Matching kimono colours to the season

[bawsin]

Does anyone know of any resources, online or in print, that provide detailed advice (including colour pics) on which kimono colours are appropriate to which seasons? Not the motifs, such as plum vs. chrysanthemum (that part I find easy enough), but the actual background colour of the kimono itself.

I know that in general, according to one website:

<< Pale colors such as light green are appropriate for spring, while cool colors such as lavender or dark blue or are good for summer. Autumn calls for colors that imitate the hues of the turning leaves, and winter is the season for strong colors like black and red. >>

Having said that, I know that there are many nuances that I am simply missing. For example, there's another online seller of kimono that includes, with each kimono, advice on the season(s) to which it is appropriate. There are many times when I fail to see the logic behind that connection.

By the way, I'm already aware of Liza Dalby's Kimono, but IIRC, the only place in the book where she goes into great detail on this question is in the section on Heian colour combinations - and then it's mostly information on how Heian noblewomen layered their multiple kimono. What I really want is advice appropriate for wearing contemporary kimono - one outer layer only!

Speaking of the wonderful Liza Dalby, her website www.lizadalby.com mentions that she's writing a book called Seasoning: A Cultural Natural History And Memoir. That book may well touch upon this question, and I'm really looking forward to buying it when it becomes available. Still, it sounds like the publication date is still distant; and I'm looking for help now.

One last thing, if anyone's aware of any books in Japanese that address my question - ideally, books that have lots of colour pictures and also display the colour swatches or kimono pics arranged by season or month - that would do just fine. If you can give me an ISBN, there's always Amazon.co.jp! I can't read much Japanese, but I can pick my way through katagana and know a handful of kimono-related Kanji, so even that would be a big help.

Many thanks --

bawsin

[Flock]

Maybe you could study pictures, for example, if you look at pictures of women in kimono by some cherry blossoms or something you might be able to tell what time of year it is, and thus note the colour of their kimono..
Maybe part of it is taste more than anything else.. I don't know.
You say that the subject (ie plums or chrisanthemums) you know the season of, but what about looking at the background colour of these? if they vary greatly then maybe the rules are not set in stone.
That's all I can think of -
Flock

[bawsin]

I've indeed been falling back on the approaches you suggest, Flock. And they have been helpful to some degree. However, these gambits have some limitations.

For instance, you can't use the motif to determine season if the kimono is motif-less (e.g. an iromuji, which is one solid colour, and is often devoid of even a figured motif).

And if I see a picture of a woman wearing pale yellow iromuji and she's standing under a flowering cherry tree, I can assume it's OK for spring... but what if I want to wear my pale yellow iromuji at another point in the year? Should I infer from that picture that I may wear it only in spring? Is that inference sound? Is it one extrapolation too far?

Here's an example of that website I was talking about. They're selling a grey iromuji here:
www.i-kimono.com/system/output/item5.php?gengo=1&no=61

The listing says, "Late Spring to Early Fall". Assuming they're correct, is this season range true for all grey kimono? Is it only true for light- to mid-grey iromuji? (For example, is darker grey appropriate instead to the colder seasons?) And, is it possible that this season range is due in part to the exact hue of the grey, which in this case has a distinct brownish-tan undertone to it?

Actually, I find that website somewhat opaque in its season assignments. For example, there's a pastel pink iromuji that's "Late Fall to Early Spring". Really? Well then - is it solely the colour that determines these seasons, or is it the figured chrysanthemum on the fabric? (And in the latter case, why would that be acceptable past the autumn?)

That's why I'm really keen to find a book, or website, that shows colour swatches by season. That would make the question much less ambiguous. But I don't know if such books exist. I've certainly invested a lot of time looking for a website, but without luck...

BTW, I attend a Japanese tea group where (because many women only own one or two kimono) we are often "wrong", seasonally speaking, in the kimono we wear. So I'm not worried about being 100% correct all the time. But I would like to know, for my own satisfaction, what is technically correct. That way, if I ever have to attend a very important function or event, I can at least be confident that the kimono or iromuji I choose is appropriately seasonal.

Hah, kimono... nothing's ever simple!

[Flock]

Yes it is puzzling, but of course there are clues, if you saw a pale yellow iromuji fully lined, then you can only assume it is for the times of year for which fully lined kimono are worn, if it were unlined then the same applies, I have a darkish purple unlined iromuji made out of seethroughish Ro silk, it is obviously for the height of summer.
But then of course there is occassion, black iromuji is always for funerals no matter what season, they are just lined or unlined as applies.
I am sorry I cannot answer your questions better, if I see a guide to the colours I will let you know! I am keen to know myself. Though I have found vague ideas:
"Pale colors such as light green are appropriate for spring, while cool colors such as lavender or dark blue or are good for summer. Autumn calls for colors that imitate the hues of the turning leaves, and winter is the season for strong colors like black and red. "
(found www.vixenarts.com/japanese/kimono/kimono.html here right at the bottom of the page)

[Kiyoaki]

baswin,
I can't be certain, but the kimono shown on the link you gave, appears to be unlined. If so, than means it would only be suitable for mid-summer. I also think the true color may not be a flat gray at all. It could be anything from black to a dead-leaf-brown, depending upon the lighting.

I don't think there is a strict association for a given color with a specific season or occasion (except perhaps for black, which always suggest formality). There may be an association with age, though. With few exceptions, matronly woman would tend not to wear bright colors (especially reds) of any hue.