Different Styles of Kimono

Furisode

Formal kimono with long flapping sleeves which reach the ankles, said to beckon to men. Beautiful bright patterns and fabrics. Worn only by young unmarried women. Usually purchased for the Coming of Age Ceremony, which takes place on January 15th of the year in which the wearer turns 20. Some furisode cost as much as a car, and some young women would prefer to have the car.

Tomesode

Kurotomesode is most formal black tomesode for married women. Always black with a pattern or design between the obi and the hem, and shorter sleeves than a furisode. As a woman ages she wears shorter sleeves. Irotomesode or colored tomesode is less formal than black.

Houmongi

Literal translation is visiting (houmon) wear (gi). A less formal kimono worn for visiting or informal gatherings. Houmongi can be either furisode or tomesode.Sleeve length is determined by marital status. Formality is determined by color. Any color other than black makes the kimono less formal.

Uchikake

Over-kimono. Photo used with kind permission of Janice Mason Art Museum of Cadiz, Kentucky. Most elaborate and gorgeous of all kimono, often referred to as a wedding kimono. The uchikake is a long padded robe worn over the bridal kimono. The beautiful uchikake pictured here has a pattern of cranes and waves. Cranes are auspicious symbols of peace, longevity, and new beginnings. Waves symbolize the ebb and flow of life. The kimono worn beneath the uchikake will be a pure white shiromuku. Only a bride or a corpse may wear a pure white kimono. The bride because she is leaving her family and beginning a new life with her husband; the corpse because the person has left this life to move on to the next.The living wear kimono crossed left over right.The kimono for the dead is crossed right over left.

Kimono Motifs

There are many motifs used to decorate kimono. In addition to their obvious associations, some of these motifs have pronunciations in common with pictograms or kanji, which have very different meanings. Here are a few of the more common motifs:

Kiku

Chrysanthemum

Stands for longevity. Crest of the imperial family. An autumn pattern, not appropriate for other seasons.

Shou-Chiku-Bai

Pine, Bamboo, and Plum

Most popular motif, symbolic of eternal life (pine), upright yet flexible (bamboo), sweetness of life (plum).Also known as the "three friends of Winter." A pattern for Winter kimono. Also a brand of sake. Not a very good one, though.

Botan

Peony

Represents wealth and nobility. Known as "king of flowers." A Spring motif, yet not strictly observed due to it's other auspicious meanings.

Sakura

Cherry Blossom

Represents loyalty, innocence, and purity. Associated with Spring.

Romaji

All of the Japanese words on this site are written using Romaji. Romaji is a phonetic way of writing Japanese using the western alphabet. This Romaji Dictionary will show you the Kanji and the kana that relate to the phonetic you input. Check it out! You can see that some Japanese words have many homophones, and so there might be many meanings associated with any particular motif. Try the word "kiku". My mother-in-law's name is Kikuko. You might think it means Chrysanthemum child, written with 2 characters (kiku-ko). However, her name is actually written with three different characters (ki-ku-ko), and means "rejoice long time child", or as my mother-in-law likes to say, she is a "joy forever."

Obi Style

The obi is the wide sash that goes around the outside of the kimono and keeps it together. Perhaps in honor of the Japanese nautical tradition, there are hundreds of ways to tie the obi. There are long dangling bows worn by apprentice geisha,and myriad short fat knots for nearly everyone else. There is a special way of tying the obi for a pregnant woman, known as the "open-mouth-clam". Unfortunately I could not find a photo of that one!

Taiko Obi

Drum Bow

The ubiquitous square obi knot worn by nearly every married woman on nearly all kimono occasions. Named for the bridge(Taiko Bashi)on which this style of obi was first seen as a new fashion, worn by geisha photographed on the bridge on its opening day. Known as the drum-bow simply because taiko translates as drum. But not because it looks like a drum. A taiko is round. A taiko obi is a puffy square.

Niju-daiko

Double-drum Bow

Worn by married women on ceremonial occasions. Signifies the doubling of one's joy.

Fukura suzume

Plump Sparrow Bow

Worn by unmarried women on ceremonial occasions. Looks like a sparrow with its wings spread. She is free for a man to capture and cage.

Obi-jime

The obi-jime is a rope-like cord of braided silk used to keep the obi in place. The obi-jime is tied in the upper third of the obi for an unmarried woman, in the center for a married woman, and in the lower third for the older woman.

Obi-age

Notice the pink scarf, known as obi-age, tucked in along the top of the obi. This is not merely a style or a matter of personal taste. This scarf is prominently worn in the manner of a young unmarried woman. As a woman ages the scarf is tucked deeper beneath the obi, until at last, a woman is no longer even a woman, but a genderless nenpai no kata, an "aged person", the obi-age barely peeps above the obi.

Here is a short video of ladies graduating from kimono school. Many good shots of taiko style obi, and the exquisite arrangement of the back collar. You might wish to turn off the sound!

Fetching, ne!

In the West, the female breast is the erotic attribute supreme.In Japan, it is the nape of a woman's neck. Young unmarried women are not permitted to wear the back collar of the kimono lower than the distance of a fist away from the nape of the neck. Married women are permitted a slightly deeper gap. Geisha wear the back of the collar gapped deeply away from the nape of the neck, almost between the shoulder blades.

The Lovely Package

Significant time and assistance are required to dress properly in kimono. The body is wrapped in layers of fabric, re-shaped into a near-cylindrical form, secured and held in place with rope and decorated with a bow. The entire package can be undone in a matter of moments by the tug of a string, a fact that is not lost on the members of either sex.

If you are ever in New York and need help putting on your kimono, here is a kimono dresser who can help you! Her fees range from $180 to $1,000.