Maiko-inspired Chrysanthemum Hikizuri Kimono (WIP)
It's been a while since the last kimono I made, which I have yet to make the accessories for. I'm pretty bad at finishing... But this one I've started on will likely be the first kimono ensemble I complete! Because I have to. (◍˃̶ᗜ˂̶◍)
I was very honoured to receive a request from Caramelaw to make a geisha-inspired kimono ensemble for a Blythe doll idea she has in mind. More details on this another time.
So far, I am quite happy with how my mental concept/vision is turning out. And am excited to see how it will actually turn out. I'm thinking of making some accompanying kanzashi as well, though I think I'm being too ambitious. The maiko's hairstyle (wareshinobu) and hair accessories (tsumami hana kanzashi) are very elaborate and labour intensive. (Over the past decade, I've looked up a lot about kanzashi, and have also bought some simple modern tsumami kanzashi for myself. Of all the information I've looked up on this, I most enjoyed watching this NHK doco-film on YouTube about this tradition: click here to watch, kanzashi is discussed from 11:08 of the video.)
The ensemble I am making is inspired by the kimono that maiko (apprentice geisha) wear. The differences are nicely highlighted in a YouTube video by Kyoto Fan (click here to watch).
Due to the brief and with her unique style in mind, I'm not able to follow the conventions of traditional geisha and maiko dress, especially in terms of colour.
That said, I've done quite a bit of research. Watched documentaries, looked up countless online information and books...even looked at some blogs by maiko and geisha. (Yes, you didn't read wrong. I said blogs by, not about, maiko and geisha.) The books are the best part. I bought a lot of Japanese books on kimono, traditional Japanese motifs, and traditional Japanese colours because I love kimono and want to know more. The fact that the information ties in with geisha dress is a bonus.
I'm following the general form of the maiko's ensemble, but I look to the details and their dress conventions as a form of inspiration. What liberty I've taken with the colours and motifs, I've tried to give what respectful reference I can to those conventions. For example, the collar of the junior maiko's nagajuban (under-kimono) is generally red with white embroidery. So I've used pink. The fabric for the kimono proper, I've chosen (with her enthusiastic agreement) one that incorporates a seasonal theme: the chrysanthemum, the flower for October, representing autumn.
Even after all this careful research and thought, I am wary of being accused of cultural appropriation. Geisha culture is said to date back some 400-plus years, to the Edo period (1603-1868), and is a cloistered and secretive world with norms different even from Japanese culture. Naturally with international interest in it, especially since Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha, geisha culture has been exoticised, misunderstood, and appropriated. Someone would bring up Katy Perry's AMA performance of "Unconditionally" as a more recent example, perhaps. Her performance sparked an intense debate; it appears that equal numbers of people both defended her and criticised her, and others were simply cynically dismissive. It's quite clear that the issue of cultural appropriation is a complex issue, and I don't want to delve into it here since it isn't the point of this post.
All I can say is, for my part, I've tried my very level best to understand, respect, and appreciate the geisha culture when conceptualising this kimono ensemble. I've tried to create something that is inspired by, and that pays tribute to, that culture and the beauty that I see in it. This is what I try to do whenever I set out to make a kimono or yukata for my dolls or for someone else.
I was very honoured to receive a request from Caramelaw to make a geisha-inspired kimono ensemble for a Blythe doll idea she has in mind. More details on this another time.
So far, I am quite happy with how my mental concept/vision is turning out. And am excited to see how it will actually turn out. I'm thinking of making some accompanying kanzashi as well, though I think I'm being too ambitious. The maiko's hairstyle (wareshinobu) and hair accessories (tsumami hana kanzashi) are very elaborate and labour intensive. (Over the past decade, I've looked up a lot about kanzashi, and have also bought some simple modern tsumami kanzashi for myself. Of all the information I've looked up on this, I most enjoyed watching this NHK doco-film on YouTube about this tradition: click here to watch, kanzashi is discussed from 11:08 of the video.)
The ensemble I am making is inspired by the kimono that maiko (apprentice geisha) wear. The differences are nicely highlighted in a YouTube video by Kyoto Fan (click here to watch).
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| My maiko-inspired kimono in the making... (on IG) |
Due to the brief and with her unique style in mind, I'm not able to follow the conventions of traditional geisha and maiko dress, especially in terms of colour.
That said, I've done quite a bit of research. Watched documentaries, looked up countless online information and books...even looked at some blogs by maiko and geisha. (Yes, you didn't read wrong. I said blogs by, not about, maiko and geisha.) The books are the best part. I bought a lot of Japanese books on kimono, traditional Japanese motifs, and traditional Japanese colours because I love kimono and want to know more. The fact that the information ties in with geisha dress is a bonus.
I'm following the general form of the maiko's ensemble, but I look to the details and their dress conventions as a form of inspiration. What liberty I've taken with the colours and motifs, I've tried to give what respectful reference I can to those conventions. For example, the collar of the junior maiko's nagajuban (under-kimono) is generally red with white embroidery. So I've used pink. The fabric for the kimono proper, I've chosen (with her enthusiastic agreement) one that incorporates a seasonal theme: the chrysanthemum, the flower for October, representing autumn.
Even after all this careful research and thought, I am wary of being accused of cultural appropriation. Geisha culture is said to date back some 400-plus years, to the Edo period (1603-1868), and is a cloistered and secretive world with norms different even from Japanese culture. Naturally with international interest in it, especially since Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha, geisha culture has been exoticised, misunderstood, and appropriated. Someone would bring up Katy Perry's AMA performance of "Unconditionally" as a more recent example, perhaps. Her performance sparked an intense debate; it appears that equal numbers of people both defended her and criticised her, and others were simply cynically dismissive. It's quite clear that the issue of cultural appropriation is a complex issue, and I don't want to delve into it here since it isn't the point of this post.
All I can say is, for my part, I've tried my very level best to understand, respect, and appreciate the geisha culture when conceptualising this kimono ensemble. I've tried to create something that is inspired by, and that pays tribute to, that culture and the beauty that I see in it. This is what I try to do whenever I set out to make a kimono or yukata for my dolls or for someone else.
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