovenian woman magazine writer Nika attended.

First, she tried my pink tsumugi.
Although she was slightly bigger than me, it seemed kimono size was fine!

And then she interviewed another attendees about kimonos in their everyday life. How they got kimonos etc.

It is great pleasure for us telling about kimono abroad. I am sure Nika would write nice article about kimono!

International Kimono Meeting 2

We visited a kimono rich house. She opened her, her mother's and her grandmother's tansu dresser to show kimonos handed down through the generations to us, two British and one Japanese, me.

This type of traditional Japanese house, tatami mats covers all floors and fluorescent white lights at the ceiling are decreasing. It is special opportunity to visit this type of Japanese house (for me also)

After the visit, international kimono meeting again!

Photo by Lyuta

Soon the meeting became kitsuke kimono wearing session.

This stripe kimono Maggie wore was so called kimono shitagi which wore under hikizuri kimono. It might be a geisha costume. I saw this type of kimono for the first time!

International kimono meeting 1

After Berber from ｔhe Netherlands and I went to kabuki costumes exhibition,

For this exhibition's details, please see here

we had a first international kimono meeting at Japanese dinner!

We met Kimono Magic for the first time. Kimono dressmaker Lyuta made us to meet. Thank you! These blond kimono ladies have 200 kimonos each. I, black hair only have 20... How they find storage space???

Sushi and kimono on my birthday

Encouraged by Rie, I wore kimono for the first time for this summer. Well, it becomes September, but still it is summer in Tokyo.

I wore asa hemp kimono and Hakata hanhaba (half width) obi sash since it was my birthday and we went out for sushi restaurant!

I tie my hanhaba with the way which seems like otaiko musubi (formal form). I recently found how to tie like this in a book and really like this obi musubi since it is easy and looks authentic.

(On the photo, the edge of otaoiko is rolling up...mmm) 

Since I was crazy for eating sushi, I forgot to take a photo of sushi and kimono of this night! Below is another sushi and kimono. But it was last winter. Winter is the best season for both sushi and kimono.