Busy winter evening in kimono

I often cooperate with local Cultural Centre at my neighborhood and this time they invited me to prepare Japanese evening. I was telling about my kimono passion and about secrets of Karyukai, next I showed how to put a kimoo of course:)

Cause of great frost and  severe winter weather outside I decided to wear my soft grey chirimen komon with lovely frozen flowers motif. To warm up the look I used my deep rose fukuro obi and  played with obijime shape creating rose flower with a handmade brooch.
I think the audience were glad and I am happy taking experience based on by best passion even if showing kitsuke on model was tough job.

Japanese treasure box-karako motif

I`ve  browsed many sites related to wafuku-(traditional Japanese costume) in search of information about kimonos and all that their tradition is related, etc. This allowed me to gain a little knowledge about the kitsuke rules (creation and arrangement of elements kimono art) and collect a database of observations and insights of classical motifs and designs presented to the kimono, obi belts, jackets haori whether  juban robes. A lot of them went into the list of my favorites, by an interesting subject matter, technique, presentation and accuracy or exotic colors.

One of the classic, but quite exotic designs used in creating  wafuku is  theme of karako-Chinese child, I called the Chinese, plump toddler, with a shaven head. These are usually painted in the yuzen technique, also tend to be woven and embroidered.
The biggest, that I know,  online shop, where you can watch (and buy if the purse permits) thousands of kimonos, obi, haori etc. is ICHIROYA. I found there the largest collection of hilarious karako. The most often mapped to nagoya obi belts, but I found them both on several formal kimono with crests- kurotomesode, whether susohiki -spectacular kimonos worn by geisha but of course on  the childish kimono whether male haori. 

Zdjęcia opublikowane za zgodą właściciela Ichiroya.
Thank you Ichiro san!