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The KIMONO

Name:       Kimono                                   Place:  Japan

 

Origin:       Sice the 15th century            Materials:    Silk                                                                           

Occasion:         Events (weedings, births, ...)

   Also called Gofuku, which means "clothes of Wus" (a group of Chinese languages), Kimono's style has been influenced a lot by Chinese fashion, mainly since the early 8th century. Men do not wear kimonos very much, mainly women do, and it is not the kind of thing they wear during martial arts ! 


   A Kimono is T-shaped, it is a straight-lined robe and it falls to the ankle. A Kimono is wrapped around the body, and it holds thanks to a sash tied in the back, called Obi. The Obi is usually 4m long and 60cm wide. The left is always over the right, except when dressing the dead for burial, right is over the left. A Kimono is very hard to put on, indeed women needs approximately 20 steps to set it properly, and it needs at least one more person to help.

    Some Kimonos, which are really difficult to realize, could be considered as pieces of art because of precious materials used.

    Nowadays, Kimonos are only worn for formal moments, like weddings or tea ceremonies for instance. It is the representative of polite and very formal clothing. But a modern version of the Kimono is much more used, called the Yukata.

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