Difference between men’s and women’s kimono

Most of us have seen beautiful Japanese kimono worn during the festivals. It is extremely exciting watching men and women wearing Japanese traditional clothing.

If you were attentive enough, you would notice that men and women kimono have some significant differences.

So after all the excitement, it would be interesting to find out more about this otherness and have a better understanding of the cultural background and clothing that impress us so much.

Let's talk a bit about the overall appearance. Through the figure below, we can clearly see the difference in appearance of the male and female kimono.

Colour

Women’s kimonos are usually bright and colourful. Mainly they are red, pink or purple.

For tea though, more reserved colours are usually used: olive, pale yellow, grey, soft-blue or darker colours may be used, like dark-blue and purple.

On the contrary, the colour of the men’s kimono is relatively calm and restrained. Indigo, navy, brown or black are all good traditional choices.

Pattern

Men’s kimonos are usually made out of plain cloth without any patterns. Even if they are present, they can only show the family pattern (in Japanese tradition, some noble families have their own unique prints passed down through generations).

Women’s kimonos naturally have countless options and patterns to choose from. In this choice, women’s kimonos are more inclined to natural scenery - flowers and bird patterns are the most popular. For example, on the sunny day of April spring, the pink kimono with cherry blossom petals, would fit the best and emphasize the femininity and cuteness of women.

Kimonos for tea ceremonies are a separate matter. They are strict and restrained.

By contrast with a usual women’s kimono style, women’s kimonos for tea ceremonies should not have any bright colours (the exception is only very young girls).

Also, kimono should be seasonal, so it is a common thing for girls to be incongruous to a season, since every two weeks they have to change a kimono to a new one.

Hakama

In addition to the kimono, people usually wear a hakama - trousers that were used by the Chinese imperial court in the Sui and Tang dynasties. Hakama are tied at the waist and fall approximately to the ankles. They are worn over a kimono.

Hakama have seven deep pleats, two on the back and five on the front. Although they seem balanced, the arrangement of the front pleats (three to the right, two to the left) is asymmetrical, presenting an example of asymmetry in Japanese aesthetics.

The most formal type of men's hakama are made of stiff, striped silk, usually black and white, or black and navy blue. Formerly hakama used to be a required part of men's wear, nowadays typical Japanese men usually wear hakama only on extremely formal occasions and at tea ceremonies, weddings, and funerals. Hakama are also regularly worn by practitioners of a variety of martial arts.

Women's hakama differ from men's in a variety of ways, most notably fabric design and method of tying.

Women’s hakama are either a solid colour or dyed with graduating hues. Hakama for young women are sparsely decorated with embroidered flowers such as cherry blossoms.

While men's hakama can be worn on both formal and informal occasions, women rarely wear hakama, except at graduation ceremonies and for traditional Japanese sports such as kyūdō, some branches of aikido and kendo, but do not wear hakama at tea ceremonies.

Women typically wear hakama just below the bust line, while men wear them at the waist.

The most iconic image of women in hakama is the miko or shrine maidens who assist in maintenance and ceremonies. A miko’s uniform consists of a plain white kimono with a bright red hakama.

Sleeves

Men and women also have a noticeable difference in attaching sleeves to the body of the kimono. While men's kimonos usually have fully sewn on sleeves that can be used as a pocket for a wallet, women’s sleeves are attached only with the upper part of the sleeve, above the shoulder.

Collar

The neckline of the men’s kimono is very close to the back of the neck, and the neck is almost completely hidden. When it comes to women’s kimono, first of all, the back of the collar is loose and women wear the back collar away from the neck. But if clothing is strained too much it might look vulgar.

Belt (Obi)

The waist of a kimono is called a belt - obi.

The men’s belt looks plain and solid, the colour is mainly black, grey and blue, and the pattern is never fancy. It is about 10 centimetres at the most, worn below the stomach and tied in a number of relatively simple knots at the back.

Same as with colours, there are many types of obi for women, with certain types of obi worn only with certain types of kimono to certain occasions. Often, obi can adjust the formality to the entire kimono outfit, with the same kimono being worn to occasions of differing formality depending on the obi worn with it.

Women’s formal obi can be 30 centimetres wide and more than 4 metres long. There are a number of different ways to tie an obi, and different knots are suited to different occasions and different kimonos.

In stores the price of a kimono does not include the price of the belt part. Obi are usually expensive and bought separately. A good belt is a key accessory that attracts an eye and enhances the value of the entire kimono.

Resources:

Sohu.com
Ameblo.jp
Wikipedia: Hakama
Wikipedia: Obi

Authors:

Infographic: Wlada Morgun

Text: Wlada Morgun