Furisode Uchikake
Bride
Many brides wear both Western-style bridal gowns and the "traditional" Japanese bridal ensemble. This "traditional" costume has actually only been in its present form since the Edo period (AD 1600-1868). There are two different types of wedding sets: the Kanto and the Kwansai (Nomura, 1931).
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Furisode Uchikake |
For the Kanto or Tokyo style, a woman wears an unbelted furisode uchikake
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Kwansai Wedding Set |
The Kwansai or Osaka wedding ensemble (pictured to the left) is more elaborate because a woman must wear a nagajuban (under-kimono) and three ceremonial robes all together. This Kwansai wedding ensemble was purchased in Kyoto in 1931, but was probably made in the late 1920s.
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Bride dressed in A formal furisode kimono (Photo courtesy of N. Evans & M. Taguchi) |
Some brides wear neither the Kanto nor the Kwansai style wedding ensembles. Instead they wear a formal patterned furisode kimono (picture, to the right).
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Glossary:
A formal kimono with long sleeves worn by unmarried women. Three types of furisode: kofurisode (short sleeves, about 75 cm long), chuburisode (medium-length sleeves, about 90 cm long) and oburisode (full-length sleeves, about 105 cm long).
A formal, long-sleeved over-kimono that is worn unbelted over a pure white kimono, called
shiromuku. Usually worn as part of the Kanto or Tokyo style bridal ensemble.A full-length under-kimono that is worn beneath formal and semi-formal kimono.
Literally "white pure", this is a special type of kimono called a kakeshita kimono. It is worn only with a kakeshita obi and under a
furisode uchikake as part of the Kanto or Tokyo style bridal ensemble.References Cited:
Nomura, S. M. Personal correspondence, March 3, 1931.
