Kimonos

Every once in awhile since I've lived here in Japan, a thought will run through my head that on the surface seems completely natural, but upon further reflection reminds me that I am not in Kansas anymore (so to speak). Today, that thought was "The next time I wear a kimono, I'm going to take a taxi." In the moment, it made perfect sense. After all, driving in a kimono is not so easy. Walking in one isn't a whole lot better, so a taxi would be the appropriate way to go. Then I realized that it was pretty weird 1) that I knew all this and 2) that I had more than one chance to wear a kimono in my whole life. In the States, chances to wear traditional Japanese clothes to events other than Halloween happen almost never. Here, on average, it seems to happen once a year.

This year's occasion to wear a kimono was a going away party for one of the members of OSC. She's been here three years, and in three weeks she'll be gone. The theme of the party was going to be all things Japan. The invite asked us to wear "Something Japanese." I don't have a lot of somethings Japanese, but I do have the kimono I bought last year at a festival. The question was how would I get it on. So I asked the ladies in one of my classes if they could help. They knew the lady for whom the party was being given, and two of them agreed to come to my house on the day of the party to help me get dressed.

What's more, my new helpers insisted that I could not wear the kimono like I did last time: with a t-shirt underneath and no socks. No, ma'am. That would never do. Instead, they provided me with all the under-stuff necessary to wear it right. They did a test run last week with my clothes on underneath to make sure it all would fit, and today, I wore it for real. Here I am at the party with Skii, who rented her Kimono and got professionally dressed:

The thing about kimonos is they're not easy to wear. If you want to see what I mean, find a big bathrobe and try to move around without allowing it to flap open anywhere. You'll get the idea. Granted, a kimono is tied shut a great deal better than a bathrobe, but the same basic issues apply. There are no zippers or buttons, it's all tied on. Here is a picture of everything I was wearing in the picture you saw before (except the underwear):

There was the kimono, obi, and shoes, yes, but under the kimono is the white under-dress thingy which is like its own kimono, which is tied on with its own cord. then there are the two cords that go under the obi to hold the kimono together, then all the stuff required to make the obi look right. The red thing sitting up in the back goes in the front to keep the obi properly flat regardless of a woman's figure. And if you look closely, you'll see two of my face towels in the pile, and a rubber band. They wrapped the towels and a tiny little pillow in one of the ties to make the obi poof out right in the back. Don't ask me how it's all done, but it took about 20 minutes for two of them to put me all together.

And once everything's on, it's hard to keep it all together. The ladies at the party today asked me if I could breathe, and when I said yes they insisted that my kimono must not be on tight enough. I did find it impossible to sneeze for lack of breathing room, though. Then there's the small issue of sitting. The hard part isn't the actual sitting but the getting from standing to sitting and back without the bottom flapping open. "Keep your legs together." the Japanese ladies advised me, but it's easier said then done. And when you add the process of moving feet from one pedal to another in a car when you're driving it becomes really hard to retain some sense of modesty. (Hence the taxi thought.) Keep in mind, too, that part of wearing a kimono is having an obi tied elaborately in the back, making it impossible to lean back. It's really good for the posture, but not so good for the driving.

To make matters more complicated, the weather today was less than cooperative. It's really windy out there. I mean really windy. I mean I couldn't get my car door open after the party because the wind was gusting so hard and I needed one hand to keep my kimono shut. Wind and kimonos just don't mix.

All that said, I still had a great time dressing up today. I can see why ladies don't wear them often here, but it is very fun to be all decked out with the obi and the front arranged all nicely and all the little details. It feels rather exotic and I think it all looks great when it's done properly.