So what does the bride wear?

Lots of stuff... 

The Bride wears a number of different layers of Kimono and sash. Starting from the first to the last...

• Shoes & Socks
• Hada Juban
• Naga Juban
• Koshi Himo
• Date Jime
• Kimono (kakeshita)
• Koshi Himo (yes, another one!)
• Date Jime
• Obi Age
• Obi Belt
• Obi Ita
• Obi Jime
• Makura pillow - Perhaps for your Obi Bow
• Uchikake / Shiromuku

Shoes & Socks

Don't forget your feet! You will likely wear zori or geta sandals along with tabi socks, which are split-toed socks. There are a number of styles of both zori and geta. See below for examples.

Tabi Socks

Geta Sandals

Zori Sandals

Hada Juban

It's time for the undies now that you've said goodbye to your feet. The first layer is the hada juban. Hada means skin. Hada juban is underwear (or undershirt) that is worn as the first under undergarment. Hada juban is washable and prevents the Naga juban and Kimono from getting dirty. It comes in both one piece and two piece.

Naga Juban

More underwear! This is an undergarment (full-length) worn over the Hada juban, and under the kimono. They're usually 'prettier' than the hada juban. I know, you're saying 'but who will see it?'.  Well it's the same principle as buying western underwear. Who's gonna see your little hearts or flowers? They come in all kinds of colors and in two piece and one piece. 

Koshi Himo

The belting begins. If you didn't already need to use one to tie your Hada juban underwear on, you'll probably need one for the naga juban. You can get them in packs, usually two or three. They come in silk and in basic white muslin at least.

 Date Jime

What? Another belt you say? Why yes. It's the date jime and like the koshi himo this is not the only time you will see it. Date-jime is the second belt to tie around the waist over Koshi Himo first belt (before Obi belt) to hold Nagajuban and Kimono in place. Date jime also makes a foundation for Obi belt. Silk Hakata Ori brocade is the best fabric for Date jime. 

 Kimono - Kakeshita

Finally... The kimono. In this case - for the bride - it is called a kakeshita. It has nice loooong sleeves. Some times it will have a slight padding along the bottom. Kimonos and furisodes (the long sleeved kimono which is the same type as the kakeshita) come in a billion different colors, styles, fabrics. Here are a few examples of furisode kimono. Brides will often wear red and white which symbolize joy. The long sleeves indicate that the person wearing the kimono is a young single gal. :) When she is married she starts to wear shorter sleeves. Is that like having your wings clipped? Hummmm...

The Obi

So many to choose from... Fukuro obi, maru obi, nagoya obi, han haba obi... but if you're the bride you'll be wanting to wear either maru or fukuro obi. They are usually 12 inches wide all the length. They are 13 feet long plus in most cases.

Maru-Obi is ranked the highest in all the formal Obi. It originally has twice the width compared with that of others, and then doubles to be completed for putting on. So this is quite a gorgeous obi which has single pattern spread throughout both the front and the reverse side. Around the 40's or 50's, Maru-Obi was developed into Fukuro-Obi making itself easier to put on. So Fukuro- Obi still has ceremonial or formal aspects, but comes to be put on rather casual occasions, too, carrying the pattern on the front side only. Nagoya-Obi is used in the wide range of occasions from the casual to the formal, which was invented in the Taisho Period. You can distinguish Nagoya-Obi from others because of the difference of their shapes. Nagoya-Obi has a narrow part and a wider part. "Hanhaba" means "half the width". Hanhaba-Obi is usually put on with casual kimono so that you can do little things. The main feature is "easy to put on, easy to take off". The reversible ones are often seen with gorgeous embroidery.

Fukuro obi

Maru Obi

Obi Ita

The flat obi ita or obi stay is inserted between the obi and the kimono to prevent the obi and kimono from becoming wrinkled from bending and other things you won't be doing much of while you have all of these belts on.

Makura Pillow

The obi makura or obi pad is used to shape the bow into which the obi is tied when worn with a kimono. This one is inside of a sheer sleeve which can be used as a belt to hold it in place.

Obi Age

The obi age (bustle sash) is used to cover the obi makura (obi pad) and to hold the obi crest line in place. The sash will usually match the obi jime. See the image to the left which is a set of obi age and obi jime.

Obi Jiime

Uchikake / Shiromuku

A Shiromuku type kimono (shiro meaning white) is a symbol of the bride being ready for the groom's family to paint on her blank canvas. Bleh. Another tradition I have heard of is that the white tells the bride's family that she is dead to them. She now belongs to the husband's family!

Red and white are symbols of joy so wearing a good 'tart red' is not above board for a bride. See some more examples and a longer description of Uchikake on the kimono page.