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Obi (Sash) Information

Obi (帯, おび, , literally "sash"?) is a sash for traditional Japanese dress, keikogi worn for Japanese martial arts, and part of kimono outfits.

The obi for men's kimono is rather narrow, 10 centimetres (3.9 in) wide at most, but a woman's formal obi can be 30 centimetres (12 in) wide and more than 4 metres (13 ft) long. Nowadays, a woman's wide and decorative obi does not keep the kimono closed: this is done by different undersashes and ribbons worn underneath the obi. The obi itself also requires the use of stiffeners and ribbons.

There are many types of obi, and most of them are for women: wide obis made of brocade and narrower, simpler obis for everyday wear. The fanciest and most colourful obis are for young unmarried women.[1][2] The contemporary women's obi is a very conspicuous accessory, sometimes even more so than the kimono robe itself. A fine formal obi might cost more than the rest of the entire outfit.

Obis are categorised by their design, formality, material, and use. Informal obis are narrower and shorter.

Contents

History

A servant tying the obi for a geisha in the 1890's.

In its early days, an obi was a cord or a ribbon-like sash, approximately 8 centimetres (3.1 in) in width. Men's and women's obis were similar. In the beginning of the 17th century both women and men wore a ribbon obi. By the 1680s the width of women's obi had already doubled. In the 1730s women's obis were about 25 centimetres (9.8 in) wide and at the turn of the 19th century even as wide as 30 centimetres (12 in). At that time separate ribbons and cords were already necessary to hold the obi in place. Men's obi was at its widest in the 1730s, being about 16 centimetres (6.3 in) wide.[3]

Before the Edo period which began in 1600, women's kosodes were fastened with a narrow sash at the hips.[4] The mode of attaching the sleeve widely to the torso part of the garment would have prevented the use of wider obis. When the sleeves of kosode at the beginning of Edo period began to grow in width (i.e. in length), the obi widened as well. There were two reasons for this: firstly, to maintain the aesthetic balance of the outfit, the longer sleeves needed a wider sash to accompany them — and secondly, unlike today, married women also wore long-sleeved kimono in the 1770s. The use of long sleeves without leaving the underarm open would have hindered movements greatly. The underarm openings in turn gave room for even wider obis.[3]

Originally all obis were tied in the front. Later on fashion began to affect the position of the knot and obis could be tied to the side or to the back. As obis grew wider the knots grew bigger, and it was becoming cumbersome to tie the obi in the front. In the end of the 17th century obis were mostly tied in the back. However, the custom did not become established before the beginning of the 20th century.[3]

At the end of the 18th century it was fashionable for a woman's kosode to have overly long hems that were allowed to trail behind when in house. For moving outside, the excess cloth was tied up beneath the obi with a wide cloth ribbon called shigoki obi. Contemporary kimonos are made similarly over-long, but the hems are not allowed to trail; the excess cloth is tied up to hips, forming a fold called ohashori. Shigoki obis are still used, but only in decorative purposes.[3]

The most formal of obis are about to become obsolete. The heavy and long maru obi is nowadays used only by maikos and brides as a part of their wedding outfit. The lighter fukuro obi has taken the place of maru obi. The originally everyday nagoya obi is the most common obi used today, and the fancier ones may even be accepted as a part of a semi-ceremonial outfit. The use of musubi, or decorative knots, has also narrowed so that women tie their obi almost solely in the simple taiko musubi, "drum knot".[5] Tsuke obis with ready-made knots are also gaining in popularity.

Women's obi

The wide women's obi is folded in two when worn, to a width of about 15 centimetres (5.9 in) to20 centimetres (7.9 in). It is considered elegant to tie the obi so that the folded width is in harmony with the wearer's body dimensions. Usually this means about a tenth of her height. The full width of the obi is present only in the decorative knot, musubi.

A woman's obi is worn in a fancy musubi knot. There are tens of ways to tie an obi, and different knots are suited to different occasions and different kimonos.

There are many different types of women's obi, and the usage of them is regulated by many unwritten rules not unlike those that concern the kimono itself. Certain types of obi are used with certain types of kimono; the obis of married and unmarried women are tied in different ways. Often the obi adjusts the formality and fanciness of the whole kimono outfit: the same kimono can be worn to very different situations depending on what kind of obi is worn with it.[6]

Women's obi types

Women's obis in scale: 1. tsuke/tsukuri/kantan obi 2. hanhaba obi 3. Nagoya obi 4. Fukuro obi 5. Maru obi Tsuke obi is much shorter than the other types of obi. The separate bow part of a tsuke obi is attached using a wire hook. Girl wearing a yukata. A striking effect is obtained by folding the reversible obi to reveal the contrasting underside.
Hanhaba obi (半幅帯[9] or 半巾帯, , "half width obi"?) is an unlined[8] and informal obi that is used with a yukata or an everyday kimono.[7] Hanhaba obis are very popular these days.[10] For use with yukata, reversible hanhaba obis are popular: they can be folded and twisted in several ways to create colour effects.[11] A hanhaba obi is 15 centimetres (5.9 in) wide and 300 centimetres (9.8 ft) to 400 centimetres (13 ft) long. Tying it is relatively easy,[10] and its use does not require pads or strings.[6] The knots used for hanhaba obi are often simplified versions of bunko-musubi. As it is more "acceptable" to play with an informal obi, hanhaba obi is sometimes worn in self-invented styles, often with decorative ribbons and such.[10][11]
Kobukuro obi (小袋?) is an unlined hoso obi whose width is 15 centimetres (5.9 in) or 20 centimetres (7.9 in) and length 300 centimetres (9.8 ft).[8]

Accessories for women's obi

The structure of the common drum bow (taiko musubi). Obijime is shown in mid-shade grey, obiage in dark grey. Obimakura is hidden by the obiage.

Men's obi

A reversible kaku obi, about 6 centimetres (2.4 in) wide Kaku obi

Formal obis worn by men are much narrower than those of women (the width is about 10 centimetres (3.9 in) at its most). The men's obi is worn in much simpler fashion than women's: it is wrapped around the waist, below the stomach and tied with a simple knot in the back.

Men's obi types

Netsuke

A Netsuke is an ornament suspended from the obi and worn by men.

Children's obi

A little girl wearing kimono. A simple soft obi is tied around the waist.

Children are dressed in kimono especially for the Shichi-Go-San (Seven-Five-Three) celebration, when girls aged three and seven and boys aged five are celebrated. Children's kimono outfits resemble those of adults and their parts are basically miniature versions from adult's pieces.[19] The youngest children wear soft, scarf-like obis.

Children's obi types

Obi in martial arts

Obis for budō. The colours shown range from yellow to brown corresponding to judo kyū levels from 9th to 1st. Main article: Obi in martial arts

Many Japanese martial arts feature an obi as part of their exercise outfit. These obis are often made of thick cotton and are about 5 centimetres (2.0 in) wide. The martial arts obis are most often worn in the koma-musubi knot; in practice where hakama is worn, the obi is tied in other ways.

In many martial arts the colour of the obi signifies the wearer's skill level. Usually the colours start from the beginner's white and end in the advanced black, or masters' red and white. When the exercise outfit includes a hakama, the colour of the obi has no significance.

Knots (musubi)

The knot of the obi is called musubi (結び, むすび, , literally "knot"?). These days, a woman's knot often does not keep the obi in place as much as it functions as a large decorative piece in the back. The actual knot is usually supported by a number of accessories: pads, scarves and cords. While putting on the obi, especially when without assistance, there is a need for several additional temporary ribbons.

There are hundreds of decorative knots[2][13] and they often represent flowers or birds. As everything else in a kimono outfit, the knots are regulated by a number of unwritten propriety rules. Generally the more complex and showy knots are for young unmarried women in festive situations, the more subdued for married or mature women or for use in ceremonial situations.

In earlier days, the knots were believed to banish malicious spirits.[2] Many knots have a name with an auspicious double meaning.[2]

Types of knots

Chōchō musubi Fukurasuzume musubi Tateya musubi

See also

Gallery

Footnotes

  1. ^ Fält et. al., p. 452.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Yoshino Antiques. "Kimono". http://www.yoshinoantiques.com/kimono.html. Retrieved 7.3.2009.
  3. ^ a b c d e Dalby, pp. 47–55
  4. ^ Fält et. al., p. 450.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Dalby, pp. 208–212
  6. ^ a b c d e "Types of Obi". http://www.traditional-japanese-kimono.com/Kimono-Basics/types-of-obi.html. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "Japanese Obi Types". http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/fashion/obi_types.html. Retrieved 6.3.2009.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Toma-san. "帯の種類について" (in (Japanese)). http://www4.ocn.ne.jp/~tomasan/kimono3-1.html. Retrieved 8.3.2009.
  9. ^ "出張着付・半巾帯の販売・着付講習 <京都 宇ゐ>" (in (Japanese)). http://www.ui-kimono.com/obi/index.html. Retrieved 6.3.2009.
  10. ^ a b c d e "More about obi". Kimono Flea Market Ichiroya. http://www.ichiroya.com/moreaboutobi/moreaboutobi.htm. Retrieved 7.3.2009.
  11. ^ a b c Toma-san. "浴衣の帯結びの色々" (in (Japanese)). http://www4.ocn.ne.jp/~tomasan/yukata-obi.html. Retrieved 6.3.2009.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Glossary". http://www.ichiroya.com/glossary.htm. Retrieved 7.3.2009.
  13. ^ a b c d e Kimono Place. "Glossary". http://www.kimonoplace.com/glossary.html. Retrieved 7.3.2009.
  14. ^ "What's HAKATA-ORI?". 21st Century HAKATA-ORI Japan Brand. http://www.fukunet.or.jp/21c-hakataori/english/hakataori.html. Retrieved 17.7.2011.
  15. ^ Toma-san. "作り帯のつけ方" (in (Japanese)). http://www4.ocn.ne.jp/~tomasan/tukuriobi.html. Retrieved 6.3.2009.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Sailor Mo's Cosplay - Kimono Accessories". http://www.sailormo.net/kimono/k_access.html. Retrieved 7.3.2009.
  17. ^ "兵児帯". 百科事典マイペディア / kotobank.jp. http://kotobank.jp/word/兵児帯. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  18. ^ "角帯". 百科事典マイペディア / kotobank.jp. http://kotobank.jp/word/角帯. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  19. ^ JapaneseKimono.com. "Children's Kimono". http://www.japanesekimono.com/childrens_kimono.htm. Retrieved 7.3.2009.
  20. ^ a b c Toma-san. "七五三の着付け、女の子七歳編" (in (Japanese)). http://www4.ocn.ne.jp/~tomasan/753onna7.html. Retrieved 6.3.2009.
  21. ^ nickn. Sortie. "Ayame Obi musubi" (in (English)). http://www.jttk.zaq.ne.jp/sortie/Eayame.htm. Retrieved 6.3.2009.
  22. ^ nickn. Sortie. "Bara Obi musubi" (in (English)). http://www.jttk.zaq.ne.jp/sortie/Ebara.htm. Retrieved 6.3.2009.
  23. ^ Dalby, pp. 337–348
  24. ^ Yamanaka, pp. 66–70
  25. ^ a b Yamanaka, pp. 7-12, 29-30
  26. ^ nickn. Sortie. "Washikusa Obi musubi" (in (English)). http://www.jttk.zaq.ne.jp/sortie/Ewashikusa.htm. Retrieved 6.3.2009.

References

Japanese clothing
Traditional clothing Fundoshi · Furisode · Jinbei · Jūnihitoe · Kimono · Hakama · Samue · Tomesode · Yukata · Uwagi · Happi · Sokutai · Shitagi
Belt/Sash Obi (sash)
Footwear Tabi · Zōri · Waraji · Jika-tabi · Geta · Loose Socks

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