Happy New Year 2014!

Thank you all my old and new followers for your support! I hope in 2014 this blog will grow even better, with more art, more info and lots of more kimono! ^^

A happy holiday season and New Year!!!

For this picture I chose to portray Matsu Gasane, a Kasane no Irome (Heian period color layering for court ladies' garment) fit for festive occasions! 

...This is also a little sneak-peek of my next Kasane no Irome improved charts! ;)

Types of Kimono - Komon

After talking about Edo komon, a specific kind of komon almost as formal as iromuji, our next subject is komon.

As mentioned in the previous "Abou Kimono" post, komon is a kimono with repeating patterns all over the fabric. Althou the literal meaning of komon is "small prints", these patterns aren't necessarily small, just repeated - different from a houmongi, for example, were are patterns all over the garment, but they don't have a repetitive look.

 

A pink komon. The floral pattern is repeated all over the garment.

For left to right: tsukesage, were motifs are repeated, but only in few spots over the kimono; komon, with repetitive patterns all over the garment; and houmongi, with lot of patterns arranged in non repetitive fashion (in this case, a flowing "stream" over the kimono, a common arrange also for furisode motifs).

Komon patterns can vary a lot: full or sparse, geometric or not, arranged in stripes or "splashed" all over the fabric, big or small, bright or discrete... As usual in kimono aesthetics, the bigger the patterns the younger is the look (and so should be the wearer).

 Two komon with an autumn feel.

 

Sparse-patterned, delicate komon, and bright crowded komon!

 

A komon with geometric motifs, and one with flowers organized in vertical "stripes". 

This style of pattern arrange is very common in komon (lol, pun not intended... x_x). 

Komon is considered an informal kind of kimono, suited for casual parties, walking in town, go shopping or hang out at home. So, they normally don't have kamon (crests), which add formality. Some komon, thou, can be considered semi-formal* depending on the pattern and fabric. Silk and synthetic fabrics are considered less casual than wool, for example. Gold or silver accents on the motifs also make a komon less casual, as well as the accessories choice.

Being very versatile depending on it's motif and fabric, komon can be paired with almost any kind of obi, from fukuro obi (specially if the obi pattern is casual) to nagoya obi, hanhaba obi, chuya obi or even the super informal heko obi**. It really depend on the combination look and the situation. About musubi, I've seen komon paired with many types, too, which is not surprising for a kind of kimono with such variate formality status... See below (all worn with komon):

The classical taiko musubi...

Tsunodashi/ginza musubi, a less formal variation from taiko, from Soubien...

Bunko musubi, a horizontal high bow... There's a chance this may not be regular komon, but "stage" kimono (for a dance?)... I'm not sure. Anyway, bunko can go with komon. I just couldn't find a pretty clear photo of it. ^^;

Cho (or cho cho) musubi (butterfly knot)***. Also from Soubien...

This... I have no idea! Please allow me to call it foofy mess musubi. X3 From Shimaya. 

Another musubi from Shimaya that is not familiar to me... Oh, I'm such a musubi noob! -_-...

During my research I found in Immortal Geisha (my main info source for this post) that, like houmongi-tsukesage, there's komon hybrids. They were common during Taisho Era (1912-1926), featuring a komon-type repeated pattern all over the kimono and a detailed/richer motif on top of that, in manner of a tsukesage, houmongi or other type of kimono. Therefore, they aren't considered komon, but the more formal type, according to the rich patterns (and crests, if any).

An antique crested komon-irotomesode hybrid, from Immortal Geisha. This is considered 
an irotomesode because of the main motif only below the obi line - in spite of the tiny 
repeated leaves in komon style. To see more of these curious hybrids, visit the link! ^^

Very interesting! I wonder if there are hybrids like that nowadays too...

Well, so this is the basic about komon. These posts are getting bigger and bigger... I guess it's a good thing? ^^; Next part will cover the last basic type and most informal kind of kimono - yukata!

See you soon! ^^


*According to Kidoraku Japan, althou it's technically incorrect, nowadays young women sometimes wear komon with noble designs, that remind tsukesage, to attend to friend's wedding parties.

**I guess I'll have to make a tutorial about obi types, ne?

 ***I just found out this kind of musubi... I used to think this was a bunko! But it seems that bunko knot is tied horizontally, while the bow tied in vertical (like in this photo) is cho musubi. Also, bunko "wings" seem to fall down, while cho musubi has spread "wings" like in a western bowtie.

Graduation kimono set

Graduation set featuring kimono and hakama, found on this online shop: link.
Roses and arrows make one western-influenced (althou quite classical looking) and one traditional japanese motif combination, which creates a very interesting effect... both fashionable and elegant. The colors work so nicely together, too! 

I love how the pearl string motifs visually connect with the little pearls on the eri! 

This detail adds a rich and lovely harmony to the ensemble. <3

On another topic, to all my old and new followers, thank you for your support! ^^

I'm currently fighting through the end-of-semester overwork, but next week I'm hoping to be free enought to post the next part of my kimono tutorials, covering Komon.

Types of Kimono - Edo Komon

After seeing from most formal to gradually semi-formal kinds of kimono - furisode, kurotomesode, irotomesode, houmongi, tsukesage and iromuji - it's time to start covering the more casual types!

Komon, meaning "small pattern", is a generic name for a kimono with repeated patterns all over the fabric. The Edo Komon is a specific kind of komon that became most popular in ancient Tokyo - then named Edo - and has it's patterns formed by thousands of tiny dots.

Edo komon. In the detail shot, countless little white dots that create the pattern can be seen.

In old times, Edo komon was typically blue with white dots. That's because the raw-colored silk was covered in the dot region, then dyed, so the dots would remain white. Now, it also comes in other colors, althou the dots tend to be still white.

Since it's pattern is so small, Edo komon seems to be of solid color from a distance. That makes it almost as formal as iromuji, so it can be worn to casual parties, dinners, graduations (not for the person graduating) and social events. Also like iromuji, it's a quite versatile kind of kimono, becoming more formal if crested, or more informal if paired with casual obi and accessories.

Zooming in the pictures is quite essential in the next examples. ;P *

Edo Komon looks solid from afar but, looking closer, the tiny pattern 

creates a visual texture, and then, up very close, it becomes visible.

Iromuji? Looks like it, but zooming in at the fabric again and again...

There you are, minuscle flower dotted pattern! XD

This example uses an interesting "patchwork" effect with various patterns, all created by dots. Notice how the different dot sizes and configurations provide several textures and shades on the same background color.

This specific dot configuration, in overlapped circles, is called same komon, or "sharkskin" komon. It's very traditional, being used in the samurai ceremonial garment kamishimo in old times.

++ If you're interested, this website has a lovely list of a few traditional and seasonal Edo komon patterns, with example pictures and brief but informative explanations: Hirose Dye-Works.

Edo komon is often worn with taiko musubi - that can be both formal or "daily" musubi, depending on the obi motif/fabric. but I've also seen it worn with tsunodashi/ginza musubi - which would be a good choice to a more informal look. Musubi is not my specialty, but I imagine other kinds of semi-formal and casual knots may be adequate too, if the situation is informal. As for kinds of obi, I'd say Nagoya obi and Hanhaba obi are a good choice to go with Edo komon - the latter being for a more casual style. Fukuro obi is probably too dressy from this level of kimono formality and "under".

Edo komon with sakura (cherry blossoms) pattern, worn with

taiko musubi, maybe the most versatile of all obi knots.

Now, to make things a bit complicated (as kimono loves to do ^^;)... Althou Edo komon technically has it's pattern made of dots, during my research for this post I found not-dotted kimono labelled as "Edo komon" (including at the store where this post's examples are from). It confused me a bit, but maybe any komon with very small, repeated, non-colored patterns can be considered "Edo komon"?

Here are some "Edo komon" patterns, but the two on the left 

aren't really made of dots - but small stripes and squares.

Interesting and a bit ambiguous... I wonder - and this is my supposition! Don't quote me on that! XD - if in that case, the most subtle the pattern, the more that Edo komon resembles an iromuji, therefore the less casual it is... On the other hand, Edo komon with bigger/more defined patterns - but that still looks like a "texture" - are more informal, being visually closer to the regular Komon...

This is labeled as Edo komon, but the pattern is big enought not to be mistaken with a solid color. Also, it's not made of dots, but little geometric shapes. Still, the effect is of a "texture" on the kimono... I wonder if that's the main aspect that defines Edo komon in the daily/comercial use of the term?

Looking from afar, this Edo komon with little squares seems pratically of solid color. Somehow it strikes me as more formal than the example above, with similar color scheme, but more visible patterns.

Tiny stripes versus small stripes. They're both labeled by the store as Edo komon, but the left one has a much softer texture effect, so - if I had to guess - I'd personally say it looks more formal than the one in the right. (I loved the subtle touches of red on the later one, by the way <3).

...I was planning to cover Komon on this post too, but Edo komon took too much space! XD I'l cover komon on the next post, so, thank you for your patience! ^^;

*These examples are from Kimono-Asobi, so, to see more Edo komon, go check it out! ^^