Kimono

(This article was first published in Small World Ezine on 20 May 2002)

   

Though we are kind of using the term "kimono" for bath robes
(or bedroom robes), it is actually the Japanese word for 
"clothes"... Well, at least originally it was. Nowadays, the 
term is being used to refer specifically to only traditional 
Japanese clothing. 

Kimono-making technique was successfully developed in the 
Heian period (794-1192). It's the straight-line-cut method, 
which involved cutting pieces of fabric in straight lines and 
sewing them together. With this technique, kimono makers did 
not have to cut the fabric to fit the body. 

Straight-line-cut kimonos offered many advantages. They were 
easy to fold. Thus, They became suitable for all weather. In 
winter, they could be worn in layers. And in summer, people 
wore kimonos made of linen. Kimonos, therefore, become part 
of Japanese people's everyday lives in all occasions.

Over time, as the practice of wearing kimonos in layers came 
into fashion, Japanese people began paying attention to how 
kimonos of different colors looked together. The combinations 
of colors also represented either seasonal colors or the 
political class to which one belonged. 

During the Kamakura period (1192-1338) and the Muromachi
period (1338-1573), both men and women wore brightly colored 
kimonos. And warriors dressed in colors representing their 
leaders. Later it bacame a form of uniform for Samurais.

During the Meiji period (1868-1912), Japan was heavily 
influenced by foreign cultures. Soldiers and Government 
Officers were ordered to wear western-styled uniforms. But 
ordinary citizens still wore kimonos on formal occasions.
Using garments decorated with one's family crest would also
identify his or her family background.

 

 

More:

Nowadays, Japanese people rarely wear kimonos in everyday 

life, reserving them for such occasions as weddings, funerals, 

tea ceremonies, or other special events, such as summer festivals. 

They change their kimonos to fit the seasons and occasions. 

Wearing a wrong kimono to an occasion is an unacceptable manner.

Ebook:  Kimono in the Boardroom