![Kimono backshot by sth](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Kimono_backshot_by_sth.jpg)
An is a belt of varying size and shape worn with both
traditional Japanese clothing
There are typically two types of clothing worn in Japan: traditional clothing known as , including the national dress of Japan, the kimono, and , which encompasses all else not recognised as either national dress or the dress of another country. ...
and
uniforms
A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, ...
for
Japanese martial arts styles. Originating as a simple thin belt in
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, the developed over time into a belt with a number of different varieties, with a number of different sizes and proportions, lengths, and methods of tying. The , which once did not differ significantly in appearance between men and women, also developed into a greater variety of styles for women than for men.
Despite the kimono having been at one point and continuing to appear to be held shut by the , many modern are too wide and stiff to function in this way, with a series of ties known as , worn underneath the , used to keep the kimono closed instead.
are categorised by their design, formality, material, and use, and can be made of a number of types of fabric, with heavy
brocade
Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian ''broccato'' meaning "embos ...
weaves worn for formal occasions, and some lightweight
silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
worn for informal occasions. are also made from materials other than silk, such as
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
,
hemp
Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...
and
polyester
Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natural ...
, though silk are considered a necessity for formal occasions. In the modern day, pre-tied , known as or , are also worn, and do not appear any different to a regular when worn.
Though can be
inexpensive when bought second-hand, they typically cost more than a kimono, particularly when purchased brand-new. A number of specialist fabrics used particularly to make are highly prized for their craftsmanship and reputation of quality, such as , produced in the
Nishijin
is a district in Kyoto spanning from Kamigyō ward to Kita ward. Though it is well-known as a district, there is no administractive area called "Nishijin".(jaWhat is Nishijin?/ref> Nishijin is notable for its textile production, and is the bir ...
district of
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
, and produced in
Fukuoka prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...
.
History
Heian period to Edo period
![GeishaObi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/GeishaObi.jpg)
In its early days, the was a cord or ribbon-like sash, approximately in width. Men's and women's were similar. At the beginning of the 17th century, both women and men wore a thin, ribbon-like . By the 1680s, the width of women's had already doubled from its original size. In the 1730s women's were about wide, and at the turn of the 19th century were as wide as . At that time, separate ties and cords were necessary to hold the in place. Men's were widest in the 1730s, at about .
[Dalby, pp. 47–55]
Before the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
, which began in the mid-1600s, robes were fastened with a narrow sash at the hips.
[Fält et al., p. 450.] The mode of attaching the sleeve widely to the torso part of the garment would have prevented the use of wider . When the sleeves of the began to grow in both horizontal width and vertical length at the beginning of the Edo period, the widened as well. There were two reasons for this: firstly, to maintain the aesthetic balance of the outfit, the longer sleeves needed a wider sash to accompany them; secondly, unlike today (where they are customary only for unmarried women) married women also wore long-sleeved kimono in the 1770s. The use of long sleeves without leaving the underarm open would have hindered movements greatly. These underarm openings in turn made room for even wider .
Originally, all were tied in the front. Later, fashion began to affect the position of the knot, and could be tied to the side or to the back. As grew wider the knots grew bigger, and it became cumbersome to tie the in the front. By the end of the 17th century were mostly tied in the back. However, the custom did not become firmly established before the beginning of the 20th century.
At the end of the 18th century, it was fashionable for a woman's to have overly long hems that were allowed to trail behind when in house. For moving outside, the excess cloth was tied up beneath the with a wide cloth ribbon called . Contemporary women's kimono are made similarly over-long, but the hems are not allowed to trail; the excess cloth is tied up to hips, forming a fold called the . are still used, but only as a decorative accessory.
Modern day
The most formal women's , the , is technically obsolete, worn only by some brides, with a modified, longer version - the (lit., "dangling ") - worn by , in the present day. The lighter has taken the place of . The originally-everyday is the most common used today, and fancy may even be accepted as a part of a semi-ceremonial outfit.
The use of fancy, decorative knots has also narrowed, though mainly through the drop in the numbers of women wearing kimono on a regular basis, with most women tying their in the (lit., "drum knot") style.
[Dalby, pp. 208–212] , also known as , have gained popularity as pre-tied belts accessible to those with mobility issues or a lack of knowledge on how to wear .
Tatsumura Textile located in Nishijin in Kyoto is a centre of manufacture today. Founded by Heizo Tatsumura I in the 19th century, it is renowned for making some of the most luxurious available. Amongst Tatsumura's students studying design was the later-painter
Inshō Dōmoto was a Japanese Nihonga artist.
Biography
His birth name was Sannosuke Dōmoto. At a young age, he started working for Heizo Tatsumura I. At the age of 28, he was exhibited with his work "Landscape of Fukakusa". His 1961 "Symphony" is considered ...
.
The technique , traditionally produced in the Nishijin area of Kyoto, is intricately woven and can have a three dimensional effect, costing up to 1 million yen.
The "Kimono Institute" was founded by Kazuko Hattori in the 20th century and teaches how to tie an and wear it properly.
Women's
![Obi dimensions](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Obi_dimensions.png)
There are many types of for women, with certain types of worn only with certain types of kimono to certain occasions.
Often, the can adjust the formality of the entire kimono outfit, with the same kimono being worn to occasions of differing formality depending on the worn with it.
Most women's no longer keep the kimono closed, owing to their stiffness and width, and a number of ties worn under the keep the kimono in place.
A woman's formal can be wide and more than long, with the longest variety – the , nearing in length – worn only by in some regions of Japan. Some women's are folded in two width-wise when worn, to a width of about to ; the full width of the is present only in the knot at the back of the kimono, with the band around the middle appearing to be half-width when worn.
There are a number of different ways to tie an , and different knots are suited to different occasions and different kimono. The itself often requires the use of stiffeners and cords for definition of shape and decoration, and some knots, such as the , require additional accessories in order to keep their shape.
Women's types
![HanaYukataInari](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/HanaYukataInari.jpg)
* are very long worn by in some regions of Japan. A 's features the
crest
Crest or CREST may refer to:
Buildings
*The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York
*"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York
*Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...
of the
geisha house she is affiliated with at the end of the , below the (end lines). can be long.
* are slightly less formal than , despite being functionally the most formal variety of worn today.
are made from either a single double-width length of fabric with a seam down one edge, or from two lengths of fabric sewn together down each edge; for made from two lengths of fabric, the fabric used for the backside may be cheaper and appear to be more plain.
are made in roughly three subtypes. The most formal and expensive of these is patterned brocade on both sides. The second type is two-thirds patterned, the so-called "60% ", and is somewhat cheaper and lighter than the first type. The third type has patterns only in the parts that will be prominent when the is worn in the common style.
are roughly wide and to long.When worn, a is nearly impossible to tell from a .
* or is an that has been sewn in two only where the knot would begin. The part wound around the body is folded when put on. The is intended for making the more formal, two-layer variation of the , known as the . It is about long.
* is a collective name for informal half-width . are to wide and roughly long.
** are a type of thin and informal
worn with a or a lower-formality .
are very popular, as they are easy to wear, relatively cheap, and often come in a variety of colourful designs.
For use with , reversible are popular: they can be folded and twisted in several ways to create colour effects.
A is wide and to long. Tying it is relatively easy,
and does not require pads or strings.
The knots used for are often simplified versions of . As it is easy to tie and less formal, the is sometimes worn in self-invented styles, often with decorative ribbons and accessories.
** is an unlined roughly to wide and roughly long.
* or is an informal
that has sides of different colours. Having been historically popular, the is frequently seen in woodblock prints and photographs from the Edo and Meiji periods, and most are vintage or antique pieces; they are not as frequently made or worn today.
typically have a dark, sparingly decorated underside and a more colourful, decorated topside; the underside is commonly plain black satin silk ( silk) with no decoration, though with decoration on both sides do exist. are frequently not lined, making them relatively floppy, soft and easy to tie. They are about wide and to long.
* are very informal made of soft, thin cloth,
often dyed with .
Their traditional use was as an informal for children and men,
and though historically would have been inappropriate for women to wear, the is now also worn by young girls and women with modern, informal kimono and . An adult's is roughly the same size of any other adult , about to wide and about long.
*
are made from cloth stiff enough that the does not need a lining or a sewn-in stiffener. One well-known type of is the , which consists of thick weft thread interwoven with thin warp thread with a stiff, tight weave; made from this material are also called . A can be worn with everyday kimono or .
A is to wide (the so-called )
or wide and about
long.
* was invented in the 1970s in Nishijin, Kyoto.
It lies between the and the in terms of formality and use, and can be used to smarten up an everyday outfit.
A is structured like a but is as short as a .
It thus can also be turned inside out for wear like reversible .
A is about wide and long.
* is the most formal type of women's , though all but obsolete today. It is made from cloth about 68 cm wide
and is folded around a double lining and sewn together. were at their most popular during the
Taishō and
Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
s.
Their bulk and weight make difficult to tie by oneself, and are worn only by and brides in the present day.
A is about to wide and to long,
fully patterned
and is often embroidered with metal-coated yarn and foilwork.
* is the style of front-tied, flat worn historically by some (courtesans), and now worn by courtesan-reenactors and
kabuki
is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.
Kabuki is thought to ...
actors on stage. are thickly padded and commonly feature large-scale, heavily-decorated and sometimes three-dimensional motifs such as butterflies, clouds and Chinese dragons, typically on a background of satin silk.
* – also called
– is the most-used type today. A is distinguished by its structure: one end is folded and sewn in half, the other end is of full width.
This is to make putting the on easier. A can be partly- or fully-patterned. It is normally worn only in the style, and many are designed so that they have patterns only in the part that will be most prominent in the knot. are shorter than other types, about to long, but of the same width, about .
The is relatively new, developed by a seamstress living in
Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...
at the end of the 1920s. The new, easy-to-use gained popularity among Tokyo's geisha, from whom it then was adopted by fashionable city women for their everyday wear.
The formality of a depends on its material, just as with other types. Since the was originally used as everyday wear, it cannot be worn to very formal occasions, but a made from heavy brocade is considered acceptable as semi-ceremonial wear.
The term can also refer to another with the same name, used centuries ago. This was cord-like.
* is a name for used in dance acts.
An is typically simply-patterned with large, obvious motifs, commonly woven in gold or silver metallic threads, so as to be easily-visible from the audience. can be to wide and to long. As the term is not established, it can refer to any meant for dance acts, though is generally understood to refer to with large and simplistic metallic designs.
* are a style of made by using strips of old cloth, woven into a narrow, striped fabric. The warp yarn is typically an actual yarn, whereas the strips of recycled cloth as used as the weft; though narrow, may require cloth the equivalent of three kimonos' worth to create. Historically woven at home out of necessity, are informal, and are generally not worn outside the house. A is similar to a in size, and though informal, is prized as an example of rural craftsmanship.
* resemble , but are considered to be more formal. They are usually wider and made from fancier cloth more suitable for celebration. The patterns usually include auspicious, celebratory motifs. A is about wide and to long.
* or or refers to any ready-tied , regardless of the knot the has been sewn into. It often has a separate, internally-stiffened knot piece, and a piece that is wrapped around the waist. The is fastened in place by ribbons attached to each piece. are most commonly informal styles of , though more formal pre-tied do exist, as they are indistinguishable from a regular when worn.
Accessories for women's
![Otaiko harm 021008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Otaiko_harm_021008.png)
*
is a scarf-like length of cloth worn above the . Though it functions as decoration, it may also function to cover the
and keep the upper part of the knot in place.
The can be worn by women at any age, with it being custom to show more of the the younger one is. It can be tied in a variety of different ways, and is commonly dyed using the – typically the – dye technique.
*
is a small, decorative brooch fastened onto the at the front, commonly made from precious metals and gemstones. Though most are relatively small, the worn by are comparably much larger, and may be the most expensive item of the 's finished outfit. Certain types of are woven specifically for to be fastened to them.
* are long stiffeners inserted between folds of the at the front, giving it a smooth, flat appearance.
Some types of are attached around the waist with cords before the is put on; are available in a number of different sizes, weights and materials to suit both the season and the itself.
* are decorative cords roughly long
tied around the and knotted at either the front or the back. The can be both functional and decorative, serving to keep certain in place and add extra decoration to an outfit.
Most are woven silk, with a number of varieties - such as rounded worn with , open-weave worn for summer and with gold and silver threads worn to formal occasions - available. One less commonly-worn variety of , the , is not a woven cord, and is instead a sewn, stuffed tube of fabric; this variety is generally only worn with worn to highly formal events and on stage by kabuki actors. Woven or otherwise, most feature tassels at each end.
* is a small pillow that supports and shapes the knot.
The most common knot worn by women today, the , is shaped and held in place with the use of an ; elsewhere, one or two large are used in the tying of the worn by some .
Men's
![Stiff obi,Kaku-obi,Katori-city,Japan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Stiff_obi%2CKaku-obi%2CKatori-city%2CJapan.jpg)
The worn by men are much narrower than those of women, with the width of most men's being about at the most. Men's are worn in a much simpler fashion than women's, worn below the stomach and tied in a number of relatively simple knots at the back - requiring no or to achieve.
Men's types
* are soft, informal
made from drapey and often -dyed fabrics such as
crêpe
A crêpe or crepe ( or , , Quebec French: ) is a very thin type of pancake. Crêpes are usually one of two varieties: ''sweet crêpes'' () or ''savoury galettes'' (). They are often served with a wide variety of fillings such as cheese, ...
, silk , cotton and others. It is generally tied in a loose, casual knot; though for children are short, for adults are roughly as long as any other adult-sized – to long – but can be comparably wider, at up to . Adult men generally wear only at home or in the summer months with a ,
whereas young boys can wear it in public at mostly any time of year.
* is the second type of men's , roughly wide and long.
Depending on its material, colours and patterns, are suitable for any and all occasions, from the most informal to the most formal of situations. are most commonly made of
), but can also be made from silk
pongee
Pongee is a type of slub-woven fabric, created by weaving with yarns that have been spun by varying the tightness of the yarn's twist at various intervals. Pongee is typically made from silk, and results in a textured, "slubbed" appearance; po ...
(known as ), silk
gauze
Gauze is a thin, translucent fabric with a loose open weave. In technical terms "gauze" is a weave structure in which the weft yarns are arranged in pairs and are crossed before and after each warp yarn keeping the weft firmly in place. ...
and heavier, brocade-type weaves of silk. A variety of knots exist for the , and it is most commonly worn in the knot.
Accessories
Men's are not generally worn with accessories, being for the most part too thin to accommodate any of the accessories worn with women's .
However, in the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
, practical box-shaped accessories called , which hung from with a fastener called , became popular. is a general term for bags and boxes for cigarettes, pipes, ink, brushes, etc. Among them, a small stackable box for seals and medicines is . , which originated in the
Sengoku period
The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615.
The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...
, were first used as practical goods, but after the middle of the Edo period, when were gorgeously decorated with various
lacquer
Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity.
Asian lacquerware, which may be ca ...
techniques such as and ,
samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
and wealthy merchants competed to collect them and wore them as accessories with kimono. And from the end of the Edo period to the
Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
, became a complete art collection. Nowadays, are rarely worn as kimono accessories, but there are collectors all over the world.
[Masayuki Murata. ''明治工芸入門'' pp. 104–106. Me no Me, 2017 ][Yūji Yamashita. ''明治の細密工芸'' pp. 80–81. Heibonsha, 2014 ]
Children's
![Have you ever wear Kimono recut](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Have_you_ever_wear_Kimono_recut.jpg)
Children's are generally soft, simple sashes, designed to be easy and comfortable to wear, though older children may wear simple, stiffer made short, such as and ; as they age, children begin to wear kimono outfits that are essentially miniaturised versions of adult kimono and . The youngest children wear soft, scarf-like .
Children's types
* is a type of men's . It is named for its length, three . The is sometimes known simply as . During the Edo period, it gained popularity as a simple and easy-to-wear paired with casual, everyday kimono. According to some theories, the originates from a scarf of the same length, which was folded and used as a sash. A typically is shaped like a , narrow and with short stitches. It is usually made from soft cotton-like cloth. Because of its shortness, the is tied in the style, which is much like a
square knot.
* were previously worn to prevent kimono from trailing along the floor when walking outside, used to tie up the excess length when going out; over time, this style of wear became the standard for wearing kimono both inside and outside, evolving into the hip fold worn today. Nowadays the 's only function is decorative.
It is part of a 7-year-old girl's outfit for celebration of
Shichi-Go-San
is a traditional Japanese rite of passage and festival day for three- and seven-year-old girls, five-year-old and sometimes three-year-old boys, held annually on November 15 to celebrate the growth and well-being of young children. As it is no ...
.
* (pre-tied ) are popular as children's because of their ease of use. There are even formal available for children.
These correspond to on the formality scale.
In martial arts
![Obi-gokyū](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Obi-goky%C5%AB.jpg)
Many
Japanese martial arts
Japanese martial arts refers to the variety of martial arts native to the country of Japan. At least three Japanese terms (''budō'', ''bujutsu'', and ''bugei'') are used interchangeably with the English phrase Japanese martial arts.
The usage ...
feature an as part of their
uniform
A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, se ...
. These are often made of thick cotton and are about wide. The martial arts are most often worn in the style; in practice where the is worn, the is tied in other ways.
In many martial arts the colour of the signifies the wearer's skill level. Usually the colours start from the beginner's white and end in the advanced black, or masters' red and white. When the exercise outfit includes a , the colour of the has no significance.
Knots ()
The knot tied with the is known as the . Though functioned to hold the kimono closed for many centuries, beginning in the Edo period, the became too wide and/or too stiff to function effectively in this manner. In the modern day, a number of ties and accessories are used to keep the kimono in place, with the functioning in a more decorative capacity.
Though most styles of can be tied by oneself, some varieties of formal women's can be difficult to tie successfully without the assistance of others.
There are hundreds of decorative knots,
particularly for women, often named for their resemblance to flowers, animals and birds. knots follow the same rough conventions of style and suitability as kimono do, with the more complex and fanciful knots reserved for younger women on festive occasions, and knots with a plainer appearance being mostly worn by older women; however, some knots, such as the , have become the standard knot for women of all ages, excluding young girls.
In earlier days, the knots were believed to banish malicious spirits.
Many knots have a name with an auspicious double meaning.
Types of knots
![Kimono-obicopy der](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Kimono-obicopy_der.png)
* is a knot resembling the
Japanese morning glory
''Ipomoea nil'' is a species of ''Ipomoea'' morning glory known by several common names, including picotee morning glory, ivy morning glory, and Japanese morning glory (although it is not native to Japan). It is native to the tropical Americas, a ...
, suitable to be worn with . The knot requires a very long , so it can be usually only be made for little girls.
* is a very complex and decorative knot resembling an iris blossom. It is considered suitable for young women in informal situations and parties. Because of the complexity and conspicuousness of the knot, it should be worn with more subdued, preferably monochrome kimono and .
* is a contemporary knot suitable for young women, often worn to formal occasions at the lowest end of "formal". Because of the complexity of the knot, a multi-coloured or strongly patterned should not be used, and the patterns of the kimono should generally match the knot.
* is a version of the , tied using the . Most pre-tied are tied with this knot.
* is a knot worn only by , dancers and kabuki actors. It is easily distinguishable by its long "tails" hanging in the back, which require an of up to in length to achieve. In the past, courtesans
and daughters of rich merchants would also have their tied in this manner. A half-length version of this knot, known as the (lit., "half-dangling knot"), also exists, with apprentice geisha in some regions of Japan wearing this at various stages throughout their apprenticeship. The is worn specifically by in
Gion
is a district of Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Japan, originating as an entertainment district in the Sengoku period, in front of Yasaka Shrine (Gion Shrine). The district was built to accommodate the needs of travellers and visitors to the shrine. ...
to perform the , a well-known
short song performed at geisha parties whose lyrics - "dear lovely Gion, the dangling " - explicitly mention it, referring to the classical image of Gion's .
* is a decorative knot that resembles a sparrow with its wings spread, and is generally worn only by young women. It is suitable for formal occasions and is typically only worn with a . Traditionally, the worn with a indicated a woman was available for marriage.
* is a subdued which is commonly worn by men, and sometimes worn by older women for convenience, or by women in general as a style choice.
* is a square knot often used for tying and . The short worn by children is also tied in this way.
* is the most commonly-worn knot worn by women in the present day. It is a knot with a simple, subdued appearance, and resembles a box with a short tail underneath. The is suitable for women of almost every age, mostly every kind of kimono, and is suitable for mostly all occasions; only and mostly all are considered unsuitable to be worn with the . Though the knot is associated with the drum, the knot was actually created to celebrate the opening of the
Taikobashi bridge in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
in 1823 by some geisha, a style which soon widely caught on.
[Dalby, pp. 337–348]
* is a version of the , tied with the formal are longer than the , so the must be folded in two when tying the knot.
The knot has an auspicious double meaning of "double joy".
[Yamanaka, pp. 66–70]
*
[Yamanaka, pp. 7-12, 29-30] is a knot resembling a large bow, and is one of the most simple knots worn with the . According to (kimono dressing) teacher Norio Yamanaka, it is the most suitable knot to be used with the - a with full-length sleeves.
* is a bow resembling a certain plant thought to look like an eagle taking flight.
Gallery
File:Kimono-obi-3.jpg, A complex knot worn as part of a wedding outfit
File:Yukata-obi.jpg, Tying a around a
File:geisha-obi.jpg, A in Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
wearing an tied in the style
File:Washikusa I-002.png, The
See also
*
Kimono
The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...
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Obi strip
An is a strip of paper looped around a book or other product. This extends the term ''obi'' used for Japanese clothing; it is written with the same ''kanji''. It is also referred to as a , or more narrowly as . Obi strips are most commonly foun ...
: a paper band around a book
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Traditional Japanese clothing
There are typically two types of clothing worn in Japan: traditional clothing known as , including the national dress of Japan, the kimono, and , which encompasses all else not recognised as either national dress or the dress of another country. ...
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Cummerbund
A cummerbund is a broad waist sash, usually pleated, which is often worn with single-breasted dinner jackets (or ''tuxedos''). The cummerbund was adopted by British military officers in colonial India, where they saw it worn by sepoys (Indian so ...
belt
References
Bibliography
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External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obi
Fashion accessories
Japanese sashes
Japanese words and phrases
History of Asian clothing