#komon

Some time in 2016... my first documented attempt of trying a kimono on at home, without supervision.

Clearly, we haven't got to the obi musubi part yet, so it is incomplete.

I remember having a kitsuke class every Wednesday morning before work, and then taking the set home for the weekend for practicing.

The first photo shows the hadajuban, aka cotton undergarment which protects the outer layers of kimono from touching the sweaty bodyparts. We would not want to get the kimono stained and stinky, which is a little ironic considering how stale vintage kimono smell in general. But that's the price we have to pay if we do not want to spend thousands of euros on a brand new one made of genuine silk. And dry-cleaning kimono is an expensive hobby! So we remain with a whiff of the back of a drawer most of the time up close.

Hadajuban consists of two parts: a wrap skirt and a blouse.

On the second picture I'm already wearing the nagajuban, which is a silk (not always, though) middle layer, a second undergarment protecting the kimono from the skin. Its sleeves fit right into the outer layer of the kimono, but the hem is shorter so it won't be visible. The nagajuban has a white eri 'collar' that is stiffened by an erishin, which makes it peek out of the top layer. I used to wear this black nagajuban a lot under dark kimonos, however I never used one of this style ever since I left London. Nowadays I just wear a white or light pink two-piece hybrid (cotton with silk-like sleeves).

The last photo shows the outer layer komon (low-formality, all-purpose kimono). It is a black base one with red, grey and some white stripes. The garment is fastened with koshihimo and a semi-wide silk belt (datejime).

Since this outfit still lacks the obi, it is not obvious yet how this kimono is really not my size though. I used to be a tad malnourished back then, so it is not particularly the with, but the length, that gives it away. Most of my outfits came from tiny Japanese women a head shorter than me, so we had to do some tricks with the kitsuke. Now long gone are the days when I didn't have curves, so I started buying my own kimono instead :D

If the Ainu people are indigenous to Japan, then where did the Japanese come from?

Japan is a country steeped in rich history and culture, but have you ever wondered about the origins of its people? The Japanese people are believed to have descended from a mixture of different ethnic groups that migrated to the Japanese archipelago over thousands of years.

The earliest known inhabitants of Japan were the Jomon people, who lived in Japan from around 14,000 BC to 300 BC. They were a fascinating group of hunter-gatherers who created some of the earliest pottery in the world, leaving a unique mark on Japan's ancient history.

Around 300 BC, a new group of people, known as the Yayoi, migrated to Japan from the Korean peninsula. These people brought with them new technologies such as rice farming, iron tools, and bronze and iron weapons. The Yayoi people intermixed with the Jomon people, and their culture gradually spread across Japan, shaping the country's culture and traditions.

The Kofun period, which lasted from the 4th to the 7th century AD, saw the emergence of a new group of people known as the Kofun. They were characterized by their large burial mounds and were believed to be ancestors of the modern-day Japanese people. During this time, Japanese society became more centralized and complex, setting the stage for Japan's future as a major world power.

Over the centuries, Japan was influenced by various cultures, including Chinese, Korean, and Southeast Asian cultures. These influences helped shape the unique traditions and customs that make Japan the vibrant and fascinating country it is today.

Double-sided Buddhist icon with Yakushi Buddha (薬師如来) facing one direction and Amida Buddha (阿弥陀如来) facing the other by the travelling Buddhist monk & artist Enkū (円空) (1632–1695) in 1674 at Myōfukuji Temple (明福寺) in Komono, Mie Prefecture

Koikishu’s Fantasy Kimono Tansu: Tomesode / Komon

Motifs: Narihira-Bishi (Diamond with Droplet)

Seasonality: Seasonless

Sleeve Length: 50 cm

Background Color: HTML code 5A3761