Fine Japanese Calligraphy

The Art of Master Japanese Calligrapher Eri Takase

Home › Library › Books › Tourist Library › Kimono—Japanese Dress › Chapter 4

[p. 39]

IV. DIALOGUE ON THE OBI

“The other day I said that the kimono was an exceptional form of dress, but the obi is rather a peculiar thing, too, isn’t it? Since coming to Japan like this and becoming accustomed to seeing things, they no longer seem very strange, but the obi is to us foreigners a most extraordinary ornament.”

“It must be. Sometimes we Japanese ourselves wonder why such a fabric, so really splendid even as a work of art, should be tied on the back.

“But Monsieur B, this comes from what you once mentioned, the difference between revealed and hidden beauty. In short, woman’s dress in Europe and America is ornament made to cling to the curves of the body and bring out the beauty of those curves, isn’t it?

“The Japanese kimono wraps up the body and serves the purpose of hinting at its presence instead. And its colour and design are ornaments to beautify the body’s canvas.”

“Yes. For that matter, the focus of interest is quite different in the European and American woman’s dress and the Japanese kimono, isn’t it? They are alike in that they both make the waistline the dividing line and concentrate the attention on the face and breast, but their treatment of the waistline is utterly different. The Japanese kimono ignores the waistline, wraps a beautiful but immense obi around it, and through that very enlargement, rather ends by drawing

[p. 40]

attention to it. Another difference is that in woman’s dress in Europe and America, the long skirt hides the constriction at the knees, but in the kimono, the lower part of the skirt is brightened and brings it out clearly. Whoever thought of attracting attention to the waistline by winding the obi around it hit upon a truly interesting idea. One of the special features of the Japanese woman’s costume is the obi.”

“Exactly. The kimono and the obi are two different things, but really they are one and inseparable. When we speak of the kimono, we quite naturally include the obi in our thought. The dress and the hat are very closely associated in woman’s dress in Europe and America, but the kimono and obi are even more closely combined. In Japan there is an old saying. The obi symbolizes Japan’s beauty.”

“The obi symbolizes Japan’s beauty! To be sure, that briefly and perfectly expresses the special nature of the Japanese kimono, doesn’t it?

“About the obi that the Japanese woman wears today, when did it originate? Was it at the same time that the kimono became fixed in form?”

“The present-day wide obi originated somewhat recently. Of course there have been obi since ancient times. But the obi bound round the naii by women of noble family in the Fujiwara Period (897–1185) was narrow, and when the hakama was worn, could not be seen.

“After the Muromachi Period (1392–1573) the samurai women tied their obi on over their aigi and took to wearing the coat called uchikake, and though the obi finally came into sight, since the uchikake was

[p. 41]

Black-and-white photograph taken from behind of three people standing in a row, with heads bowed, in a large dark hall with curved roof eaves, with strips of paper hanging in a row at the upper right and a patterned border along the top. At the left one wears a plain dark garment with a small round mark at the shoulder and a wide pale band at the waist with a faint landscape on it. In the middle the hair is dressed high with two curved prongs of ornament; the upper garment is pale with round flower shapes, and the lower garment shades from dark to pale with a fan and pine-like branches. At the right one wears a plain pale garment with a wide pale band tied in a flat bow. A zigzag-patterned border runs across the floor at the bottom.
Bride accompanied by senior attendants more soberly dressed. Kimono and obi vary in colour and design according to the age

[p. 42]

still worn, it was considered the principal article of ornament, and the obi could boast of no great beauty.

“In the Momoyama Period (1568–1615) a braided obi with tassels at each end called a Nagoya obi appeared. It was wrapped around the waist many times and tied in a dangling knot at either side. The obi had come to exist as an article of exterior wear and to have in it a rich element of ornament, but it was worn by only a small class and never came to be generally popular.

“In the Tokugawa Period (1615–1867) the cultural centre of the nation shifted to the townsmen, and the women wore the aigi as an uwagi (outer coat), bound on the obi, and for the first time took a prominent place in the world. But even in the Genroku years (1688–1704) of the Tokugawa Period the obi was not wide, as it is today. It was in the Kyōho years (1716–1736) of the Tokugawa Period that women came to wear the wide obi that has continued in favour to this day. The measurements of the wide obi of today, called maru obi, are, width, about 2 feet, folded double, length, about 11 feet.

“As in the case of the kimono there are for the obi various unwritten laws governing the colours and designs for different occasions, and here is a list of them:—

“With crested garment.

“Always a maru obi of woven stuff.

“On inauspicious occasions (with mourning garments), patternless obi of white, black or silver.

“On auspicious occasions, obi with designs worked in gold or silver thread, designs woven

[p. 43]

Two black-and-white photographs side by side, each of a person standing against a plain mid-tone backdrop. At the left the person faces the viewer and smiles, the hair dressed close to the head, holding a dark rectangular object in both hands at the waist. The garment has long sleeves, a layered pale band at the waist, and a pattern of small diamond-shaped flowers on the lower part. At the right the person is seen from behind with the head turned to the right in profile, a small pale flower in the hair at the back. A large round bow with big flower shapes sits at the back of the waist, and large leaf shapes and a long slanting pale line run over the lower garment. Pale sandals show at the foot.
Front and back views illustrate perfect harmony of obi and kimono

[p. 44]

Black-and-white studio photograph of a person seen from behind against a plain mid-tone backdrop, the head turned to the right in profile. The hair is smooth and gathered into a low round bun with a cluster of small pale flowers beside it. The garment has wide sleeves, one sleeve dark and the other pale with a thin pale line near the cuff. A broad band with large leaf shapes is tied at the back of the waist in a large rounded knot, and the lower part of the garment is patterned with wide vertical stripes.
Otaiko musubi or “drum-tie” obi knot

[p. 45]

Black-and-white studio photograph of a person seen from behind, the head turned to the left in profile, against a plain mid-tone backdrop. The hair is smooth at the sides and gathered into a low bun. The garment is dark with pale vertical stripes and has bamboo-like leaf shapes along the sleeves, with a wide band tied at the back of the waist in a large flat knot, its darker panel patterned with a pale flower and wavy lines. The hands are closed at her sides.
Hinagiku musubi or “marguerite tie” obi knot

[p. 46]

Black-and-white studio photograph of a woman seen from behind, standing against a plain pale backdrop. Her hair is dressed in a large rounded upswept style with an ornament at the upper left, and a patterned collar shows at the neck. A very wide obi covers her back from the waist almost to the hem, with large fan shapes, some with a fine dotted pattern and some pale. Below it the hem is dark and patterned. She wears pale socks and sandals with tall dark thick soles.
Maiko, whose obi with embroidered designs and bold colour scheme is even brighter than her kimono

[p. 47]

in the fabric and brought out with embroidery and gilding, magnificently wonderful obi with congratulatory designs such as pine, bamboo and plum, the four noble plants (bamboo, plum, chrysanthemum and orchid), storks and tortoises or paulownia and phoenixes.

“Calling and undress.

“Wide maru obi with the design either woven or dyed. There being freedom of choice in colours and materials, bright and beautiful things abound.

“For undress, the chūya obi (two materials of woven or dyed design nine sun, or about ten inches, in width sewed at the edges over padding) is also used.

“Material Used in Obi.

“The woven stuff used in both the maru obi and the chūya obi is ordinary brocade, heavy brocade, damask silk, etc, with embroidery and gilding added. Besides, a patterned cloth made in Hakata, shusu, habutae and silk crape are used.

“The dyeing is yūzen zome, hitta zome, etc.”

“When I was in Paris, I used as a wall hanging a beautiful brocade obi that a Japanese friend sent me and another of rather soft silver material with big tree peonies woven into it in vermilion and gold I had made into an evening cloak for my wife. In our eyes it was extremely beautiful and exotic, and wherever she went, she was delighted with the praise it evoked. Some obi can be made into attractive cushion covers, can’t they? Next, won’t you tell me about the ways of tying the obi?”

[p. 48]

“Up to the years of the Genroku and Kyōho (1688–1736) of the Tokugawa Period, old and young alike tied the obi in front when in full dress, but after the Genbun years (1736–1741) of the Tokugawa Period, it was tied behind. Many styles of tying the obi, such as the Kichiya musubi, originated long ago by actors on the stage (the Kabuki female impersonator Uemura Kichiya was the first to employ it in the Enpō years (1673–1681) of the Tokugawa Period, and the Mizuki musubi (originated by Mizuki Tatsunosuke) have been in fashion, but the styles now in vogue are:—

“(A) Otaiko musubi (drum tie), for all ages and occasions, and

“(B) Tateya no ji (in the shape of the erect written character ya), popular with young women on both formal and informal occasions.

“There are many other ways of tying the obi, but most of them are variations of one or other of these two forms.

“The girls’ obi knots you once praised at a dance were both of the sort called tateya no ji.”

“But you know one thing I always wonder at is the manner in which such a long stiff piece of tissue can be so gracefully tied. Can the Japanese lady tie the obi for herself?”

“Yes, it is indeed a difficult art to tie the obi. Yet, the Japanese girl can do it for herself, though she may prefer someone to help her. In these modern days there are ready-tied obis but they are less beautiful. Let us look then at the following seven photographs to see the way the obi is tied.”

[p. 49]

Black-and-white studio photograph of a person standing against a dark backdrop, the head bent and the eyes lowered, the hands at the chest holding the edge of the garment together. The hair is parted in the middle and drawn back, with a small ornament at the ear. The pale, see-through garment has wide sleeves and is marked all over with short dark slanting and upright strokes. A band at the waist is striped in dark and pale, with a row of small cross marks on its pale stripe.

[p. 50]

Black-and-white studio photograph of a person standing in three-quarter view against a plain mid-tone backdrop, the head bent down over a folded wide band of cloth held across the body in both arms. The band is pale with a large round flower with radiating lines and heart-shaped leaves, and more folded cloth with the same kind of flower hangs at the left edge. The hair is parted and waved close to the head. The garment is pale with short dark slanting streaks.

[p. 51]

Black-and-white studio photograph of a person standing in profile facing left against a dark backdrop, the hair gathered low at the back with a small pale flower ornament near the ear. The garment is pale with dark horizontal streaks on the sleeve. Two arms from outside the frame reach in at the right: one hand holds a wide band folded in dark and pale blocks at the back of the waist, and the other hand holds a dark rolled shape against the person's back. The band carries heart-shaped leaves and a round flower.

[p. 52]

Black-and-white studio photograph of a person standing in profile facing left against a dark backdrop, the hair gathered in a low bun with a pale flower ornament and a small pin. The garment is pale with dark horizontal streaks on the sleeve. A hand reaching in from the right edge holds up the end of a long pale band that hangs in two long loops behind. A dark band with leaf shapes sits at the waist, and a long wide band with a round flower and leaves hangs down the front of the lower body, with long cords along its side.

[p. 53]

Black-and-white studio photograph of a person standing with the body turned to the left and the head turned back toward the viewer, against a dark backdrop. The hair is dressed low and close to the head. A large fold of pale cloth is held at the front of the waist under the arm. At the back a wide band is tied in a large bow with a round flower and leaves on it, and one long end hangs down the front of the lower garment with a large flower and leaves. The garment is pale with dark horizontal streaks on the sleeve.

[p. 54]

Black-and-white studio photograph of a person standing in profile facing left against a dark backdrop, the hair gathered low with a pale flower ornament and a small pin. The garment is pale with dark horizontal stripes on the sleeve. A wide band at the back of the waist is folded into a large rounded shape with a large round flower and leaves on it. Two hands reaching in from the right edge hold the band: one at the upper right edge of the fold and one at the bottom, where a pale cord hangs down.

[p. 55]

Black-and-white studio photograph of a person seen from behind against a plain mid-tone backdrop, the hair gathered in a low bun with a pale comb at the top. A wide band is tied at the back of the waist in a large bow, patterned in pale and dark panels with large round flowers and heart-shaped leaves, and two long wide ends hang down on either side almost to the hem. The garment is pale, marked with short dark slanting streaks.