Obi Lesson: Aha Moment After Entanglement!

We had obi lesson today.
Previous lesson which focusing on kimono was quite smooth.

You can't find some of above five wore kimono for their first time. (obi was tighten by me)

But today, obi lesson, beginning was a mess.

We bound our body with a obi, turned 3 times, clipped, tied and made a obi drum behind us with sweat (and tears...)!  

However,  once you grasp the techniques, it become much easier than the first time.
And then, please see, these beautiful obi musubi!

Autumn Kimono Class Started!

With just three times lessons, these ladies become perfect kimono wearer! I will have a same course in English in November. if you would like to join, please contact me.

I also plan to have Asakusa kimono shops tour in November. We will visit over 20 kimono retailers and wholesales in Asakusa and Nihonbashi. It is around about 3 hours short trip, but you must be excited to see both cutting-edge and quite traditional kimono industry trend in Tokyo!

Hot Summer Yukata Lesson

I usually don't have kimono class in summer since I don't want to listen attendee's complaint about Tokyo heat and humid during wearing. Kimono (yukata) wraps your body from neck to ankle. When you tie obi, you must turn clockwise twice as quick as possible. Yes, it is sweaty!

But this time, since attendee is a Malaysian, I opened a special class for her. I thought Malaysia was far south of Tokyo so she should be OK for this heat and humid.

With my neighbor Etsuko, we practiced yukata wearing, bunko tying and tsunodashi tying.

The lovely Malaysian Ez really did well, but our two expectations were failed.  1. Ez said Malaysia is not bad like Tokyo summer especially humidity. 2. Her Japanese was excellent so Etsuko who would like to talk in English missed opportunity to brush up English speaking skill!

Thank you for the lovely moment with us, Ez. We promise you can be a beautiful kimono dresser!

Kimono students graduation!

My part-time kimono wearing class was completed. From this April to June, we have 6 lessons and now all 20 ladies (10 x 2 groups) can wear kimono quite elegantly!

 
Please see our graduation photo.

Now they can wear kimonos which were from their mothers. How useful to save the clothes which were stored in old tansu chests for a log time.

Furisode Kimono Wearing

American flea market shoppers visited us to wear their treasures. We enjoyed to see their beautiful furisode, tsukesage and obi sashes. And we made them dressed.

How gorgeous they are!

And then, we made sushi rolls for our lunch wearing kimono apron on kimono.

What are beautiful day with colorful kimonos and sushi rolls!

Singing and Dancing Japanese Folk Songs in Kimono!

Since I heard Sheila would film about kimono, I dashed off the shooting place near Asakusa. Surprisingly, the place was a traditional Japanese folk song bar and all store staffs were professional signers and shamisen players.

Not only just listening the staffs are playing Japanese traditional folk songs, you also can dance and sing with their accompaniment. I sang Tokyo-ondo song and danced Tanko-bushi coal miners song. These are very easy to sing and dance songs for Japanese traditional bon festival.

Like our ancestors, I really wished I could sing and dance all-night! Definitely would like to visit again! must be on Friday or Saturday night.

Asakusa Kimono Shop Tour

I and a cultural organization I belong to have Asakusa kimono shop tours for interpreter tour guides for their education.

After two hours lecture about how to find/shop kimono in Tokyo or on internet, we visited over 20 shops including kimono recycling retailers, whole-sellers and combs shop which is one of the oldest shops in Asakusa and Nihonbashi.

This tour was so popular among the organization members so I held 3 tours in two days. But visiting kimono shops with kimono fellows was so much fun so I didn't get tired at all!

Kimono kitsuke class

I became a part-time kitsuke class teacher from this April. Kitsuke teaching is exciting and thrilling since I have lots of things to tell, but time is so limited.
The first day was Yukata lesson. Everyone got grade AAA!

What the Dickens, Kimono PhD !?

We celebrated Sheila's PhD award. The thesis is about kimono history and fashion. Please ask her directly for the details. I am on the thesis. It is my honor!

The place is a British pub "What the Dickens!" in Ebisu. Maggie introduced this place to me. Since her cousin designed this pub. What the Dickens!

A vintage kimono collector from France

We, English speaking Japanese kimono ladies welcomed Maggie, an English vintage kimono collector from France.

She showed us so many beautiful vintage kimonos brought from France! 

 In return, Etsuko showed Maggie her lovely kirigami technique.

We made Maggie dressed.

Voila! Now all ladies are in kimono!

New Year Shamisen Play but stain on my kimono...

For New Year Celebration, I got a chick purple-gray komon from Nagamochiya ( the place everybody can sell own kimono 50% commission base). I love it especially this abstract karakusa-like motif with thin gold lines.

A Close Up

With a blue and gold lace fukuro obi 

A happy new year!

On January 1st, at our uncle's house,  when we cheered for the new year, I dropped beer on my kimono. Shxx! (not Shino). A stain on my collar!!! This was the worst thing that I had had in new year celebration because I planed to wear this kimono again on Shamisen banjo new year party a week later.  

I wonder, worry and fret about, and finally decided to wear it again at the Shamisen new year party.

But I hided behind other players.

Hope you couldn't see the stain.

Kimono wearing class on November 5th!

After long time absense (because it was too hot), I will re-open my kimono wearing class from next month. Please come and join us! Members are English speaking so let's  talk about kimono in English. This is great fun!

from young to old

any nationality

From young to matured and any nationality will be welcomed. But for ladies only, sorry! If you would like to join, please send me email

my new summer kimonos

I got two summer kimonos. Kinu basho and ro komon. Kinu basho is silk tsumugi weaven like Okinawa bashofu (real bashofu is pretty rare and expensive!). Ro is see-through and light summer silk for July and August. However, since recent Tokyo summer is crazily hot, where and when I can wear them?

I wore kinu basho at Tsukiji sushi diner. Chef was so pleased to see my kimono and asked me to have a photo with him.

Sushi directly from Tsukiji fish market was nice but I was so sweaty...
So I brought them to my Alaskan cruise tour.

I love this summer linen bingata obi sash, too!

Danced for the ocean in ro comon.

However, as you see on the photos, Alaska was dark and cold. Pieces of icebergs floating on the sea...even in summer. I was freezed in see-through kimonos!

 

Let's dance like a maiko!

As one of my kimono club activities for summer, we planned a Japanese dance lesson. It was for fun but the really serious thing, since we invited professional dance teacher!

What we lesseoned was Gion Kouta, a maiko's song who longed for her secret love. You can see real Gion Kouta here, real maiko and geisha dancing. Ours may be similar!

How to tie hanhaba obi sash as tsunodashi

I have never seen this way of tying hanhaba obi sash.  It must be nice if you would like to show hanhaba as nagoya. I must try it! it is too hot to tie obi today though...

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.