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.