Japanese Culture Related Products

Japanese Culture Related Products

Women Traditional Clothes

Women Traditional Clothes

There's a great variety of kimonos for women. They start from luxurious furisodes that can cost up to several thousands of dollars and end with more simple, cool dresses like yukatas. The price is greatly influenced not only by the material used but also by the pattern. The more intricate it is, the more expensive a kimono usually is. 

Types of Women Traditional Clothes

Yukata is a very thin casual dress which is worn by both men and women. Unlike yukatas for men, women yukatas have a more elaborate design. The patterns vary greatly, too. A yukata can often be seen on people during numerous summer festivals in Japan. Low price makes it a perfect choice for going out on hot summer days.

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 Furisode is a kimono you have probably seen many times in movies. Literally translated as "swinging sleeves", its distinguishing features, as the name suggests, are long sleeves and various colorful patterns. A furisode is one of the most beloved traditional dresses in Japan. Hence its quality and price. However, most of them come in sets of all necessary items, except for decorative accessories like a kanzashi or a netsuke about which you can learn more by clicking here.  

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Iromuji literally means a "single-colored kimono". It is a plain in terms of colors outfit which has a relatively leisure look and is a popular dress for tea ceremonies in Japan.

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 Homongi is a type of women traditional clothes which, unlike a furisode, can be worn by both single and married women.  Literally translated as "visiting wear", a homongi is characterized by flowing over the shoulders patterns, seams, and sleeves patterns.  

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Komon, a "fine pattern", is a kimono with a small, repeated pattern throughout the garment. This kind of women traditional clothes is more casual, easy to wash, and is suitable for every day use.

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Tsukesage has more modest patterns that cover a smaller area—mainly below the waist—than a more formal homongi. These kimonos are more suitable for parties or casual visits than ceremonies, and thus, can be easily used as an every day dress. 

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Tomesode or Irotomesode is a single-color kimono, patterned only below the waistline. As a sub-type, it includes Kurotomesode which is a black version of it and considered to be the most formal in the group.

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Men Traditional Clothes

Men Traditional Clothes

Men traditional clothes are not as numerous as women's and are much more simple. The outfits we are all used to seeing in movies are in fact several different pieces which comprised a set of men traditional wear back then. They would include a Kosode, a kimono with short sleeves, with a jacket called Haori, and a pair of skirts called Hakama. Below we will have a look at some outfits which are different from and more popular than the above-mentioned type of clothing.

Types of Men Traditional Clothes

Kimono is, as said previously, a typical outfit for men consisting of several different pieces. Men traditional clothes add a lot of ambiguity to the term because there is no particular one "dress". They are free in form  and, thus, are called by a collective name – "kimono". Some kimonos come with a set of supplementary accessories (sometimes up to 9 items) and are a good purchase if you want a complete set of traditional clothes for a reasonable price.

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Jimbei/Jinbei is a flimsy piece of clothing with shorts and wide sleeves. Jimbeis are often used during holiday celebrations and especially fireworks nights. Very light and cool, they are a perfect garment for hot summer days. Recently they have been popular among women, too, hence the colorful design of some of them.

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Yukata is a long dress for men that has only a few minor differences from that made for women. Its distinguishing feature is a long and beautiful belt called obi, which may cost more than the yukata itself when purchased separately. Recently, they are more and more often sold together as a set.

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Hanten is one of those clothes you will buy and never let go. Hantens are padded outfits which preserve warmth of one's body even on the coldest days of the year. That, and they look unmistakably Japanese. If you are in traditional clothes all year long, a Hanten is a must-buy product.

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Japanese Traditional Hats

Japanese Traditional Hats

Many of the Japanese hats were borrowed from China, and even the original ones are similar to their western neighbor's variants in that they were generally made of woven straws. All traditional hats from Japan incorporate the word "kasa" in their names which literally means "umbrella" and represents well what their main function was. Unlike kimonos, hats in Japan did not belong to any fashion trends but each of them was still different from another one thanks to the personal touch their creators could make while creating them. 

Types of Japanese traditional hats

Sugegasa is a standard conical hat from woven straws which farmers used to protect themselves from the sun. One can often see people in Sugegasa even today, especially in rural areas. Straw hats were also popular among monks and varied in designs greatly. One of the most memorable shape is probably the one called Takuhatsugasa. It had many shapes, but the most recognizable type is the one which covered the whole head up to the shoulders with a few small vertical holes for the eyes. A sandogasa along with a Roningasa can often be seen in Samurai movies worn by vagabond samurais. They are round in shape and are fastened to the head with either straws or rope. 

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Japanese Traditional Shoes

Japanese Traditional Shoes

Japanese traditional shoes have a vast variety of designs and, to top it off, range from very comfortable footwear to shoes for truly stoic people. Nevertheless, their original feel and look are loved by people all over the world. Japanese traditional shoes a must for those special occasions when you absolutely need to stand out.

Types of Japanese traditional shoes

Geta starts our list as, probably, the most interesting design-wise pair of Japanese traditional footwear. With two bars of wood attached perpendicularly to the sole, these wooden sandals are eye-catching at least. Worn by men and women with yukatas, they often can be seen during festivals and parties.

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Tabi are ankle-high, divided-toe socks usually worn with zōris or getas. Since ordinary socks can hardly be worn with shoes like getas or zoris, tabis are your only option if you want to cover your feet. 

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Zōri are traditional footwear worn by both men and women in Japan. They are similar in design to flip-flops. Produced of many materials, they can be both highly decorated and very simple.

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Waraji are impressive straw rope sandals. Centuries ago they were common footwear for Japanese people and remain popular among monks even today. They can be tied up in several patterns which leave a lot of room for experiments.

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Japanese Accessories

Japanese Accessories

Japanese accessories are mainly comprised of two types: decorative and those which had practical use. We will go over the most common ones. Make sure to click the links to see more: there are many more types and patterns.

Types of Japanese Accessories

Obi is the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about Japanese accessories. These big and richly designed sashes can often be seen on any woman wearing a kimono and are an indispensable part of it. Be it meant for a man or a woman, no yukata is complete without an obi. However, a necessity in the past, nowadays an obi does not keep a kimono closed. It has become a purely decorative item and, as a result, often costs more than the rest of the outfits when bought separately.

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Kanzashi are often seen Japanese accessories. Produced from different materials, the diversity of shapes and colors of these hair ornaments is so vast that even people with the most whimsical tastes will find something that will suit their fancy. A must-have item to complete your kimono with.

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Shawl is often used as a decorative item for kimonos. Called shoru in Japan, this word is a borrowing from the Persian language. It has replaced the original name almost completely. Shawls range from warm to thin and cool ones. The choice depends solely on the season. 

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Netsuke are miniature sculptures that were used for caring one's belongings around. Since kimonos had no pockets, having a small container for money, pipes, or tobacco became a necessity. A netsuke would be attached with a cord to the obi and carried around. Shapes of the containers called sagemono vary from animals to small boxes shut tightly by a carved, button-like toggle.

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Sensu and Uchiwa (or Uchiha) are two types of Japanese fans. The first one is a standard folding fan which has a picture or a colorful pattern engraved into it. Uchiwa, on the other hand, is less known overseas, yet is as common in Japan as sensus. It can not be folded, and has a small stick in the middle for the ease of holding. They have a rich history of being used by warlords with Takeda Shingen being one of the most prolific general who once used his uchiwa to defend himself against an attack from the opposing general.

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