Although I suppose that basic white wedding gowns can be quite lovely, they have all started to look the same for me and I wasn't sure if I could visualize myself in one and feeling really special for it. So I have decided that I am going to wed in something that I find exceptionally beautiful: Kimonos. I am going to be more or less traditional in my dress. The 'less' part is because one of the layers of the kimono is supposed to be white, whereas mine will be blue. The layer that I WILL have in white, can traditionally be very colourful if the bride wishes. So I'm doing it a little backwards.

Until a couple days ago, I couldn't make heads or tails of what all the many different pieces of the kimono were. There are a staggering number of items that you need besides just the kimono. Like narrow belts (koshi-himo), wider belts (date-jime), support pillows (obi makura), stomach boards (obi ita). Then there's the stuff you don't really need, but that are nice to have anyways, like a fresh new replacable collar (han eri) for the under-kimono, and "fake" double collars to add an accent of colour (date eri).

But so I had this really strange moment where all of the sudden everything came together for me. Suddenly I understood what all these things were for! It was a pleasant feeling because the job of gathering all of these things didn't seem quite so daunting anymore. I've gotten all the layers of my dress now, minus a couple of pieces that while they are very important, are nonetheless small.

Layer 001: Underwear!

This layer is more commonly known as hadajuban or hadagi. There isn't much to say about this layer. I think the idea of it is to keep you from sweating on the silk of the other layers. Here's a picture:

Layer 002: Under-kimono!

This layer is more commonly known as nagajuban. (Let the confusion begin!) This layer can actually take a couple of forms. One is where the top and bottom are quite seperate and are in the basic design of a kimono. Definitely has an underwear look to it however. Another type is where the top is more like an actual kimono and much prettier. You can wear it on its own casually, but when you're wearing it under a kimono, you need to wear a slip with it. (Or borrow the bottom part from the other variety as I intend to do).

Both types have a collar on them that will show when you're completely dressed. These collars are called han eri and are replaceable so you can always make sure you have a perfect collar. You can get them in different colours, but white is the most common. You then need eri shin collar strips that slide onto the inside and keep the collar crisp and stiff when you're wearing it. This layer is also tied closed first with a narrow silk belt (koshi-himo), then with a wider one (date-jime) to help it from getting wrinkled and to help set the stage for the obi.

Here is a picture of my really beautiful silk furisode nagajuban! (Furisode is characterized by long sleeves and is for unmarried women. All of my kimono layers are furisode.) This picture isn't very good and I may updated it later, but the pattern is of cherry blossoms:

Layer 003: The Kimono!

This is generally the final layer in a traditional kimono attire. But with a wedding set-up, there is one more layer beyond this. This is where things really begin to get beautiful. There is more to SEE about this layer then there is for me to describe. But it is kept closed in basically the same way as the under-kimono, with another round of koshi-himo and date-jime. There's also a korin belt, which is a strip of elastic with two soft clips. It's attached to the edge of a collar near the bottom and then wrapped around to the other side and gently attached to the kimono. It's to help make extra-sure that the collar doesn't start to slip open. I'm thinking about getting a double collar (date eri) for this, maybe yellow. The double collar is attached to the inside of the real one and it makes you look like you're wearing two kimonos as was once a fashionable thing to do.

This is the layer that is traditionally supposed to be white, but when I saw this kimono on eBay, I just have to have it. It was actually described as being a wedding furisode, so I'm assuming there is some subtle difference between it and a regular furisode kimono. As is pretty common, the outer material is silk, but the lining is synthetic:

Layer 003 - 2: Obi!

This almost deserves to be considered a layer of it's own. The obi is the really wide, fancy belt that is worn over the kimono. And there is a lot that goes into it! After the kimono has been tied with the other belts, there is a very elaborate procedure for wrapping the obi around yourself, securing it with temporary strips of cloth, tying the special knot in the back, making sure the knot has it's support pillow (obi makura), and finishing it. Two of the finishing elements of the obi that I don't have yet are the obi-age and obi-jime. The obi-age is something like a scarf and it's wrapped around the top of the obi and tucked inside of it. It adds a sort of frill-effect emerging from the top of the obi. The obi-jime is a fancy cord that is tied around the outside of the obi. I don't have pictures of either of these two things because I haven't picked them out yet.

I'm avoiding much of the hassel of the procedure by using a pre-tied obi, called tsuke obi. I'm not sure how it works yet, but the bow is pre-tied and you attach it after you've finished I think. Mine was made from a pre-existing obi. Here's a picture of my tsuke obi:

Layer 004: Outer Kimono!

This layer is most commonly called uchikake. It is a bridal kimono that is worn open over all the other layers. It's longer then average so that there is a train and the bottom hem is padded so that it is weighted down. Uchikake can come in any number of colours, although red is very common. The majority of them are incrediably bold. Common motifs for uchikake are cranes, peacocks, and flowers. The crane is the most common because the crane keeps its mate for life. It's actually really hard to find one of these without cranes.

There are also all white uchikake, which are refered to particularly as shiromuku. Sometimes you'll see a white uchikake with a bright red lining, but I'm not sure if they're also called shiromuku or not. Sometimes these white wedding kimonos have a shiny silver look to them or use iridescent threads.

Mine is supposed to be all white, but I think the detail work will come off as being silver simply because of the shine. I'm just glad I was actually able to find one without cranes on it. I like cranes well enough, but I'm not big on birds in general. Mine has a floral and stream/wave motif. There are some beautiful little flower carts hiding in it as well.

That is basically it! There are a few other things that I haven't mentioned, like the split toe socks (tabi) and the shoes (zori.) There's also things to consider like hair ornaments (kanzashi) and other accessories, but they're not so important.

Philip says it is a good thing our wedding is at 2 in the afternoon, because I will need all morning to get ito this. He might be right! I'm certainly going to practice beforehand!

Posted by Galatea at April 11, 2003 11:10 AM