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2018年1月24日

JUBAN (Inner wear for KIMONO)

Juban (襦袢) is an inner wear worn in between a Kimono (着物) and an underwear. There are various opinions about the origin of the word Juban, and it’s said to be introduced from Arabian, Portuguese, or Indian. Same as vintage Kimono (着物), antique Juban has a lot of varieties from chic ones to funny ones. ・・・

2018年1月24日

Freezing Cold

Winter weather in Kyoto? It’s freezing, I mean, to the bone. At night of a clear day when there’s no wind, it gets even colder because of the cold radiation. Since Kyoto is a basin surrounded by mountains from three directions, cold air stays at the bottom. “Cold! It’s really cold!”, that’s what you hear ・・・

2018年1月24日

Sense of Seasons

One of the interesting and challenging aspects of wearing KIMONOs is the sense of seasons. Especially, getting ahead of the season is regarded as sophisticated. Among various kinds of patterns of KIMONOs, those of flowers slightly ahead of the season are always preferred. Going against the season is not cool at all…. Having said that, ・・・

2018年1月22日

EMA at Kodai-ji Temple

Kodai-ji (高台寺) temple was established in 1606 by Nene (ねね, often known by the title “Kita no Mandokoro”), the widow of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉), a Samurai (侍)/politician of the Sengoku period (戦国時代) who is regarded as Japan’s second “great unifier”. Nene is very famous for her contribution in supporting the stormy life of her husband. ・・・

2018年1月22日

Omikuji, Sacred Lot at Sekizansenin

They say that Sekizanzenin Temple (赤山禅院), one of the sub-temples of Hieizan Enryakuji Temple (比叡山延暦寺), is protecting the east-north direction of Kyoto with its divine favor of warding off evils and disasters. As shown in the picture below, Omikuji (おみくじ, scared lot) here are contained in the figure of Fukurokuju (福禄寿, a corn headed god ・・・