Post by calendarbay on Jun 3, 2004 20:56:22 GMT -5
I'm trying to put our kimono to good use this summer by putting together a "fashion show" using our exchange students as models. The object is to explain some of the history and show people the different types and customary etiquette in wearing them. I have a few questions regarding the various types of wedding kimono. I've searched cyberspace and numerous books I have, but haven't found many answers, so maybe some of the more knowledgeable experts here can supply them.
1. I understand that a shiromuku is worn during the formal ceremony, and I've also read that a kakesh(i)ta is or can be worn underneath. I've not been able to verify that through any pictures I've seen of brides in shiromuku - everything showing underneath always appears to be white as well. The first question is whether a white kimono is most often worn under the shiromuku rather than a kakesh(i)ta. (I read somewhere online that when the whole ensemble is white it's called shiromuku style - It's just that I don't know what a whole ensemble consists of in that case.)
2. Whether or not the kimono worn under the shiromuku is white or a kakesh(i)ta, is there an appropriate obi and obi tying that accompanies it? I don't think I've ever seen a plain white kimono that wasn't a shiromuku with padded hem. I've seen obi labeled as being for weddings, but don't understand what makes them so.
3. On Anna's website, (http://kimono.fraise.net/gallery/kakeshita.html, she mentions there being a difference between a kakesh(i)ta and a hikifurisode, which is also called a hanayome or bride's furisode. I've often seen reference to "furisode for bride" and kakesh(i)ta, but in comparing those I've come across online and on the links to hikifurisode on her page, I don't see any visible difference. Does anyone know what exactly it is? (BTW, the link might not work if ProBoard adjusts the spelling of kakesh(i)ta for your protection.)
4. Anna also mentions that a kakesh(i)ta is usually one color. Does this mean the background is predominantly one color? Is there a certain type or maybe degree of embellishment that separates them from hikifurisode? (I would direct some of these questions directly to Anna at her website, but I thought maybe others here might be interested in the answers, and know she's commented here in the past.)
5. I've read numerous times that the wedding kimono are particularly difficult to put on, requiring professional dressers to have it done right. Other than hair and makeup, what is it that makes this so uniquely difficult? I understand that proper dressing, esp. obi tying, is becoming somewhat of a lost art, but is kitsuke for wedding kimono/kakesh(i)ta any more complicated than say, a kurotomesode? Fitting uchikake/shiromuku doesn't seem to be difficult since they're worn open, unless there's some part of the process that I've not seen mentioned.
That's about it. As Ichiro-san says, thanks for reading to the end! Although wedding traditions appear to be going through quite a bit of change, I'd still like to convey to our audience the ones that have been observed for a long time and which some are trying to maintain. Thanks for any details you can provide!
1. I understand that a shiromuku is worn during the formal ceremony, and I've also read that a kakesh(i)ta is or can be worn underneath. I've not been able to verify that through any pictures I've seen of brides in shiromuku - everything showing underneath always appears to be white as well. The first question is whether a white kimono is most often worn under the shiromuku rather than a kakesh(i)ta. (I read somewhere online that when the whole ensemble is white it's called shiromuku style - It's just that I don't know what a whole ensemble consists of in that case.)
2. Whether or not the kimono worn under the shiromuku is white or a kakesh(i)ta, is there an appropriate obi and obi tying that accompanies it? I don't think I've ever seen a plain white kimono that wasn't a shiromuku with padded hem. I've seen obi labeled as being for weddings, but don't understand what makes them so.
3. On Anna's website, (http://kimono.fraise.net/gallery/kakeshita.html, she mentions there being a difference between a kakesh(i)ta and a hikifurisode, which is also called a hanayome or bride's furisode. I've often seen reference to "furisode for bride" and kakesh(i)ta, but in comparing those I've come across online and on the links to hikifurisode on her page, I don't see any visible difference. Does anyone know what exactly it is? (BTW, the link might not work if ProBoard adjusts the spelling of kakesh(i)ta for your protection.)
4. Anna also mentions that a kakesh(i)ta is usually one color. Does this mean the background is predominantly one color? Is there a certain type or maybe degree of embellishment that separates them from hikifurisode? (I would direct some of these questions directly to Anna at her website, but I thought maybe others here might be interested in the answers, and know she's commented here in the past.)
5. I've read numerous times that the wedding kimono are particularly difficult to put on, requiring professional dressers to have it done right. Other than hair and makeup, what is it that makes this so uniquely difficult? I understand that proper dressing, esp. obi tying, is becoming somewhat of a lost art, but is kitsuke for wedding kimono/kakesh(i)ta any more complicated than say, a kurotomesode? Fitting uchikake/shiromuku doesn't seem to be difficult since they're worn open, unless there's some part of the process that I've not seen mentioned.
That's about it. As Ichiro-san says, thanks for reading to the end! Although wedding traditions appear to be going through quite a bit of change, I'd still like to convey to our audience the ones that have been observed for a long time and which some are trying to maintain. Thanks for any details you can provide!