#otaiko

Otaiko Musubi お太鼓結び “Drum Knot”

This is the signature obi knot seen on most female kimono today. It serves as a general purpose knot that ranges from casual to formal. To create it, a long wide obi is folded in half, wrapped around the waist twice, unfolded in the back, looped, and secured with a cord. The knot is perked up with a thick pillow attached to a rope that is tied around the torso, as seen in the illustration above.

The bulkiness that is created tends to look weird to some people not familiar with kimono. I’ve heard people ask “Why do they carry bags on their back?”

The knot became popular after a celebratory event honoring the opening of a  Taikobashi  太鼓橋 “Arched Bridge” in Tokyo around 1823. A few Geisha cleverly wore a puffed out version of a commonly used square knot by men, the “playing card knot” karutamusubi かるた結び (shown below) , and it set off a trend that has since become the default style of wearing.

To see the resemblance, below shows a Japanese Taikobashi, which gets its name from the iconic Taiko drum. (Taiko 太鼓 means “Large Drum”)

Geishas of Matsunoya okiya in Tokyo: male geisha Eitarou, his sister hangyoku Maika and a shamisen player Yayoi in May 2014