How kimonos wove a friendship

It is both the complexity and the simplicity of the Japanese kimono that has made it a most fascinating and elegant garment. Literally, kimono means “a thing to wear.”

One would be hard put to find any other garment that can hold a candle to a kimono’s subtle colors, patterns, symbolism, fabric, craftsmanship, etc. Indeed, this garment dating back to the 8th century is one of China’s great influences on Japan. I was in Osaka, Japan for the Expo ’70 and the Japanese women were a sight to behold. Most were still wearing the kimono with poise and grace in the midst of a then-futuristic World’s Fair.

Priscilla “Chi” Hallare has been collecting very colorful and intricate hand-embroidered and hand-painted kimonos for three years. “Their prints are unbelievable. We don’t want to stop buying but we don’t have space anymore.” Keeping kimonos requires a lot of space because they are big and often bulky, especially the Uchi Kake ones worn by brides.

Priscilla went to school in Japan. “One time, we were asked to dress up in one and that’s how I started appreciating kimonos,” Priscilla says. “But I must say, they are very expensive. So we usually buy used ones from eBay or on online stores as new ones are beyond our budget.

Single women wear kimonos with very long, flowing sleeves and married women wear them with much shorter sleeves — perhaps so that they do not get in the way of household chores.

“Searching for kimonos and people interested in them led me to the KimonoPH page, a Facebook group where Kat Penaranda was actively posting. There I found out she frequents some areas that I do, so I resolved to meet her,” explains Chi.

Kat continues, “Chi invited the group to an event/pictorial with her friends at their place in Tagaytay. There I met up with the kimono group in other events. I enjoyed Chi’s company and our appreciation and love for the kimono helped us become friends.”

Chi now has over 150 kimonos and 100 obis to go with them. Kat has collected over 120 kimonos, 120 obis and kimono accessories.

“A family friend gave me a red yukata for a Christmas party skit some years ago. I loved it! And wanted to get more. So I did some research and found secondhand but beautiful kimonos sold cheap online. That started my collecting streak,” Kat narrates.

When Chi attended for the first time a professional kimono stylist’s show in Japan, she was asked to wear a silk one. “It felt good!” exclaims Chi. “I initially bought a few cheap ones for cosplay but never wore them. Then I bought one of those how-to-wear-kimono books, which introduced me to the varieties and intricacies of the kimono.

“I became more hooked on them. I received my first kimono and a haori coat as gifts. This was in 2003,” adds Chi.

“Years later, I began to shop online for books. Only then did I learn that there were many lovely, second-hand kimono that were actually well within reach. My first sets and choice pieces were obtained online. A friend later introduced me to local importers and resellers whose wares now form the bulk of my collection. It was only in 2015 when I started seriously collecting kimonos,” she explains.

“Kimono appealed to me initially due to its peculiar form and graceful silhouette. When I finally saw one up close and learned more about them through books and workshops, I gained an appreciation for the craftsmanship, color sense, rich material, patterns laden with meaning, incorporation of seasons into the motifs, colors and materials and the techniques involved in producing a kimono,” adds Chi.

Kat adds, “I get to wear kimonos when I go on casual walks on weekends in malls and in Tagaytay. I wish I could wear it more often if only the temperature here were not so unforgiving. I also get to wear kimonos on planned events and food trips in the mall.”

Chi, on the other hand, says, “I wear haori coats most days. They are normally worn over kimonos, but I use them as regular wear in place of scarves, cardigans and blazers. In Manila, I put on a full ensemble only during kimono meet-ups, kimono shows and talks, and when attending Japanese-themed events. Sometimes I join Kat in Tagaytay and we just have a good time in our kimonos.

“I actively seek opportunities where we can wear kimonos and get others to appreciate the kimono firsthand. Together with KimonoPH, I have organized kimono meets, mini fashion shows/talks/demos, display booths and house parties. I sometimes attend anime conventions, but instead of doing cosplay, I just wear a kimono,” Chi muses.

“My aim is to acquaint audiences with the authentic kimono in all its finery, as well as subtlety, and dispel misconceptions about them, and there are many. For instance, the idea that kimono is a “free-size” single-layer, slip-on garment. Or that anyone wearing a kimono is a geisha. Fact is, kimonos are custom-made garments tailor-made to reach the wearer’s wrists and with room for adjustment to account for differences in the height of the wearer. Layers of fabric and padding are used to achieve the ideal tubular silhouette, and they help reduce wrinkling in the garment. The kimono that the geisha and maiko wear are specific to them, and so are the accessories that go with them. Any mismatch would give one away as a tourist in costume. A rule of thumb when wearing the kimono is to always wear them with collars left-over-right as right-over-left placement is reserved for the deceased,” says Chi.

“Kat and I prefer to wear kimonos in the traditional manner, though they may be incorporated with western garments and accessories for a modern look or altered to suit modern lifestyles,” she adds.

Kat initially planned to get one of each kind for every form of the female kimono: these include the yukata, komon, odori, tsukesage, houmongi, furisode, tomesode, bridal kimonos and hikizuri. “I almost have kimonos of all types, except for a ladies’ hakama which is used for graduation rites. Seeing kimonos online made me buy more. I also collect men’s kimonos,” she adds.

“Like Kat, I also planned on getting representative samples for each type. So now, we both have a full range of kimono — from sleepwear to bridals, for both men and women. My women’s collection includes the most casual jinbei (sleepwear), yukata (summer cotton kimono) and hanten coats used in festivals, komon (repeat or all-over repeat pattern), the semi-formal tsukesage, long-sleeved formals for unmarried ladies called furisode, regular-sleeved formals (houmongi and tomesode), as well as bridal ensembles and trailing kimono used in stage performances. We also have casual tsumugi (pongee), kuromontsuki haori hakama, the Japanese equivalent of the tuxedo, and kamishimo (samurai vest and hakama trousers) ensembles for men,” Chi narrates.

Some kimonos have family crests. The more crests, the more formal. They used to have more colorful kimonos for men. The designs on men’s kimonos used to be on the outside but the royal family would see the merchant men wearing almost similar colorful kimonos so the Emperor ruled that everyone must wear plain kimonos. So, they kept the designs on the inside and only the family crests are shown on the outside.

Kimonos are so exquisitely sewn that the stitching is hardly noticeable! Everything is so well made. You cannot see where the sewing begins. “Ang linis linis ng kanilang gawa,” they chimed together.

I wondered how their families felt about their kimono collection.

Chi’s parents have no interest in kimonos. “I wonder if they would ever let me dress them up one day,” she muses. “They tolerate it mainly because it’s already there. However, they’re used to it by now and my mother has cleared the closet full of clothes from my school days and RTW-selling days to make way for my kimono stash. I keep them wrapped in acid-free paper.”

She adds: “One time I dressed up my cousins and even my uncle from overseas. They fondly remember the experience, and that was a big deal for me.”

As for Kat: “Although my family has no interest in my collection, they are rather tolerant with my hobby. I sometimes go out with them in a kimono and also dress my sister up in one on holidays. My parents do not know the extent of my collection and I’m not sure how they would feel about my investment.

She adds: “Kimonos take up a lot of space so I make sure I place them inside my chest of drawers especially made for kimonos. As long as I’m not making a mess, they are fine with it.”

Kat, Chi and the rest of the Kimono collectors in the Philippines hope that “through this column” they will be tapped by the Japanese Embassy to take their collection of kimonos on a traveling exhibit nationwide. That would indeed be an excellent way to show the unparalleled elegance and sophistication of the kimono to a broader audience.

Come to think of it, in their kimonos, both Kat and Chi could very well be mistaken for Japanese ladies. One could easily identify with and understand their deep attachment to this distinctly sophisticated Japanese art form. 

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Email the author at nikkicoseteng2017@gmail.com or text her at 0997-4337154.