Kimono show reveals elegant culture

Kimono show reveals elegant culture

By Kunang Helmi Picard

JAKARTA (JP): Like multi-colored, fluttering butterflies in
their elegant kimonos, rows of beautiful women, both Indonesian
and Japanese, greeted guests at the traditional Japanese kimono
garment show on Sunday in the Bali Room, Hotel Indonesia.

Entitled "Pageant of Soul and Beauty in Japan," the show, held
at the end of the Jakarta International Cultural Performances
1994, was opened by deputy governor of Jakarta Idroes and
Japanese Ambassador Kimio Fujita.

Like all traditional dress, there is a philosophy behind the
kimono, as Norio Yamanaka revealed in his speech "The Love of
Kimono embraces the Whole World."

He himself was wearing the kimono, set in shades of gray
contrasting with black, that his father wore to his wedding in
1900.

Yamanaka has been the head of the Sodo Kimono Culture Mission
since the All Japan Kimono Consultants Association was approved
by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in 1969.

He has not only furthered Japanese culture in Japan itself,
but also overseas by sending out Kimono Culture Missions every
year since 1970. These cultural missions have been sent to 77
countries on six continents.

Yamanaka was born in Shiga in 1928 and has written many books
on the subject advocating sodo -- the philosophy of dressing --
in which the knowledge of love, beauty, courtesy and harmony
found in the Japanese traditional costume enables one to live
gracefully.

In short, the sodo philosophy not only means dressing
beautifully, but is, in Yamanaka's words "...the practice of
elevating human nature."

"Sodo, which expresses love, beauty, courtesy and harmony
through the mind, word, decorum and deed by dressing daily, is
the present-day philosophy of dressing that aspires for peace,
happiness and the advancement of mankind."

The audience was shown lengths of kimono materials which
always total 12 meters long and 38 centimeters wide for each
model.

Since seams are always straight, there is no material wasted
and kimonos can easily be undone and resewn to suit new owners,
or other members of the family, if they are handed down to
succeeding generations.

The kimono itself is only complete when it is worn, resulting
in the Japanese saying "that which is hidden resembles the beauty
of a flower." This is because it covers all parts of the human
body.

A kimono without an obi for a woman is like a delicious salad
without dressing. According to Japanese philosophy, the obi ties
together heaven and earth, yin and yang, left and right,
spiritual and physical, man and woman.

Contrasts

Visitors were treated to a demonstration of the tying together
of the long strips of precious cloth, usually 4.2 meters long and
30 centimeters wide, to form many variations of a finished obi.

The flower series produced a red rose, a yellow tulip, an
orange hibiscus and a pink Sakura cherry blossom, crowned by an
exceptionally beautiful white jasmine flower, all contrasting
wonderfully with simple pale green kimonos.

Among the many magnificent women's kimonos, several men's
kimonos, historical and modern, stood out.

Guests were shown how to put on a man's kimono -- called a
hakama, which resembles a pair of wide trousers shaped like an
apron with artful pleats in front tied together with a tiny obi
-- in only three minutes.

Samurai costumes and a stunning shogun's outfit in white with
gold embossed motifs and huge gold silk trousers competed for
attention with a woman's red and silver embroidered kimono coat
and the pale blue silk kimono with ribbon motifs filled with
flowers completed by a stunning multi-colored obi.

The most exciting outfits were the two contemporary yet
traditional bridal outfits, one in white silk with white patterns
and the other in red silk with cranes in gold and blue.

Again the obi tying fascinated the audience together with the
elaborate traditional hairdo, which is intended to hide the
mortal countenance of the bride from the gods and Buddha.

Young girls and unmarried women always wear long-sleeved
kimonos called furi-sode and married women wear short-sleeved
formal wear named tome-sode.

Summer attire is always a kimono made of cotton called a
yukata. Present-day kimonos cost a small fortune, therefore
Yamanaka had designed several less expensive modern versions
which open up to reveal long western-style dresses when the obi
is removed.

The Sodo Kimono Cultural Mission show was completed with a
final look at all the kimonos to the accompaniment of the kimono
song composed by Yamanaka.