Wedding kimonos

[akihito89]

I'm curious!  This is something I wanted to know.  Many Thanks for participating!

[akihito89]

This is kind of fun.  Now, I have something to look at every morning.

One request:  Please reply so I can have stuff to read (like reasons for liking the stuff you do).

Thanx!

[Kou Hiko]

I choose both. I'm getting married soon and I plan to have a Japanese style wedding. I wanted to have the shiromuku for the ceromony and uchikake for the reception (which is the way it usually is) but I can't afford that. I'll just get one or the other (what ever's cheapest) and wear that the whole time. I don't want to change that many time anyways (since I'll be dressing myself and my husband ).

I like the colors of the uchikake but I like the shiromuku for it's symbolic useage. I was hoping to get a shiromuku for the wedding instead of uchikake and wear my red furisode that I will alter to look like a kakeshita. But first I need to researve the last men's wedding ensamble. How do you reserve things on Ichiroya?

[Daikan]

Dear Kou-hiko

Konchiwa   This is Ichiro with unskilled English.
Shall we offer you shiromuku for you at special prie ?
Please let us know if you want embroidery one or woven one.

"men's wedding ensamble" means " montsuki hakama set"?


If you e-mail us , we will reserve the items for a week.    

[Kou Hiko]

Oh could you?! I can't buy anything for a week though. My fiance is in the army (meaning, he gets very little money -- below minimum wage) and is gone for training until the 15th of May. He wants to get a wedding kimono (shiromuku or uchikake) and he also wants montsuki for himself. I won't be able to talk to him for a few days but when I do I'll ask him if he will want to reserve it and the montsuki set. Thank you very much, I would apprieciate it if you could help me out.

[Kou Hiko]

Is it possible/traditional to wear shiromuku over colored kakeshita and colored obi? I spent all night looking for pictures of shiromuku being worn and everything is all white. I, unfortunately, don't have anything for my up-coming wedding. I want to have my wedding as traditional as possible (so I can show off pictures later on and not be criticized for my poor fashion sense). I REALLY want a white kakeshita but they are impossible to find, and a white obi (I don't care what kind) but I can't afford them right now. The best I can come up with is white on top, red kakeshita, black obi, pink accessories. I really don't want to go that route, but if I have too, do you think it would look stupid?

[Daikan]

Dear Kou-Hiko
Don't worry. We can offer you white kakeshita at special price----- But. now we don't have kakeshita obi now----
We will e-mail you later.
Thank you!

[Kou Hiko]

Thank you, Ichiro! You are such a good help.

I was thinking about my hair last night, and how I would do it. I saw an American couple in wedding kimono and the woman wore a wig and it looked good on her. I have instructions on how to tie your hair up, but it's hard! I was going to go get my hair done by a professional, but it would look weird with brown hair (with blonde stripes) done up Japanese style. I'll probably just put it up normally with some flowers (that LOOK like tortose-shell kanzashi) and go without the hair comb (since I don't have one).

I did see a wig, but it was over a thousand dollars! That would be awesome if it weren't so expensive. But, oh well.

I haven't seen Akihito lately... I'd like to hear his opinions.

[Kou Hiko]

Shiromuku is exactly like the uchikake (in it's shape and design and how it is worn) only it is completely white (sometimes the lining is red or even silver!).

Traditionally in Japanese wedding the shiromuku is worn first, over special white kimono and obi, during the actual wedding ceremony. And then before going to the reception she changes into the colorful uchikake (worn the same way, on top of the kimono and obi, minus the shiromuku). A ways into the wedding reception she is lead out to change into colorful furisode (Oburisode) because it is the last time she can wear long sleeved kimono. Again she leaves and is changed into a white western style wedding dress, and then she leaves a final time to change into a party dress. The number of times she changes during the reception varies with preferance. (I, personally, will wear shiromuku the whole time.) Some times the groom also changes (though not as much), usually from montsuki kimono to tuxedo.

The signifigance of the white and colored kimono is important. The shiromuku is worn first. White sybolizes death, so shiromuku is her death to her family. Uchikake is usually red or orange. Red symbolizes birth (babies are born red). So the red of the uchikake is her being reborn into her husband's family. You can think of it as being adopted into your husband's family. For second weddings, the traditional colors are green and blue. I don't know what these sybolize. You can wear any color uchikake, I don't think that newer generation Japanese care about what it all means.

If you look at the uchikake page of ichiroya, most of the wedding kimono are uchikake rather than shiromuku. Iteams 1861, 1862, 1859 are all shiromuku.

I hope this helps!

[chiiyo]

It actually depends for me. I used to prefer Shiromuku, since I don't really like really garish colours and patterns. But after seeing a lot more different kinds of uchikake, I must say comparing a Shiromuku with a tastefully designed Uchikake, I would still choose the Uchikake. The ones designed by Kansai Yamamoto and Yuki Toori are just so beautiful. If a kimono or uchikake is too "busy" or heavily patterned I would usually not have a strong liking towards it.

On the other hand, I really do love the padded furisodes the bride wears. Montsuki is also nice, very regal and grand. Has it been confirmed yet that Montsuki were actually wedding kimonos? I read about two years back that research was still underway, but I never heard the confirmation.