#kimono notes

Haneri

A decorative collar first commonly made in Taisho era. Before that, collars were just attached to juban, like some antique kimono. You don't remove it. Haneri are meant to come off for washing.

I keep losing the measurements I use for making them, so I'll post them here:

100cm x 15cm (40" x 6", even this was just a little longer than needed. 38" x 6" would have been fine.)

The ones I bought in this photo are a bit wide and long.

105cm x 18cm (before finishing; end product is ~103 x16cm.) 42in x 7.2in

three haneri, two solid chirimen and a twill weave. all likely synthetic. private collection.

Fabrics

Any but most often, chirimen or plain-woven haneri are typical. Summer haneri are more open, a gauze weave.

Fiber types

Most seem to be synthetic these days, so they are easily washed. Silk is also a popular choice. Hemp is sometimes found for summer.

Season

All

Formality

Only colours and/or fabric will determine formality and compatibility for the occasion.

Fashion

Embroidered collars can be 'fashionable' when made with ribbon embroidery or modern styles and might be midscale-casual

Traditionally-embroidered collars are for very formal occasions like Seijin no Hi (Coming of Age Day) with furisode or for stage performances, like odori or kabuki. The metallic threads catch light.

Furisode-Hakubi - haneri for furisode feat. temari + sakura

Antique collars may still have embroidery but these are also for very formal occasions, it looks like. I have seen very few antique embroidered haneri but I bet they are far more common in Japan.

a synthetic collar attached to a juban from ~1930s, per Ichiroya. private collection.

Kantan eri / "Easy eri" / shitate eri / usotsuki eri

These are all the same thing. A false eri that ties on, no nagajuban needed. They may look like regular collars and have any formality. Some use them for easier dressing, or for performance, or just for yukata to elevate it to almost a komon level.

Handmade kantan eri and use of kantan eri to shape collar under juban. Use a plastic erishin for smoothest look as paper tends to crease. Private collection.

Sources:

(to be filled in, beyond … just what i’ve accumulated over twenty years…)

Kimono Life (types of collar tailouring)

Shuji Tamura, "The Techniques of Japanese Embroidery."

Fabrics

Many. Can be smooth, plain weaves, especially with modern synthetics, meisen 'fuzzy weave' (as in the thistle komon pictured,) finer rinzu, or other fabrics.

Fiber types

Any, although these days, not cotton. Wool, synthetic, silk, and sometimes hemp (although this seems to be harder to get after the American-enforced constitution that outlawed growing hemp in Japan.)

Season

Any, according to lining and fabric weave. Usumono (transparent) are used for hottest months. Hitoe are unlined but opaque, such as tsumugi kimono.

I typically consult seasons and wear 'just ahead' of the next season, but can only do this because of how many kimono I own and how abstract some patterns are. You can choose 'general four seasons,' 12 months, or even 72 seasons, depending on how fine you'd like the outfit to be.

Formality

Generally doesn't exceed casual formality, like blue jeans of kimono. Can be more upscale, such as a beautiful silk kimono with pattern-matching and a more expensive woven pattern or a time/money-intensive garment (such as mud-dyed garments or subtle designs from a high-end designer.) Can be lower, above "workwear" like monpei.

Obi

Can be adjusted higher or lower in formality according to kimono.

Typically Nagoya obi are worn. To bring it 'down,' wear hanhaba obi; to bring 'up,' fukuro obi with no metallic threads may be desirable. Nagoya obi with some metallic hints may also be desirable. Ultimately, work with what you have for the occasion.

After that, it is a question of fabric types, ranks of wool -> silk formality, ranks of weave type/production house, etc.

(a red wool hitoe kimono with thicker cotton or wool hanhaba obi + wooden summer geta)

(a purple usumono komon with plain grey summer nagoya obi)

(2017; a deep blue overdyed komon in soft silk or silk blend, with a silk obiage and lower-formality fukuro obi, which had very few gold threads. The gold is brought out by the cat pin used as an obidome for a late-night outing. The subtle metallics draw light in a dim room.)

Sources:

(to be filled in, beyond ... just what i've accumulated over twenty years...)

Nagajuban + Hanjuban:

Hanjuban - half-juban with longer sleeves and eri, comes with susoyoke. Also called nibushiki juban. Nagajuban - full length to ankles with longer sleeves and eri

Fabrics

Many available but should be supple and have good drape.

Sha or ro for summer.

Fiber types

Silk, synthetics, or blends.

Synthetics are now cheaper and are easier to wash, so they may be more common.

Season

All-season but depends on weight of fabric and whether a lining is present or not. Can be thin, unlined silk or ro, or lined. Linings, of course, are paired with lined (awase) kimono. Heavier or thicker linings are for deeper cold, but most of Japan doesn't get that cold.

Formality

Coloured - mostly antiques

Red - formal for young wearers, such as furisode or children's kimono; may also be antiques, which have more "flexibility" in terms of formality. Typical rules about gold/silver elements may apply.

Pink or pale yellow/orange - semiformal, motifs may be paired with season. Modern furisode juban are often pale pink or cream.

Paler pink <--> paler = more formal

White - most formal, correct for homoungi, 5-kamon kimono, kurotomesode. Can be worn with mid-formality kimono

Fashion

For summer, a juban with a different pattern under usumono was once fashionable.

Ro juban are sometimes changed slightly ahead of season, along with summer accessories, depending on tradition (such as Kyoto geiko house traditions.)

Other Features

built-in waist tie (himo) usually seen on some antiques or kids' juban

chikara nuno ("strong fabric") / emon nuki (same thing)- should be attached to juban collar, with adjustable lines to lower or raise collar

kantan eri (easy collar) - akin to chikara nuno, but not attached to the juban itself. can be used with hadajuban to 'upscale' yukata, or used to shape the collar without strain on the juban. also called shitate eri or usotsuki eri.

a kantan eri I made, next to shaping an antique juban's collar. private collection.

This (2009) video of dressing a maiko shows first hadagi, then hanjuban + susoyoke, then the actual eri being tied on separately. It would make sense for someone with a delicately embroidered collar to keep it as a separate piece. Where a "normal person" would pick it off the juban, a performer has to have their undergarments cleaned regularly and the weight of that heavy collar would damage it. Maiko wear the embroidered collar over the nagajuban but a kantan eri is worn underneath it or instead of nagajuban.

For myself, I take many dressing cues from professionals who wear kimono daily. they are the closest most modern people get to elegant, fashionable examples of women who wore kimono daily over 100 years ago.

One element, besides the collar being separate when possible, is the layering of colours without extra weight. If one looks at the nape of the eri for geiko kimono, there is the outer kosode layer, a collar layer, and an innermost layer from the hadagi. Chikara nuno, above hadagi and below nagajuban, feels like it gives that slight glance at a third layer of colour or pattern. It's very small and hardly noticeable but can give just one more element to an outfit, like a fuji pattern in summer or asanoha in late Autumn or Winter.

Sources: