Parade of Nations - Ireland

French: Irlande // English: Ireland // Japanese: アイルランド (Airurando)

     Ireland’s formed its National Olympic Committee in 1922 and participated in its first Olympics as a country at the 1924 Paris Summer Olympics. They haven’t hosted any Olympic Games, but they’ve participated in 21 Summer Games and 7 Winter Games. The Olympic sports in which Ireland has medaled are Athletics (i.e. track and field, road running, racewalking, & cross country running), Swimming, Boxing, Sailing, Rowing, and Equestrian.

 Kimono Maker: Okayama Kogei/ 岡山工芸

    “The kimono is designed to cover Ireland’s proud culture and nature, such as shamrocks drawn in Celtic patterns centered on St. Patrick’s Salt, reliefs of great Irish men, and world heritage landscapes. The colors green and orange, and the silhouettes of flying fairies are accented here and there.”[1]

 Obi Maker: Jinguji-Orimono, Supervised by Hakusen/ 神宮司織物 監修 帛撰

    “Using icons of shamrock and Celtic culture, it is hand-woven with a distinctive local style, creating a brave Irish spirit.” [1]

 Bibliography

 Source 1 – Kimono Project for Ireland

(https://kimono.piow.jp/nation/160.html)

Parade of Nations - Poland

French: Pologne // English: Poland // Japanese: ポーランド (Pōrando)

    Poland formed its National Olympic Committee in 1919 and participated in its first Olympics as a country at the 1924 Charmonix Winter Olympics. They haven’t hosted any Olympic Games, but they’ve participated in 21 Summer Games and 23 Winter Games. The Olympic sports in which Poland has medaled are Archery, Athletics, Boxing, Canoeing, Cycling, Equestrian, Fencing, Football (Soccer), Gymnastics, Handball, Judo, Modern Pentathlon, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Swimming, Volleyball, Weightlifting, and Wrestling.

Kimono Maker: Kunio Arima/ 有馬 国雄

    “Poland is like a plain with a large land area. With the theme of nature where storks and creatures can connect their lives with peace of mind, we dyed poppies, rape blossoms, chrysanthemums, daffodils, pansies, etc. that bloom on the ground with this Yuzen. I also draw paper cutouts, which are also famous as souvenirs. The ground color expresses the big sky of Poland and the clear heart of people in sky blue.”[1]

Obi Maker: Hakuryoen-Ohba, Supervised by Hasegawa/ 白綾苑大庭 監修 長谷川

    “In autumn, the whole surface is dyed yellow, and based on the golden color of beautiful autumn spreading in various places, including the Wagenski Park in Warsaw, which is also symbolic of the Polish hero Chopin, a material unique to Poland, where wheat cultivation is one of the world's leading So, the background is Payonki, which was made from straw, which is said to keep evil spirits away, and has the motif of a spider web that carries good luck. Traditional bodice and striped skirts with multicolored flower patterns velvety and embroidered are colorfully accented with lace knitting, which is a traditional craft, and strawberry, which boasts the world's largest shipment volume. It shows how to dance and decorate.” [1]

Bibliography

Source 1 – Kimono Project for Poland

(https://kimono.piow.jp/nation/201.html)

Parade of Nations - GREECE

French: Grèce // English: Greece // Japanese: ギリシャ (Girisha)

     According to Olympic tradition, the team from Greece is the first to enter the stadium in the Parade of Nations because it is the birthplace of the Ancient Olympic Games. They’ve hosted the Modern Olympics twice: the 1896 Olympic Games, which served to revive the Olympic tradition, and the 2004 Summer Olympics, where they entered the stadium last as the host nation. The Olympic sports often dominated by Greece are Athletics (i.e. track and field, road running, racewalking, & cross country running) and Weightlifting.

Kimono Maker: Sakahara Sakae/ 坂原　栄（さかはら　さかえ）

Technique: Edo Yuzen/ Tokyo Yuzen/ 東京友禅

    “Sakahara-san is known as the “Magician of Color. The Greek kimono, the birthplace of the Olympics, has a bright blue background with the image of the Aegean Sea and the Greek sky, as well as the ‘Parthenon,’ ‘the Greek alphabet,’ ‘olives,’ and the national flower ‘Acanthus Mollis.’ The symbol of intelligence, the owl, is also drawn. The world of mythology and ancient civilization, as well as the nature of Greece, are beautifully expressed.”[1]

Kimono Motifs

The Parthenon Temple

Considered the peak of Doric architecture, the Temple of the Parthenon was built by Ancient Greeks between 447-438 BCE. The temple’s columns are famous an optical illusion called entasis, which creates a bulge in the mid-section of columns for possibly aesthetic or structural purposes. [1]

Whites Doves

Since the times of the Old Testament, doves have been considered a symbol of peace for signaling the end of the Great Flood. A natural choice as the mission of both the Imagine One World organization and the modern Olympic Games is to promote world peace. [1]

Olives

A sacred plant to Greeks since ancient times, it’s said that the winner of the ancient Olympics was awarded a laurel of olive leaves. [1]

Owls

The messenger of the Goddess Athena, it has been cherished as a symbol of wisdom and scholarship. It’s also present to the Greek 1 Euro coin. [1]

 Obi Maker: Watabun/ 渡文（わたぶん）

Technique: Kyoto Nishijin’ori/京都　西陣織

     “The obi is boldly designed with the dove, a symbol if peace, the stone columns of the Parthenon, and the leaves of the Acanthus Mollis, the national flower of Greece. Using molded thread in Olympic colors, they gave texture of the stone columns and gave the Acathus leaves a three-dimensional effect. This obi was handwoven with a lot creativity.” [1]

Bibliography

Source 1 – Kimono Project for Greece

(https://peraichi.com/landing_pages/view/forgreece)

Parade of Nations – Refugee Olympic Team

French: Équipe Olympique des Réfugiés // English: Refugee Olympic Team // Japanese: 難民オリンピックチーム (Nanmin orinpikkuchīmu)

     Since the modern revival of the Olympic Games, there have been cases of individual athletes being unable, or unwilling, to compete in events for their national teams. The creation of an official team for such athletes began at the 1992 Summer and 1992 Winter Olympic games under the various names of “Independent Olympic Participants,” “The Unified Team,” “Individual Olympic Athletes,” and “Olympic Athletes from Russia.” However, the “Refugee Olympic Team” was created for the 2016 Summer Olympics specifically to “show solidarity with the world’s refugees” during the European migrant crisis that began in 2014. The Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics will be the team’s second appearance.

Kimono Designer: Komatsu Miwa/ 小松 美羽

Kimono Maker: Okano/ 岡野

Technique: Hakata-Ori/博多織

     “The organization asked Komatsu Miwa, an up-and-coming modern & contemporary artist active on the world stage, to create the design based on the theme of her art installation, ‘Prayer.’ Creating the design on the inner lining, rather than the exterior, reflects a hidden wish for peace inside the heart of the artist. The lining also includes Komatsu-san’s autograph. The white outer silk of the kimono features a custom-made pattern made to resemble a coat of feathers called ‘Torres pattern,’ (トーレス文様).” [1]

 Obi Designer: Komatsu Miwa/ 小松 美羽

Obi Maker: Okano/ 岡野

Technique: Hakata-Ori/博多織

     “The world view of ‘yin and yang’ is woven with gold and silver color scheme in the eyes of the beast as a motif. The back is woven with a colorful striped pattern to reflect diversity.” [1]

Bibliography

Source 1 – Kimono Project for IOC Refugee Olympic Team

(https://kimono.piow.jp/nation/213.html)

Parade of Nations - United States

French: États Unis // English: United States // Japanese: アメリカ合衆国 (Amerika Gasshūkoku)

    Starting a new Olympic tradition, the host countries of the next two Summer Games will enter the stadium before the host nation of the current Summer Games. Entering antepenultimately (i.e., third to last), the United States will be hosting the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games.

    The United States formed its National Olympic Committee in 11894 and participated in its first Olympics as a country at the 1896 Athens Summer Olympics. They’ve hosted 4 Summer and 4 Winter Olympic Games and they’ve participated in 27 Summer Games and 23 Winter Games. The Olympic sports in which the United States has medaled are Archery, Athletics, Baseball, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Canoeing, Cycling, Diving, Equestrian, Fencing, Field Hockey, Football (Soccer), Golf, Gymnastics, Jeu de Paume, Judo, Lacrosse, Modern Pentathlon, Polo, Roque, Rowing, Rugby Union, Sailing, Shooting, Softball, Swimming, Synchronized Swimming, Taekwondo, Tennis, Triathlon, Tug of War, Volleyball, Water Polo, Weightlifting, and Wrestling.

Kimono Maker: Masaru Naruse/ 成瀬 優

    “The image of a country consisting of 50 states called "US" is expressed by "state flowers". Designed with the national symbol "President" as "American Eagle". American-loved baseball, American football, Hollywood movies, and the goddess of freedom are studded in the state flowers, and the great presidents Lincoln and Kennedy are represented by statues and Apollo programs.”[1]

Obi Maker: Nakai-Orimono, Supervised by Hakusen/ 中居織物 監修 帛撰

    “The ground color is conscious of the stripes of the Stars and Stripes, and the color scheme is based on the striped pattern in consideration of contrast, and the olives drawn on the legs of the bald eagle of the president's coat of arms woven in green use different colors for each leaf. We have devised it. The author's desire for the United States of America to lead world peace is also included in this work.” [1]

Bibliography

Source 1 – Kimono Project for the United States

(https://kimono.piow.jp/nation/099.html)

Parade of Nations - Mexico

French: Mexique // English: Mexico // Japanese: メキシコ (Mekishiko)

    Mexico formed its National Olympic Committee in 1923 and participated in its first Olympics as a country at the 1900 Paris Summer Olympics. They’ve hosted 1 Summer Olympic Games and they’ve participated in 23 Summer Games and 9 Winter Games. The Olympic sports in which Mexico has medaled are Archery, Athletics, Basketball, Boxing, Cycling, Diving, Equestrian, Fencing, Football (Soccer), Modern Pentathlon, Polo, Shooting, Swimming, Taekwondo, Weightlifting, and Wrestling.

Kimono Maker: Hiroshi Tomihisa, Igeta-no-Kai/ 冨久 洋 監修 井桁の会

    “Focusing on the "colorful" culture of Mexico, which boasts a long history and coexists with many tribes, the Aztec calendar pattern is likened to a Japanese working pattern, and is arranged symmetrically around the back stitch. Since it is not symmetrical up, down, left and right, weaving this design required complicated and precise calculations and a huge amount of data, but it was successful. In addition, the design was shipped from Otomi embroidery on the hem, and five colors of imprinting were applied to the thread, and it took an enormous amount of time to woven the thread. This work renews the traditional Kurume Kasuri, which expresses the dignity and diversity of Mexican culture.”[1]

Obi Maker: Kaoru Sei/ 盛 かおる

    “The design is composed of colorful and vivid striped patterns with the motif of "Sarape", a traditional Mexican fabric. Taking advantage of the characteristics of the author's work, both ends are plain weave and the central part is a double structure, and the central part is woven with the traditional Japanese pattern of arrow fletching motif, which expresses the feeling of friendship between Japan and Mexico. It is a work.” [1]

Bibliography

Source 1 – Kimono Project for Mexico

(https://kimono.piow.jp/nation/139.html)

Parade of Nations - Romania

French: Roumanie // English: Romania // Japanese: ルーマニア (Rūmania)

    Romania formed its National Olympic Committee in 1914 and participated in its first Olympics as a country at the 1900 Paris Summer Olympics. They haven’t hosted any Olympic Games, but they’ve participated in 21 Summer Games and 21 Winter Games. The Olympic sports in which Romania has medaled are Athletics, Boxing, Canoeing, Equestrian, Fencing, Gymnastics, Handball, Judo, Rowing, Rugby, Shooting, Swimming, Tennis, Volleyball, Weightlifting, and Wrestling.

Kimono Maker: Takao-Kogei/ 高尾工芸

    “The author, who was strongly impressed by the beautiful folk costumes, incorporated many of the patterns into his works. Also, in consideration of the national character of celebrating the death of a person as a rebirth to the next world, the uniquely colored Romanian cemetery was placed at the center of the design, and it was beautifully drawn with the flowers blooming in the field.”[1]

Obi Maker: Masuya-Takao/ 桝屋高尾

    “Designed from the design of folk costumes, it is woven by Orimoto's original manufacturing method called "Nenkin".” [1]

Bibliography

Source 1 – Kimono Project for Romania

(https://kimono.piow.jp/nation/211.html)

Parade of Nations - Finland

French: Finlande // English: Finland // Japanese: フィンランド (Finrando)

    Finland formed its National Olympic Committee in 1907 and participated in its first Olympics as a country at the 1908 London Summer Olympics. They’ve hosted 1 Summer Olympic Games and they’ve participated in 25 Summer Games and 23 Winter Games. The Olympic sports in which Finland has medaled are Archery, Athletics, Boxing, Canoeing, Gymnastics, Modern Pentathlon, Rowing, Shooting, Swimming, Weightlifting, and Wrestling.

Kimono Maker: Naoaki Sahako/ 佐波古 直明

    “With the Finnish design with the motto of simplicity in mind, snowflakes and snowflakes are patterned and placed in the stagger, which means aurora, and beaten like diamond dust. If you look closely, you can see that the sauna house, reindeer, and Himmeli are also patterns. The Parliament Building, a typical building and a symbol of democracy, was drawn above at the request of the embassy.”[1]

Obi Maker: Seiichi Endo/ 遠藤 誠一

    “Using the technique of Ogura weaving, we woven it cutely with the Finnish flag and Christmas colors.” [1]

Bibliography

Source 1 – Kimono Project for Finland

(https://kimono.piow.jp/nation/195.html)