V is for Vivid

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Vivid, intensely deep or bright colour

We’ve reached another one of those super-fun letters that essentially don’t exist in Japanese. Like the L and Q posts, I knew I had to run with an English word and what better word than Vivid? Or possibly vibrant!

Taisho and early Showa era kimono are absolutely some of my favourites, due in no small part to the vivid, bold colour choices brought about by the advent of synthetic dyes. Prior to the 1910s, kimono colours tended to veer to the gentle, subdued, and either pastel or very dark tones thanks to natural dyes. With the introduction of synthetics, colours went pretty crazy.

I went with my beloved turquoise irotomesode with tachibana, since I didn’t get to use it last week. And heck, compare the colour story of that entry to this one, and you’ll get a really good sense of what I mean by vivid!

My initial plan was to use a vintage mustard-yellow floral obi but it just wasn’t bright enough. Then I remembered this gorgeous modern piece with the moorish arches that are a spot-on complement to the kimono. This obi was a gift and to this day I still don’t know who sent it to me! Next up was this gorgeously eye-searing meisen haori. Doesn’t get more vivid than this piece, when it comes to my wardobe. And to bring in the hit of yellow to echo the yellow accents in both the kimono I ended up using my yellow obiage and obijime again. This is starting to feel like a running gag, but they really do match just about everything!  Honestly these photos don’t even do this ensemble justice. One day I’d love to see this coordination on a person, but this kimono will never fit me so I’ll have to find a willing model.

Items used in this coordination

U is for Ume

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Ume, 梅, Plum

Another of Japan’s more iconic flowers, ume or plum blossom can be found on nearly as many things as sakura nowadays. While their blooming season is not as celebrated, they’re an icon of the new year (since they bloom in winter), and a common motif for luck and prosperity. They’re one third of the “three friends of winter” or sho-chiku-bai, the other two being pine and bamboo. This combination can quite often be found on formal celebratory kimono such as wedding kakeshita or kuro-tomesode.

Visually they’re quite similar to sakura; five-petalled blossoms directly on wooden branches, with little to no foliage. There’s one obvious difference that allows for easy identification though, where sakura petals have that tell-tale notch in the tip, ume petals are very round. In more stylised representations they may even be depicted as full circles.

Ume is primarily a late winter motif, However, much like sakura, ume has become such a common and popular flower that it shows up on items for all seasons nowadays. It’s often used in the summer on things like yukata to evoke a feeling of coolness.

All the photos in this entry come directly from my collection. You are welcome to use them for personal projects and reference, but not for anything commercial. If you’re uncertain, feel free to contact me.

T is for Tachibana

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Tachibana, 橘, mandarin orange

I somehow didn’t realise how many tachibana items I have in my collection until just now! It makes sense though, it’s a motif I love. I have lots of kimono I could have used for today’s coordination, but I thought I’d give this obi some love instead. It’s not in the best shape, but it’s so soft and sweet that I’m able to look past the smudges.

It’s a fukuro obi, so arguably too formal for this komon, but because it’s got an evenly-spread all-over woven pattern with no metallic and no embroidery it reads as very casual to me. On first glance, I think most people would assume it was a nagoya obi.

I decided to keep things very soft and genteel with this muted kimono. The peach accessories were already out from a previous coord (and my utter inability to put things away when I’m done using them), but I realised that not only does the peach look lovely, but the obiage actually has a motif of tachibana as well!

I’m not sure this outfit really features and focuses on tachibana but I do like how it turned out nonetheless.

Items used in this coordination

S is for Sakura

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Sakura, 桜, Japanese cherry blossom

Few things are as aesthetically emblematic of Japan as the sakura blossom. It’s an easy visual shorthand in movies and anime for spring, new love, and youthful exuberance. All for good reason. They bloom in profusion across the entire country, a season as looked forward to as the holiday season here in North America. The blooming of the sakura trees is celebrated on coins, with parties, by time-limited merchandise, clothing, picnics, drinks at Starbucks, you name it.

They are a perfect example of mono no aware, or the acceptance of the transience of life. They burst open in a cloud of soft colour and last mere days.

When it comes to kimono, sakura can be depicted many ways. However, there are some constants that make it easy to identify. Sakura will always have five petals in the central or main layer, and each petal is slightly elongated with a tell-tale notch in the tip.

Traditionally, sakura is a spring motif, worn right before the real ones bloom. However, it’s become such a ubiquitous design that it shows up in all seasons nowadays. Unless you’re going to a very strict event, I believe you can wear it any time.

Here are some examples taken from my collection, so you can see the variations and similarities.

All the photos in this entry come directly from my collection. You are welcome to use them for personal projects and reference, but not for anything commercial. If you’re uncertain, feel free to contact me.

R is for Rinzu

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Rinzu, 綸子, silk damask

Rinzu is like jacquard, a beautiful tone-on-tone pattern achieved by weaving techniques only. No dye, no paint, just right off the loom with a rich, beautiful depth.

I have lots of pieces in my collection that have a rinzu base, but none of them show off and exemplify them quite as gorgeously as this vintage purple iromuji given to me by a friend. I decided to do an entire outfit (or as much as possible) using only solid pieces with bold rinzu fabric.

Aside from the utterly lush purple kimono, I used the mofuku obi I painted a while back, since you can still see the lovely water pattern in the black fabric. The obiage is a soft pink that ties in well with the obi, with a rinzu design of sakura and geometric lines. I tied it in a little bow for more sweetness and softness. I’m honestly not sure if the haneri counts as rinzu, the weave is much more textured and raised than anything else I own. But the design is woven, not painted or embroidered, so I ran with it. As for the obijime, the only rinzu one I own is an all-black mofuku piece, which felt too heavy against the black obi so I just went with a soft pink round braid.

The outfit is quite simple, but I think it does a fantastic job of showing off all the gorgeous woven design and texture that is rinzu silk!

Items used in this coordination