kimono culture

With the influx of western culture and fashion, traditional Japanese clothing seemed doomed to become a thing of the past. However, kimono are still being manufactured and worn to this very day. Before the Meiji period, kimono functioned as everyday wear, but nowadays people wear kimono on occasions that require formal dress, such as weddings, graduations, and funerals.

 

Kimono are also worn on certain holidays. Children are dressed in kimono for shichi-go-san festival. Young women who will become 20 years old in the coming year wear ornate furisode (振袖, a special long-sleeved kimono) for coming-of-age festival in January.

I wore this vintage kimono at a tea ceremony lesson. Kimono are still worn for traditional events like tea ceremony, hanami (花見, flower viewing), or a gagaku (雅楽, court music) performance. If you attend a traditional cultural event, you will definitely see women (and sometimes men) wearing kimono.

There is a thriving kimono culture that exists in Japan. Vintage kimono can often be found at local flea markets for extremely reasonable prices. Sometimes they have small flaws or stains, but more often than not they are entirely wearable.

A fairly recent trend has re-styled vintage kimono with modern accessories to to give the wearer a retro kind of look. These kimono are often brightly colored (like the one I’m wearing in the photos) or are woven with strong geometric patterns.

If you’d like to get your own kimono, you can always go and find mountains of cheap used kimono at local flea markets like Kobo-san in Kyoto or the tenmangu market in Kiryu. Sometimes you can even find shops that buy and sell recycled kimono like Usagi-ya in Ashikaga.

What do you think about non-Japanese wearing kimono? Do you think it looks ridiculous? Would you like to try wearing kimono? Tell me what you think!

茶の湯

I’ve been reading up on Chanoyu, or Sado, or Tea Ceremony, or The Way of Tea, or whatever you like to call it. One of my coworkers took me to her ochakai lesson with her mother and for the first time EVER I got to wear kimono! It was so exciting, and probably also very good for my posture. The obi is very tight and stiff, but not completely restricting, but the most difficult thing, I found, was standing up and sitting down without letting the undergarment show. I felt a little awkward, but I’m sure if I could practice all the time, I could easily get used to it. However, putting on a kimono by oneself is no easy task. I have a kimono, but I unfortunately do not have all of the appropriate underthings…yet. Don’t you love the tabi (socks)? They remind me of Ninja Turtle feet. Hee.

 

Also, I’ve been to ochakai before, but this was a lesson, and not an actual tea-meet. It was way more relaxed than the real thing, which made me feel a lot more comfortable and about 75% less awkward and foreign! You can learn so much about Zen philosophy from tea ceremony, and Japanese culture as well. If you want to learn more about the way of tea, I’d recommend reading “The Book of Tea” by Kakuzo Okakura. It’s all about the aesthetics and philosophy that are the tea ceremony itself. The book also includes the history of tea ceremony and talks about its earliest forms. The book also has a few anecdotes about the most influential tea master, Sen-no Rikyu, who broke apart his tea bowl and committed ritual suicide after performing his final tea ceremony.

“[tea ceremony] is an attempt to accomplish something possible in this impossible thing we know as life.”

– Tenshin Okakura, The Book of Tea

渋谷

 

今日東京ちょっと買い物に行った。明日一ヶ月アメリカ帰るから、友達や家族の為良い御土産買いに行った。平日だから、人々少なかったし、渋谷の景色ぜんぜん違う。すごい人ごみ嫌いので、今日は超よかった。

  

スターバで、空いている席すごく見つかりやすい。この写真取れた。ほら! 誰もいない!

もちろんハチ公。めっちゃかわいくない?!

ハチイィ～♪

クール・ファウンテン！

Once upon a time, I found myself wandering around Tokyo and I found this cool fountain! I thought it so cool, in fact, that I thought it would be rad if I brought a friend there. Which is what I did yesterday with Lindsey!

Yay! We love the cool fountain! Especially when it’s 93 degrees outside! 

We also made the keen observation that the particular part of Tokyo that the cool fountain is in had basically no people in it. For me at least, the best parts of Tokyo always seem to be the ones with no people in them.

Nevertheless! We made our way to Harajuku (easily one of the most crowded parts of Tokyo yesterday) for the LaForet grand bazaar! Woo! Since you can’t go in the front door of LaForet when they have sales, you have to go in the back door. Which we did. It wasn’t nearly as crowded as the winter sale – which I can only liken to shopping in a mosh pit.

There was a super pimped-out limo that seemed to be riding around the block aimlessly. 

A trip to Harajuku is never complete without a ridiculously decadent crepe.

Awesome day, all thanks to the cool fountain.

Saturday

Yesterday I went to a flea market in Kiryu at the Tenmangu with some friends. We meandered around for a while, and it was really cool just looking at all the old stuff that people accumulate. I didn’t really buy anything, though. I saw a used yukata that I liked, but it had a stain on the sleeve that probably wasn’t going to come out anytime soon, and besides, when do I ever get a chance to wear yukata?! Well, I did yesterday! I FINALLY had a chance to wear my yukata. Yay!

  

I’m the blonde one to the right, with the purple obi. I think my hands look huge in this picture, probably because my sleeves are a little short. I don’t have geta because they’re too short for my feet, so I wore a pair of flats instead. I think that was the big thing most people remarked on.

Old-fashioned kaki-gori machine. Looks like it was going for about $250.

  

This part of Japan was historically the textile center of the country. The textile factories are still in Kiryu, but they don’t really use them anymore. Now they have them around for their cool, old architecture. Also, there are all kinds of references (names of festivals, shrines, etc.) to Orihime, the weaving goddess, as well as the JR Ryomo (両毛) line, with the character 毛, which means hair or fur, but in this case specifically they used it to refer to the thread produced here. 
   We also went to a cool old-style restaurant called “Basho” (芭蕉) for lunch. The building itself was easily over a hundred years old, complete with thatched roof, clay walls. and uneven stone floor.  There are all kinds of horse-motif decorations in the place. It’s a little dark but it’s cool even on a hot day. The tables each have their own unique noisemakers to call for the wait staff. We had a little brass gong. The booth next to ours had a mini brass temple bell, and another had a wooden windchime. Had the house curry and a salad, which were fantastic.

Its funny how you can go to a place every day and know so little about it. Kiryu has plenty of information and things to promote tourism, as well as tons of stuff to do and see. I’m glad I have nice friends to show me around!

My First Japanese Haircut

First, foremost, and for the record, I haate getting my hair cut, even in the U.S.! Every time I get my hair cut, I’m usually reluctant to go, but I feel pretty happy with the results a couple of days afterwards. Then I let it grow… for months and months and months until I feel its getting to the point where even my split ends have split ends.
Well, it was just about that time again… you know, to get a hair cut. My hair was super long… not that it was a bad thing. I like my hair long & sexy but sometimes it just gets to be a hassle when its too TOO long.

Luckily. I have a friend in Ashikaga who happens to be a hair stylist! Woohoo!

Now, for the photos!!

BEFORE!!

Long. Unruly. Dry. Split-end city!

And…

 

AFTER!!

Short. Professional. Adorable.

With those glasses?!

ooh la la…

colorful music ♪

Seriously. I need to get in a band like this. Wigs? Happy colors? Bass drum? Sax? I don’t even know what that third girl is playing! Embroidered umbrellas? So cool, even if they weren’t hawking themselves for LaForet!

What's in my bag? Summer '09

While I was in Pittsburgh, I was lucky enough to do some shopping in the South Side Works! I got this awesome gray bag by Lux at Urban Outfitters. I've used it pretty much every day since I bought it. I decided... why not do another edition of "What's in the bag, Beaves?" to celebrate the glorious new grey bag!!

 
the contents!!

clockwise from top:

Verizon phone (only for when I'm in the U.S.)
Anna Sui compact mirror
Moleskine & some pens
Lush - lip service
clear/black wayfarers from urban outfitters
Anna Sui tissue case
Sephora by O.P.I. nail color in 'Queen of Everything'
Clinique folding brush
Digital Camera
Coach checkbook wallet

How about you? What's in YOUR bag??

What's in the bag, beaves?

I got the inspiration to do this from this post by Nubby. Basically, it's what I'm carrying around all the time. I love my American Apparel LA-Z girl bag in ultraviolet. It's big, purple, and... amazing. If it ever breaks or gets holes and/or stains, I WILL buy another.





let's try this clockwise from the purple bag:

• Ashikaga Elementary English Curriculum, School Schedules & Kokuyo Campus Notebook
• Ipod Nano (3rd generation)
• Clinique superpowder double face makeup
• Clinique folding brush
• Sunkist のどあめ (throat drops)
  
• Bath & Body Works Coconut Lime Verbena Anti-Bacterial Gel
• Goldie lip gloss
• Burt's Bees lip balm
• Bliss Lemon+Sage body butter
  
• Apartment & bicycle keys
• Vivienne Westwood handkerchief
  
• Totes pocket umbrella
• purple 判子 (personal seal) & white carrying case
  
• PANTONE SoftBank 830SH (lilac. yes. I have a Pantone phone.)
  
• John & Mary pencil case complete w/ pens, pencils & my Radar plastic eraser
• 2009 planner
• Coach signature checkbook wallet

That's it, really. I take my digital camera in and out, but ever since I got the cell phone, I've been using its camera instead. The phone has a dictionary on it, so if I need to look up a Japanese word, I can, but the definition will be in Japanese... which helps sometimes. Oh. Also sometimes I toss a scarf in there. Just in case. Lately I haven't been taking my town map along with me. If I stray too far from this area, I usually just throw the whole Lonely Planet guide in there, too. Luckily, my edition is also purple. What's in YOUR bag??

Oh no.. packing...

I will most likely be taking this mountain of purple shoes to Japan. Anything else?

Of course!!

So, I usually take those little sewing packages that you get from hotels whenever I go on a trip that requires me to wear something nice. This is kind of an extended trip, so I decided to make my own sewing kit to throw in my bag.










I wrapped some black & white thread of various types around a little piece of pink cardstock that I cut with some zigzag edge scissors. I poked some different sized needles through the wound thread so they don't get lost in the fray. Then, I threw in some buttons that came with some of the garments I'll be taking along. Plus safety pins of various sizes and colors, a pair of scissors, a needle threader aaand a mini screwdriver just in case my glasses decide to break.










Everything fit nicely into this little ziplock that used to have buttons in it.
I guess if you want to guage the size of this little package, the pink cardstock is about as long as a business card. This is definitely something that is going to come in handy, I think.