Furisode

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A young unmarried Japanese woman wearing a deep orange furisode with her arms outstretched.
A unmarried Japanese woman wearing a furisode
A Japanese woman wearing a furisode at the Japanese garden

A furisode (振袖, lit. 'swinging sleeves') is a style of kimono distinguishable by its long sleeves, which range in length from 85 cm (33 in) for a kofurisode (小振袖, lit. 'short swinging sleeve'), to 114 cm (45 in) for an ōfurisode (大振袖, lit. 'large swinging sleeves'). Furisode are the most formal style of kimono worn by young unmarried women in Japan.[1]

The sleeves, like all women's kimono, are attached to the body of the kimono only at the shoulder, with the inner edge left open past the shoulder. This both allows the underkimono (juban) to show when worn, and also allows the

Coming of Age Day
in the year they turn 20.

In previous decades, in particular before

WWII
, only young unmarried women wore furisode, as marriage signified the end to a woman's single youth and the beginning of her transition into married life; higher rates of marriage at a younger age left few women unmarried past their mid-twenties, meaning that furisode were never seen on older unmarried women. Though furisode were worn to formal events, informal furisode – sometimes featuring shorter sleeves and more subdued decoration – did exist, and would have been worn to less formal events, or as a part of everyday life.

In the present day, furisode are by default considered to be formalwear, despite the existence of some yukata (informal summer kimono) with furisode-style sleeves; the furisode is generally worn for formal social functions such as tea ceremonies and weddings.[2]

Formality guidelines for kimono have also relaxed, to the point that the divide between wearing furisode and other types of formal kimono is now one more of age, rather than marital status, with young women past their early twenties generally wearing shorter sleeved kimono instead. Both married and unmarried young women also have the choice to wear other types of formal kimono featuring shorter sleeves to formal events, such as the short sleeved irotomesode, as well as wearing formal Western clothing rather than kimono.

In popular culture

It is common for women to wear a furisode on their "coming of age day".

History

A girl wearing a 19th century furisode, with her mother (Yōshū Chikanobu, c. 1896)

The furisode originated in the mid-1500s as middle- and upper-class children's clothing, worn by both boys and girls; it was not worn by adults.

coming-of-age ceremony, which usually occurred in late adolescence. Girls were supposed to cease wearing the furisode upon marriage, or upon reaching their 20th year.[4]

Initially, furisode did not differ noticeably between the sexes, but fabric designs started to become more gendered in the 19th century.[5] In the 20th century, furisode became restricted to women and girls only, as part of the increasing gender-specificity of children's clothing that developed in the wake of Western influence.[6] As the furisode became increasingly associated with young adult women, the term was removed from the shorter-sleeved children's garment, which acquired the more generic term wakiake ("open-sided").[7]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ "Furisode Kimono". Kimonogeisha.com. Archived from the original on 2018-05-30. Retrieved 2018-05-18. Furisode kimonos are exclusive to unmarried young women.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ "What's a Furisode?". All About Japan. 2017-01-08. Retrieved 2018-05-18.
  3. ^ Sawada, Kazuto. "A Witness to History - Furisode and teenage boys". National Museum of Japanese History Rekihaku Bimonthly. No. 137. Retrieved 2018-05-18.
  4. ^ Nagasaki, Iwao (1994). Furisode. Kyoto: Fujioka Mamoru. p. 93.
  5. ^ Sawada, Kazuto. "Furisode and teenage boys". Bimonthly Magazine "REKIHAKU". National Museum of Japanese History. Archived from the original on 9 May 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  6. ^ Spacey, John (2015-03-03). "Furisode Kimono Guide". Japan Talk. Retrieved 2018-05-18.
  7. ^ "Furisode The Kyoto Project". thekyotoproject.org. Archived from the original on 2021-04-30. Retrieved 2018-05-18.

External links

  • Media related to Furisode at Wikimedia Commons
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