by Eve Redstone

Created on: April 21, 2008   Last Updated: September 17, 2009

The kimono is the most well known piece of the Japanese national dress. It consists of a floor length coat type garment that is tied at the waist with a wide belt known as the obi.

The kimono was introduced to Japan from China during the 800's. During this period it was not recognisable as the costume we know as a kimono today, it would be more easily categorised as a two-piece trouser suit, with a moderately long jacket. Over time the kimono, formerly worn as a piece of underwear came to be worn as the sole upper garment.

Improvements in weaving techniques led to the production of long strips of cloth, that were used to make longer jackets, until in the 1600's the garment that we think of as the kimono first made an appearance. The elaborate layers and decoration of the kimono quickly became a status symbol. As many as sixteen layers were worn by members of the Imperial court.

Kimono are traditionally made from a single bolt of cloth called a tan. The bolt is cut in a specific way to be sewn together in the final kimono. The kimono would be separated into pieces for ease of washing in the past, and each piece has a specific name. For example the main back panel is the ushiro migoro and the eri is the collar. Originally the bolt of cloth used was fourteen inches wide, meaning the distance from spine to wrist in each kimono was a maximum of twenty-eight inches.

Modern weavers make wider cloth to accommodate the increasing body size of the Japanese population. In special cases, such as sumo wrestlers, there will be multiple panels joined together or special cloth woven for them.

The kimono made for men, particularly in modern times, vary in size to fit the man. Women's kimono, however, traditionally come in one size. This is adjusted to fit the wearer by raising the materiel at the waist and securing it with the obi, or belt of the kimono. The pleat formed under the obi by this practise has now become one of the features of correct kimono wear.

Kimono were originally made in plain cotton. With the introduction of dying techniques and silk they began to be made in more and more elaborate patterns and colours. The kimono of men, particularly the more formal ones tend to be black and grey with a family crest but women's are far more elaborate in colour and design.

Today cotton with simple repeating patterns is used for day-to-day casual kimono wear, known as the yukata, and silk is considered essential for formal and ceremonial wear. The patterns on a high quality silk

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