Obi and details of dressing up

[Michimasa]

The question was raise on the general forum about the proper way of wearing an obi.... but the subject had seem to drop out of interest...

I would really like to know the details of proper dressing. How does one put what, when, how :-)

Also I'm confuse about the term obi, sash, Uwa-Obi... any help to clear this all out

Mik

[Otagiri Tatsuzou]

Sorry I missed the Obi thread in the General column. I've moved it over here. My take on this is not definitive - but this is the best info I have now ...


Obi - A thin cord (think shoe lace), a flat belt (think stiff kaku obi or soft heko obi), or a round cord (see Tanki Yoriaku) used to hold the kimono closed. It is worn over the kimono/kosode/shitagi and under the hakama. The stiff kaku obi is useful to hold your swords.

Uwa-obi - This is an obi worn outside of the dou.

Looking at the Tanki Yoriaku obi (~1717), it is obviously constructed and tied different than a modern kaku obi:
www.rhinohide.cx/tousando/yoriaku/obi.html

And this Tanki Yoriaku uwa-obi is obviously of lighter weight than a modern karate belt - more like a heko obi:
www.rhinohide.cx/tousando/yoriaku/uwaobi.html

Seems like all the obi tying links on my page are dead.

Tying a kaku obi:
iaido.tozando.com/misc/ob80.html

[Michimasa]

Thanks for those definitions. Now if one is wearing many layers of kosode, does he put one obi per layers, or ONLY ONE obi over all layers.

Will one wear a large obi over all garnment only to hold swords ?

Sash = obi, are these synonymous ?

Mik

[Saionji Shonagon]

Will you be wearing hakama?

There's a description in Liza Dalby's "Kimono: Fashioning Culture" where she tells about being dressed in a full Heian court outfit. Her dresser puts her in each robe, uses one obi to hold it in place, puts the next layer on, whips the obi out from under so she can use it to hold the next one on, and so forth. Finally, when the mo - a sort of backward apron-like train - is tied on top of everything, the obi comes off.

I can get multiple kosode to stay put using a single obi, but I'm doing girl's clothes..... I believe our gentlemen can tell you more about what they do and where swords go. ;->

Makiwara