#goshodoki

Dazzling antique furisode (probably a bridal one, or kakeshita), with busy and colorful goshodoki (all season flowers and ancient Heian court items). The hina-ningyo (dolls) are so cute!

東京 (Tokyo) おと丸 (Otomaru)  

Views of The Nobility - 御所時/御所解 (Goshodoki) Rarity: Uncommon to Rare Season(s): All Goshodoki is a really interesting motif as it’s not even close to what we would call “static” - it’s a combination of both seasonal and all-season motifs. Looking at the example in black: it has waves, grasses, bamboo, pine, maple leaves, and fishing nets. The middle example has grasses, waves, maple leaves, pine, chrysanthemums, bamboo, and wheat sheaves. The right example has maple leaves, cherry blossoms, pine, and clouds. All are different yet all are Goshodoki. So, how can we tell that what we’re looking at is Goshodoki and not just a compilation of motifs? -All motifs are roughly the same size -All motifs flow together without break -All motifs are painted in white and then accented with color  The last part is the basis on which Goshodoki was founded - it started as a fashion statement for the nobility (hence the name “views of the nobility”) and is now seen as a classical theme for kimono. Having the motifs painted in white and then having some select parts colored in, either with ink or embroidery, expresses a person’s ability to understand the natural world and the fleeting nature of life. 

Colorful furisode with intricate hiôgi (Heian era formal cypress fan) patterned with inner goshodoki (all season flowers and court items - for example on front skirt is a goshoguruma/ox cart)

Sugary sweet hues for this furisode with goshodoki (all seasons flowers mixed with ancient court items patterns): you can especially see here regal blooming botan/peony, genjiguruma/ox cart wheel, and hiôgi/cypress fan. The obi has huge butterflies, with perfectly complimenting colors.

Goshodoki depicts imaginary sceneries from imperial palaces, their gardens full with plants and flowers of the four seasons. The obi chosen here compliments the kimono well, as the bamboos enclosed in rectangular shapes seems to be seen through windows.

With April’s end comes May’s flurry of misedashi and erikae before the summer heat becomes too much to bear in formal attire. The karyukai will be going through some changes, so I hope to do a half year summary soon. Now onto the news! Karyukai News -The Kamogawa Odori (鴨川をどり) of Pontocho begins tomorrow (May 1st) and will run until May 24th. -Oddly enough, there haven’t been any current minarai sightings. However, it’s likely that they’ll begin to pop up within the next week or two as the end of May is a very popular time for misedashi. -There’s a rumor going around that Fukuharu (富久春) of Okatome (岡とめ) in Gion Higashi will be leaving the profession. Since only one source has stated it so far I’m considering it a rumor, but this person is often credible. Hopefully there will be more news on this soon. Blog News -I’ve been quite busy documenting my kimono collection, but you can check them out on Flickr! Feel free to choose your favorites to be featured in the “What’s In a Kimono?” series in the future ^^ -What’s In a Motif? Part 4 looked at Goshodoki (御所時/御所解). -The Random Fact of The Week looked at the role that bin plays in determining maturity. -Mylo’s Pick of The Week looked at Miehina (美恵雛) of Harutomi (春富) in Miyagawa Cho. -The multitude of questions asked this week was fantastic! I’m hoping to answer some of them a bit more in depth in the future as some have been asked multiple times now (not that asking multiple times is a bad thing!).