INFO: Indonesia
Traditional costume:
Intro/Basic Info:
The most popular Japanese costume is called the Kimono and Yukata and today, people who wear Japanese traditional clothes in events are women. For example, in today’s weddings the men wear the formal tux that men in most parts of the world wear, and the girls wear kimono.
The Japanese clothes don’t really differ in each area. It’s like the whole Japan wear the same type of clothing in the particular season. The styles vary because long ago, the Japanese people were inspired by the change of seasons. On formal events, the women like to use light colors on their kimono with the elegant-type sashes. Japanese girls also have the tradition of wearing light colored long-sleeved kimono.
Many foreigners like Japanese outfits because of its exoticness. It’s also treasured by the nation by setting it as a tradition and passing it down to their descendents. Even though today western style clothing is popular (especially to teenagers), the kimono is still very important to them. Even foreign countries have grown a lot of interest in the kimono.
Kimono & Yukata
Kimono is the most used Japanese costume. It actually means the whole outfit including the sash accessory (obi) and footwear. There are also different types of it.
There is the Tomesode Kimono which is formal kimono for married women. It’s black and has 5 family crest prints, and a design on the bottom part. Usually gold colored obi and other accessories are worn with it to formal events like weddings.
Furisode Kimono is the formal kimono for unmarried women. It has catchy colors and pretty designs and very long sleeves. It’s worn in coming of age ceremonies, graduation ceremonies, wedding parties, arranged marriage meeting and other formal events.
Houmongi Kimono and Tukesage Kimono are informal kimonos for all women. Today, the Houmongi is the most popular kimono in Japan. It can also be considerent formal sometimes because it can be worn to wedding parties, tea ceremonies, entrance and graduation ceremonies. Tukesage is more casual and worn in parties, tea ceremonies and when going out. The design in this kimono is always facing upwards.
Komon Kimono is the normal kimono for women. The fabric is filled with small patterns and worn in house parties, lessons, date, etc. It’s convenient for people today to wear it if they want to go out wearing the kimono.
Iromuji Kimono is the type of kimono that can be worn in any situations, so it can be formal or informal. It has only one color and can be any color except black. It a family crest is printed on it, it becomes completely formal.
Mofuku Kimono is a formal kimono that is worn to funeral ceremonies of a close relative or friend. The fabric’s all black and also has 5 family crest prints. The whole costume is colored black except the juban (underwear) and tabi (socks).
Yukata is a summer kimono that is worn without juban and is cooling to wear (especially in summer). Unlike other kimonos that are made of silk or synthetic fabric, they are made of cotton and are unlined.
The last type of kimono is Jinbei (also called hippari). It’s really different from the other types because it’s divided to a top and matching shorts. It’s to be worn in the summer. It can be worn by both women and men.
How to wear a Kimono:
The most important things to prepare are the outer layer, 2 small towels, koshihimos (soft ties), obi sash, datejime (belt), and stiffener.
First, we have to wear something inside to make our body not so obvious; it can be a piece of kimono robe (thin white one-layer ones) or anything else. Then we can tie the small towels in the back and front of our waist to help make straight waistline, and tie the towels using a koshihimo. A datejime is good to cover the koshihimo to help secure the towels in place. It’s not important to try to make the waistine disappear completely in this step because we’ll be adding more layers.
After that, put on the top layer or yukata that has been chosen for the occasion. Put it on from behind and carefully slip your hands to its place. The kimono might be too long for you (depends on height). To adjust it, put a hand on the back and another on front and pull the kimono up carefully (don’t make too wrinkles especially on the back part). Pull it to the front and leave the cloth behind folded on our back so both hands can work on the front. Adjust and measure the kimono, then fold them (left over right) until the bottom leaves 5cm from the ground all around. Tie the kimono on our hip to secure the position, remember to avoid putting the bow or knot in the middle (tie it on your side).
Slip your hands on the holes on the side of the kimono and pull some parts of it down to cover the koshihimo. Also adjust the collar; it’s good/elegant to show a little bit of the backside of the neck. To secure a v-line in the collar, tie another belt under the bust and smooth out its wrinkles. The wrinkles of the kimono also have to be smoothed out (the ones on our sides). Next, tie a datejime carefully over the belt under our bust. Last on is one of the most popular part, which is the obi (the belt that has a bow on our back). It’s pretty complicated to wear it, and we have to be careful. The bow is made on our front and can be moved to our back later. It has to be moved to the right to not ruin the kimono we had set before.
Hakama
Hakama are traditionally only worn by men, but today it’s used by both men and women. Unlike kimono, hakama is only the bottom part of the outfit (or the ‘pants’). The hakama is tied around the waist and the end of the hakama is about the ankle.
There are two types of hakama: the divided umanori ones which are originally used by the farmers or field workers, and the undivided andon bakama. They don’t actually look that different when we see people wearing those different types of hakama. The umanori hakama is looser on the waist and narrow in the bottom.
To wear it, first you put your legs inside the hakama. There are two long himo (straps) in the front garment’s edges and two shorter himo in the rear garment. In the rear garment, there is a plastic board (covered with the fabric) that will be placed behind the waist later.
Then, take the long straps and loop it around your waist twice and tie a simple bowknot. Make sure the knot and loop is below the knot under the hakama. Then, take the plastic board behind you and hook the white plastic piece on the looped strap behind you. Finally, loop the short straps the same way as the longer straps. You can tidy your kimono by slipping your hand in through the holes on the sides of the hakama. Also, you can set your hakama into a complete pair of pants by pulling it (again, through the holes) back and tucking it in the straps behind you.
There are seven pleats in the hakama; two on the back and five on the front. Each pleat represents the 7 virtues of bushido which is something that samurais follow.
Traditional house:
Intro/Basic Info:
First, compared to western people’s lives, the Japanese people take much less space to live. The average of one western family to live is about 100 square meters, and a Japanese family only needs about 40 square meters. The Japanese can already have a comfortable life with that much space. Since many of us are influenced by the western lifestyle, do you think we waste a lot of space in our homes?
The Japanese house is designed to be close with nature and also be earthquake-resistant. Since long ago, Japan had experienced many earthquakes (either small or big), so the Japanese people are prepared for it and one of the ways are by building this kind of house.
Washitsu
The Washitsu is basically the Japanese room that has hand crafter tatami mats all over it. It’s a multi-purposed room, which means they can be used in any occasions. The washitsu can be used for tea ceremonies, bedrooms or living rooms. When people want to dine in the room, there’s this low table and people will be seated on a cushion called zabuton.
When people want to sleep in the room, they lie on a set of mattress (quite thin) and quilt called the futon. It’s a traditional Japanese bedding style and is still used by some people in Japan now.
Long ago, people measure the room’s lengths and area using the tatami mat. There are whole sized tatami and half sized tatami. Usually, there are about 6 or 8 tatami mats in a room.
In the past or old traditional houses, almost all the rooms are washitsu style. But now in the modern houses, the washitsu style room is only the living room and it has a small low table. The other rooms are already modern or like western styles, like the bedroom, dining room, and kitchen.
Tokonoma
Shoji
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Resources:
“Japanese Clothing”. Maps of World. Web. 4 July 2011.
http://www.mapsofworld.com/japan/culture/japanese-clothing.html
“Japanese Traditional Clothing.” Buzzle. Web. 4 July 2011.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/japanese-traditional-clothing.html
“Kimono.” TinyShiny. Web. 4 July 2011.
http://www.tinyshiny.com/Articles/KimonoJapaneseTraditionalClothing.php
“How To Dress Yukata & Kimono Part1 by ICHIROYA.COM.” Youtube. 04 April 2008. Web. 4 July 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCZtGi21ysM
“How To Dress Yukata & Kimono Part2 by ICHIROYA.COM.” Youtube. 05 April 2008. Web. 4 July 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEGSemM222g
“How to wear a Hakama.” Youtube. 21 June 2011. Web. 4 July 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWt3WmIs0Ic
“Hakama.” Wikipedia. Web. 23 April 2011. 4 July 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakama
“THE JAPANESE HOUSE.” Implosion. Web. 4 July 2011.
http://home.worldcom.ch/~negenter/410JapHouseTxE1.html