Obi (sash)

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Template:Short description Template:Italic title

The back view of a young woman, her dark hair tied up, wearing a black Template:Transliteration and a gold Template:Transliteration with a design of leaves in purple, green and red.
Back of a woman wearing a kimono with the Template:Transliteration tied in the Template:Transliteration style

An Script error: No such module "Nihongo". is a belt of varying size and shape worn with both traditional Japanese clothing and uniforms for Japanese martial arts styles. Originating as a simple thin belt in Heian period Japan, the Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration, 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 Template:Transliteration, many modern Template:Transliteration are too wide and stiff to function in this way, with a series of ties known as Template:Transliteration, worn underneath the Template:Transliteration, used to keep the kimono closed instead.

Template:Transliteration are categorised by their design, formality, material, and use, and can be made of a number of types of fabric, with heavy brocade weaves worn for formal occasions, and some lightweight silk Template:Transliteration worn for informal occasions. Template:Transliteration are also made from materials other than silk, such as cotton, hemp and polyester, though silk Template:Transliteration are considered a necessity for formal occasions. In the modern day, pre-tied Template:Transliteration, known as Template:Transliteration or Template:Transliteration, are also worn, and do not appear any different to a regular Template:Transliteration when worn.

Though Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration are highly prized for their craftsmanship and reputation of quality, such as Template:Transliteration, produced in the Nishijin district of Kyoto, and Template:Transliteration produced in Fukuoka prefecture.

History

Heian period to Edo period

File:GeishaObi.jpg
A Japanese woman tying the Template:Transliteration of a geisha in the 1890s.

In its early days, the Template:Transliteration was a cord or ribbon-like sash, approximately Template:Convert in width. Men's and women's Template:Transliteration were similar. At the beginning of the 17th century, both women and men wore a thin, ribbon-like Template:Transliteration. By the 1680s, the width of women's Template:Transliteration had already doubled from its original size. In the 1730s women's Template:Transliteration were about Template:Convert wide, and at the turn of the 19th century were as wide as Template:Convert. At that time, separate ties and cords were necessary to hold the Template:Transliteration in place. Men's Template:Transliteration were widest in the 1730s, at about Template:Convert.[1]

Before the Edo period, Template:Transliteration robes were fastened with a narrow sash at the hips.[2] The mode of attaching the sleeve widely to the torso part of the garment would have prevented the use of wider Template:Transliteration. When the sleeves of the Template:Transliteration began to grow in both horizontal width and vertical length at the beginning of the Edo period, the Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration.[1]

Originally, all Template:Transliteration were tied in the front. Later, fashion began to affect the position of the knot, and Template:Transliteration could be tied to the side or to the back. As Template:Transliteration grew wider the knots grew bigger, and it became cumbersome to tie the Template:Transliteration in the front. By the end of the 17th century Template:Transliteration were mostly tied in the back. However, the custom did not become firmly established before the beginning of the 20th century.[1]

At the end of the 18th century, it was fashionable for a woman's Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration with a wide cloth ribbon called Template:Transliteration. 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 Template:Transliteration. Template:Transliteration are still used, but only as a decorative accessory.[1]

Modern day

The most formal women's Template:Transliteration, the Template:Transliteration, is technically obsolete, worn only by some brides, with a modified, longer version - the Template:Transliteration (lit., "dangling Template:Transliteration") - worn by Template:Transliteration, in the present day. The lighter Template:Transliteration has taken the place of Template:Transliteration. The originally-everyday Template:Transliteration is the most common Template:Transliteration used today, and fancy Template:Transliteration may even be accepted as a part of a semi-ceremonial outfit.

The use of fancy, decorative Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration in the Template:Transliteration (lit., "drum knot") style.[3] Template:Transliteration, also known as Template:Transliteration, have gained popularity as pre-tied belts accessible to those with mobility issues or a lack of knowledge on how to wear Template:Transliteration.

Tatsumura Textile located in Nishijin in Kyoto is a centre of Template:Transliteration manufacture today. Founded by Heizo Tatsumura I in the 19th century, it is renowned for making some of the most luxurious Template:Transliteration available.[4] Amongst Tatsumura's students studying design was the later-painter Inshō Dōmoto.

The technique Template:Transliteration, traditionally produced in the Nishijin area of Kyoto, is intricately woven and can have a three dimensional effect, costing up to 1 million yen.[5][6][7]

The Kimono Institute was founded by Kazuko Hattori in the 20th century and teaches how to tie an Template:Transliteration and wear it properly.[8][9][10][11]

Women's Template:Transliteration

File:Obi dimensions.png
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There are many types of Template:Transliteration for women, with certain types of Template:Transliteration worn only with certain types of kimono to certain occasions.[12][13] Often, the Template:Transliteration can adjust the formality of the entire kimono outfit, with the same kimono being worn to occasions of differing formality depending on the Template:Transliteration worn with it.[14] Most women's Template:Transliteration no longer keep the kimono closed, owing to their stiffness and width, and a number of ties worn under the Template:Transliteration keep the kimono in place.

A woman's formal Template:Transliteration can be Template:Convert wide and more than Template:Convert long, with the longest variety – the Template:Transliteration, nearing Template:Convert in length – worn only by Template:Transliteration in some regions of Japan. Some women's Template:Transliteration are folded in two width-wise when worn, to a width of about Template:Convert to Template:Convert; the full width of the Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration, and different knots are suited to different occasions and different kimono. The Template:Transliteration itself often requires the use of stiffeners and cords for definition of shape and decoration, and some knots, such as the Template:Transliteration, require additional accessories in order to keep their shape.

Women's Template:Transliteration types

File:Nagoya obi.JPG
The Template:Transliteration, the most common variety of women's Template:Transliteration
File:Tsuke 021008.png
Template:Transliteration are much shorter than the other types of Template:Transliteration.
File:Yukataobi.jpg
The separate bow part of a Template:Transliteration is attached using a wire hook.
File:HanaYukataInari.jpg
Girl wearing a Template:Transliteration. The two-toned effect is obtained by folding the reversible Template:Transliteration to reveal the contrasting underside.

Accessories for women's Template:Transliteration

Men's Template:Transliteration

The Template:Transliteration worn by men are much narrower than those of women, with the width of most men's Template:Transliteration being about Template:Convert at the most. Men's Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration or Template:Transliteration to achieve.

Men's Template:Transliteration types

Accessories

File:壽字吉祥文蒔絵印籠 - Inrō with the Characters for Longevity and Good Fortune and the “Seven Lucky Treasures” on Checkerboard Ground.jpg
Template:Transliteration and Template:Transliteration. Edo period, 18th century

Men's Template:Transliteration are not generally worn with accessories, being for the most part too thin to accommodate any of the accessories worn with women's Template:Transliteration.

However, in the Edo period, practical box-shaped accessories called Script error: No such module "Nihongo"., which hung from Template:Transliteration with a fastener called Template:Transliteration, became popular. Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration. Template:Transliteration, which originated in the Sengoku period, were first used as practical goods, but after the middle of the Edo period, when Template:Transliteration were gorgeously decorated with various lacquer techniques such as Template:Transliteration and Template:Transliteration, samurai 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, Template:Transliteration became a complete art collection. Nowadays, Template:Transliteration are rarely worn as kimono accessories, but there are collectors all over the world.[30][31]

Children's Template:Transliteration

File:Have you ever wear Kimono recut.jpg
A little girl wearing kimono. A simple soft Template:Transliteration is tied around the waist.

Children's Template:Transliteration are generally soft, simple sashes, designed to be easy and comfortable to wear, though older children may wear simple, stiffer Template:Transliteration made short, such as Template:Transliteration and Template:Transliteration; as they age, children begin to wear kimono outfits that are essentially miniaturised versions of adult kimono and Template:Transliteration.[32] The youngest children wear soft, scarf-like Template:Transliteration.

Children's Template:Transliteration types

In martial arts

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File:Obi-gokyū.jpg
Template:Transliteration for Template:Transliteration. The colours shown range from yellow to brown, corresponding to judo Template:Transliteration (levels) from 9th to 1st.

Many Japanese martial arts feature an Template:Transliteration as part of their uniform. These Template:Transliteration are often made of thick cotton and are about Template:Convert wide. The martial arts Template:Transliteration are most often worn in the Template:Transliteration style; in practice where the Template:Transliteration is worn, the Template:Transliteration is tied in other ways.

In many martial arts the colour of the Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration, the colour of the Template:Transliteration has no significance.

Knots (Template:Transliteration)

The knot tied with the Template:Transliteration is known as the Template:Nihongo3. Though Template:Transliteration functioned to hold the kimono closed for many centuries, beginning in the Edo period, the Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration functioning in a more decorative capacity.

Though most styles of Template:Transliteration can be tied by oneself, some varieties of formal women's Template:Transliteration can be difficult to tie successfully without the assistance of others.

There are hundreds of decorative knots,[13][22] particularly for women, often named for their resemblance to flowers, animals and birds. Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration, have become the standard knot for women of all ages, excluding young girls.

In earlier days, the knots were believed to banish malicious spirits.[13] Many knots have a name with an auspicious double meaning.[13]

Types of knots

Gallery

See also

Citations

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General and cited references

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External links

Template:Folk costume Template:Japanese clothing Template:Authority control

  1. a b c d e Dalby, pp. 47–55
  2. Fält et al., p. 450.
  3. a b c d e f Dalby, pp. 208–212
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  12. Fält et al., p. 452.
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  30. Masayuki Murata. 明治工芸入門 pp. 104–106. Me no Me, 2017 Template:ISBN
  31. Yūji Yamashita. 明治の細密工芸 pp. 80–81. Heibonsha, 2014 Template:ISBN
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  36. Dalby, pp. 337–348
  37. Yamanaka, pp. 66–70
  38. a b Yamanaka, pp. 7-12, 29-30
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