Kimono

Alright, so the blog has been lagging a bit this week, at least by my estimation. I actually have no quantitative evidence for that because I am not currently online to compare the number of posts I did this week vs. past weeks. But if I was online I would do it. (That just tells you how much of a nerd I am. Can’t just trust my feelings, you know. Got to gather data and do some statistical analysis.) I’m pretty sure this has happened because the posts I want to do are image intensive and I’ve felt a little too lazy to resize all the pictures and get them posted.

Well, today I’m sucking it up and giving you pictures. Rejoice and be glad! (No, seriously, do it. Otherwise my efforts will be wasted and then I’ll be grumpy that you didn’t appreciate the product of my sort-of-hard-but-mostly-just-tedious work).

I just finished my special, one-time kimono class here at HIF. We got to learn how to put on yukata (the most casual form of kimono). Since I’m pretty tall, Okaasan lent me hers for today, which was pretty cool.
Let me tell you, tying the obi (belt) was a fun time. And the way we did it was apparently the simplest way.

Might I also note that the guys’ yukata are much easier to put on? Totally unfair. (But probably because they couldn’t handle the process of putting on a woman’s yukata).(It’s at this point that the male viewers of my blog, finding this to be one insult too many, decided to stop reading). (Unless they’re really tough and stick with it.) (See what I did there? Now you’re not tough if you stop reading.)

Anyway, we also got to see the really fancy kimono, and I got a chance to try on the wedding jacket.
That was so heavy it was like wearing a comforter! Sign me up for a winter wedding! (Not only is there that jacket, there are also several other layers of kimono underneath. You can see that in the picture below. Apparently there is a style of kimono from the 8th century that is 12 layers and is considered the most beautiful. Women of the royal family wear that for their weddings). (See, aren’t you glad you’re not royalty now?)
After that we got to learn how to walk around and sit down. Then, of course, there was folding it up and putting it away, which was another whole process... I think I know why people so rarely wear them now!

(Just a reminder--to see a larger version of any of the pictures, just click on it.)