Kimono


The kimono is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a flat, T-shaped garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, worn left over right unless the wearer is deceased. It is always worn with an obi, and commonly worn with accessories such as zōri and tabi socks.
Kimono are mostly made from traditional bolts of fabric known as tanmono. There are different types of kimono for men, women and children, and the style of the kimono can indicate the wearer's age, gender, formality of occasion and - less commonly - the wearer's marital status. Types of kimono range in formality from the very least to the very most formal of occasions.
In modern Japan, the kimono is uncommonly worn as everyday dress, and has steadily fallen out of fashion as the most common garment for a Japanese person to own and wear. Kimono are now most commonly seen at summer festivals, where people frequently wear the Kimono#yukata, and is less commonly seen at funerals, weddings, and other formal events. The people who wear the kimono most frequently in Japanese society are older men and women - who may have grown up wearing it, though less commonly so than previous generations - geisha and maiko, and rikishi wrestlers, who must wear kimono at all times in public.
Despite its falling popularity and reputation as uncomfortable and difficult to wear, the kimono has experienced a number of revivals in previous decades, and is still worn today as fashionable clothing within Japan.

History

Textiles and construction of kimono

Though the basic shape of the kimono has not changed in centuries, proportions have, historically, varied in different eras of Japanese history. Beginning in the later Heian period, the hitoe - an unlined robe worn as underwear - became the predominant outerwear garment for both men and women, known as the kosode. Court-appropriate dress continued to resemble the previous eras.
By the beginning of the Kamakura period, the kosode was an ankle-length garment for both men and women, and had small, rounded sleeves that were sewn to the body of the garment. The obi was a relatively thin belt tied somewhat low on the waist, usually in a plain bow, and was known as a hoso-obi. During this time period, the fashion of wearing a kosode draped around the shoulders, over the head, or as the outermost garment stripped off the shoulders and held in place by the obi, led to the rise of the uchikake - a heavily-decorated over-kimono, stemming from the verb "uchikake-ru", worn unbelted over the top of the kosode - becoming popular as formal dress for the upper classes.
In the following centuries, the kosode mostly retained its small, narrow and round-sleeved nature, with the length of women's sleeves gradually increasing over time and eventually becoming mostly detached from the body of the garment below the shoulders. The collar on both men's and women's kosode retained its relatively long and wide proportions, and the okumi front panel kept its long, shallow angle towards the hem. During the Edo period, the kosode had developed roughly modern kimono proportions, though variety existed until roughly the mid- to later years of the era. Men's sleeves continued to be sewn shut to the body down most of their length. Sleeves for both men and women grew in proportion to be of roughly equal width to the body panels, and the collar for both men's and women's kimono became shorter and narrower.
In the present day, both men's and women's kimono retain some historical features - for instance, women's kimono, which trailed along the floor throughout certain eras, ideally should be as tall as the person wearing them, with the excess length folded and tied underneath the obi in a hip fold known as the ohashori. Formal women's kimono also retain the wider collar of previous eras, though it is always folded in half lengthwise before wearing - a style known as hiro-eri.
Historically, kimono were taken apart to be washed, as the pattern pieces for kimono were mostly rectangular - a process known as arai-hari. Once cleaned, it would be resewn by hand to a roughly standardised method of construction, with any excess fabric being kept in the seam allowances, allowing it to be easily retailored for different people and measurements. Though some modern kimono are machine-sewn, formal kimono, and in particular silk kimono, are still hand-sewn, with even a machine-sewn kimono requiring some degree of hand-sewing to be finished.

Fabrics

Both kimono and obi are made from a wide variety of fibre types, including hemp, linen, silk, crepe, and figured satin weaves such as rinzu. Fabrics are typically – for both obi and kimono – woven as bolts of narrow width, save for certain types of obi woven to double-width. Fibres such as rayon became widespread during WW2, and modern kimono are widely available in fabrics considered easier to care for, such as polyester. However, almost all formal kimono are made entirely from silk, as well as typically being hand-sewn.
The fabrics that kimono are made from are classified in two categories within Japan. Gofuku is the term used to indicate silk kimono fabrics, composed of the characters 'go' and 'fuku'. The term "gofuku" is also used to refer to kimono in general within Japan, particularly within the context of the kimono industry, as traditional kimono shops are referred to as either 'gofukuten' or 'gofukuya' - with the additional character of "ya" meaning 'shop'.

Terms and history

Cotton and hemp fabrics are referred to generally as 'futomono', meaning "thick materials", with both cotton and hemp yarns being considerably thicker than silk yarns used for weaving. Cotton kimono are specifically referred to in the context of materials as 'momenfuku', "cotton clothes", whereas hemp kimono are known as 'asafuku', "hemp clothes", in Japanese, with the character for hemp - 'asa' - also being used to refer widely to hemp, linen and ramie kimono fabrics. Until the end of the Edo period, the tailoring of both gofuku and futomono fabrics was separated, with silk kimono handled at shops known as 'gofuku dana', and kimono of other fibres sold at shops known as 'futomono dana'. Stores that handled all types of fabric were known as 'gofuku futomono dana', though after the Meiji period, stores only retailing futomono kimono became less profitable in the face of cheaper everyday Western clothing, and eventually went out of business, leaving only gofuku stores to sell kimono - leading to kimono shops becoming known only as gofukuya today.

Kimono fabric production and use

Kimono are traditionally made from a single bolt of fabric known as a tanmono, which is roughly 11.5m long and 36 cm wide for women, and 12.5m long and 42 cm wide for men. The entire bolt is used to make one kimono, and some men's tanmono are woven to be long enough to create a matching haori jacket and juban as well. Some custom bolts of fabric are produced for especially tall or heavy people, such as sumo wrestlers, who must have kimono custom-made by either joining multiple bolts, weaving custom-width fabric, or using non-standard size fabric.
Historically, all fabric bolts woven for kimono were hand-woven, and despite the introduction of machine weaving in the 19th century, a number of well-known kimono fabrics are still produced in this way. Oshima tsumugi is a variety of slub-woven silk produced in Amami Ōshima, known for being highly-desirable as a fabric for casual kimono. Kijōka-bashōfu, a variety of Japanese fibre banana fabric, is also highly-desirable as a casual fabric, but produces extremely few bolts of fabric per year due to the growing methods used to produce the plant. The production of these fabrics has experienced a significant downturn in both desirability and craftsmen over time; though in previous decades, up to 20,000 craftspeople were involved in the production of oshima tsumugi, in the present day, just 500 craftspeople are left.
Other varieties of kimono fabric, previously produced out of necessity by the lower and working classes, are produced by hobbyists and craftspeople for their rustic appeal, rather than the necessity of having to make one's own clothes. Saki-ori, a variety of rag-woven fabric historically used to create obi from scraps, were historically produced from old kimono cut into strips roughly 1 cm, with one obi requiring roughly three old kimono to make. These obi were entirely one-sided, and often featured ikat-dyed designs of stripes, checks and arrows, commonly using indigo dyestuff.
Most ikat-woven, indigo-dyed cotton fabrics - known as kasuri - were historically hand-woven, also due to their nature of being produced by the working classes, who through necessity spun and wove their own clothing before the introduction of widely-available and cheaper ready-to-wear clothing. Indigo, being the cheapest and easiest-to-grow dyestuff available to many, used due to its specific dye qualities; a weak indigo dyebath could be used several times over to build up a hard-wearing colour, whereas other dyestuffs would be unusable after one round of dyeing. Working class families commonly produced books of hand-woven fabric samples known as shima-cho - literally, "stripe book", as many fabrics were woven with stripes - which would then be used as a dowry for young women and as a reference for future weaving. With the introduced of ready-to-wear clothing, the necessity of weaving one's own clothes died out, leading to many of these books becoming heirlooms instead of working reference guides.
Outside of being re-woven into new fabrics, old kimono have historically been recycled in a variety of ways, depending on the type of kimono and its original use. Formal kimono, made of expensive and thin silk fabrics, would have been re-sewn into children's kimono when they became unusable for adults, as they were typically unsuitable for practical clothing; kimono were shortened, with the okumi taken off and the collar re-sewn to create haori, or were simply cut at the waist to create a side-tying jacket. After marriage or a certain age, young women would shorten the sleeves of their kimono; the excess fabric would be used as a furoshiki, could be used to lengthen the kimono at the waist, or could be used to create a patchwork undergarment known as a dounuki. Kimono that were in better condition could be re-used as an under-kimono, or to create a false underlayer known as a hiyoku.

Fabric decoration techniques

Kimono motifs

Many kimono motifs are seasonal, and denote the season in which the kimono can be worn; however, some motifs have no season and can be worn all-year round; others, such as the combination of pine, plum and bamboo - known as the Three Friends of Winter - are auspicious, and thus worn to formal occasions for the entire year. Motifs seen on yukata are commonly seasonal motifs worn out of season, either to denote the spring just passed or the desire for cooler autumn or winter temperatures. Colour also contributes to the seasonality of kimono, with some seasons - such as autumn - generally favouring warmer, darker colours over lighter, cooler ones.
A number of different guides on seasonal kimono motifs exist, with some guides - such as those for tea ceremony in particular - being especially stringent on their reflection of the seasons. Motifs typically represent either the flora, fauna, landscape or otherwise culture of Japan - such as cherry blossoms, a famously-seasonal motif worn in spring until just before the actual cherry blossoms begin to bloom, it being considered unlucky to try and 'compete' with the cherries. Motifs are typically worn a few weeks before the official 'start' of any given season, it being considered fashionable to anticipate the coming season.

Construction

Historically, kimono would have been entirely hand-sewn, with many still constructed by hand in the modern day. Hand-sewn kimono are usually sewn with a single running stitch roughly 3-4mm long, stitch lengths shortening to just a few millimetres around the collar area for strength. Kimono seams are not pressed flat, instead having a 'lip' of roughly 2mm – known as the kise – pressed over each seam. This disguises the stitches, as hand-sewn kimono are not tightly-sewn, rendering the stitches visible if pressed entirely flat.
A number of different terms are used to refer to the different parts of a kimono. Kimono that are lined are known as awase kimono, whereas unlined kimono are known as hitoe kimono; partially-lined kimono — with lining only at the sleeve cuff, the back of the sleeve, the lower chest portion of the dōura and the entirety of the hakkake — are known as dou-bitoe kimono. Some fully-lined kimono do not have a separate lower and upper lining, and are instead lined with solid panels on the okumi, the maemigoro and the ushiromigoro.
Kimono linings are commonly silk or imitation silk, though the lining of some casual kimono may be cotton, wool or linen. Kimono made before the 1960s are identifiable by their usually-solid red silk linings; women's kimono made before WW2 are identifiable by their longer sleeves.
These terms refer to parts of a kimono:
Both men's and women's brand-new kimono can range in expense, from the relatively cheap nature of second-hand garments, to high-end artisan pieces costing as much as US$50,000.
The high expense of some hand-crafted brand-new kimono reflects the traditional kimono making industry, where the most skilled artisans practice specific, expensive and time-consuming techniques, known to and mastered only by a few. These techniques, such as hand-plied bashofu fabrics and hand-tied kanoko shibori dotwork dyeing, may take over a year to finish. Kimono artisans may be made Living National Treasures in recognition of their work, with the pieces they produce being considered culturally important.
Even kimono that have not been hand-crafted will constitute a relatively high expense when bought new, as even for one outfit, a number of accessories of the right formality and appearance must be bought. Not all brand-new kimono originate from artisans, and mass-production of kimono - mainly of casual or semi-formal kimono - does exist, with mass-produced pieces being mostly cheaper than those purchased through a gofukuya.
Though artisan-made kimono are some of the most accomplished works of textile art on the market, many pieces are not bought solely for appreciation of the craft. Unwritten social obligations to wear kimono to certain events - weddings, funerals - often leads consumers to purchase artisan pieces for reasons other than personal choice, fashion sense or love of kimono:
believes we are in a strange age where people who know nothing about kimono are the ones who spend a lot of money on a genuine handcrafted kimono for a wedding that is worn once by someone who suffers wearing it, and then is never used again.

The high cost of most brand-new kimono reflects in part the pricing techniques within the industry. Most brand-new kimono are purchased through gofukuya, where kimono are sold as fabric rolls only, the price of which is often left to the shop's discretion. The shop will charge a fee separate to the cost of the fabric for it to be sewn to the customer's measurements, and fees for washing the fabric or weatherproofing it may be added as another separate cost. If the customer is unfamiliar with wearing kimono, they may hire a service to help dress them; the end cost of a new kimono, therefore, remains uncertain until the kimono itself has been finished and worn.
Gofukuya are also regarded as notorious for sales practices seen as unscrupulous and pressuring:
Many feared a tactic known as kakoikomi: being surrounded by staff and essentially pressured into purchasing an expensive kimono...Shops are also renowned for lying about the origins of their products and who made them... gave me careful instructions before we entered the : 'do not touch anything. And even if you don’t buy a kimono today, you have to buy something, no matter how small it is.’

In contrast, kimono bought by hobbyists are likely to be less expensive, purchased from second-hand stores with no such sales practices or obligation to buy. Hobbyists may also buy cheaper synthetic kimono brand-new. Some enthusiasts also make their own kimono; this may be due to difficulty finding kimono of the right size, or simply for personal choice and fashion.
Second-hand items are seen as highly affordable; costs can be as little as ¥100 at thrift stores within Japan, and certain historic kimono production areas around the country - such as the Nishijin district of Kyoto - are well-known for their second-hand kimono markets. Kimono themselves do not go out of fashion, making even vintage or antique pieces viable for wear, depending on condition.
However, even second-hand women's obi are likely to remain somewhat pricey; a used, well-kept and high-quality second-hand obi can cost upwards of US$300, as they are often intricately woven, or decorated with embroidery, goldwork and may be hand-painted. Men's obi, in contrast, retail much cheaper, as they are narrower, shorter, and have either very little or no decoration, though high-end men's obi can still retail at a high cost equal to that of a high-end women's obi.

Types of kimono

Formality

Kimono range in variation from extremely formal to very casual. The formality of a woman's kimono is determined mostly by pattern placement, decoration style, fabric choice and colour. The formality of men's kimono is determined more by fabric choice and coordination elements than decoration, as men's kimono tend to be one colour with motifs only visible when looked at closely.
In both cases, formality is also determined by the number and type of mon . Five crests are the most formal, three crests are mid-formality, and one crest is the least formal, used for occasions such as tea ceremony.
The type of crest adds formality as well. A "full sun" crest, where the design is outlined and filled in with white, is the most formal type. A "mid-shadow" crest is mid-formality, with only the outline of the crest visible in white. A "shadow" crest is the least formal, with the outline of the crest relatively faint. Shadow crests may be embroidered onto the kimono, and full-embroidery crests, called nui mon, are also seen.
Formality can also be determined by the type and colour of accessories, such as weave of obijime and the style of obiage.

Women's kimono

The typical woman's kimono outfit may consist of up to twelve or more separate pieces; some outfits, such as formal wedding kimono, may require the assistance of licensed kimono dressers, though usually this is due to the wearer's inexperience with kimono and the difficult-to-tie nature of some formal obi knots. Most professional kimono dressers are found in Japan, where they work out of hair salons, as specialist businesses, or freelance.
Choosing an appropriate type of kimono requires knowledge of the wearer's age, occasionally marital status, the formality of the occasion at hand, and the season. Choice of fabric is also dependent on these factors, though some fabrics - such as crepe and rinzū - are never seen in certain varieties of kimono, and some fabrics such as shusu silk are barely ever seen in modern kimono or obi altogether, having been more popular in previous eras than in the present-day.
Though length of kimono, collar style and the way the sleeves are sewn on varies for susohiki kimono, in all other types of women's kimono, the construction generally does not change; the collar is set back slightly into the nape of the neck, the sleeves are only attached at the shoulder, not all the way down the sleeve length, and the kimono's length from shoulder to hem should generally equal the entire height of the woman wearing it, to allow for the ohashori hip fold.
Sleeve length increases for furisode - young women's formal dress - but young women are not limited to wearing only furisode, as outside of formal occasions that warrant it, can wear all other types of women's kimono such as irotomesode and komon.

Yukata are casual cotton summer kimono. Yukata were originally very simple indigo and white cotton kimono, little more than a bathrobe worn either within the house, or for a short walk locally; yukata were also worn by guests at inns, with the design of the yukata displaying the inn a person was staying at. From roughly the mid-1980s onwards, they began to be produced in a wider variety of colours and designs, responding to demand for a more casual kimono that could be worn to a summer festival.
In the present day, most yukata are brightly-coloured featuring large motifs from a variety of different seasons. They are worn with hanhaba obi or heko obi, and are often accessorised with colourful hair accessories. Yukata are always unlined, and it is possible to wear a casual nagoya obi with a high-end, more subdued yukata.

Furisode kimono are the most formal kimono for a young, often unmarried, woman. They are decorated with colourful patterns across the entirety of the garment, and usually worn to seijin shiki or weddings, either by the bride herself or an unmarried younger female relative.
The sleeves of the furisode average at between 100–110 cm in length. Chu-furisode have shorter sleeves at roughly 80 cm in length; most chu-furisode are vintage kimono, as in the modern day furisode are not worn often enough to warrant buying a more casual form of the dress, though brand-new chu-furisode do exist.

Hōmongi are distinguished in their motif placement - the motifs flow across the back right shoulder and back right sleeve, the front left shoulder and front left sleeve, and across the hem, higher at the left than the right. They are always made of silk, and are considered more formal than the tsukesage.
Hōmongi are first roughly sewn up, the design sketched onto the fabric, before it is taken apart to be dyed again. The hōmongi's close relative, the tsukesage, has its patterns dyed on the bolt before sewing up. This method of production can usually distinguish the two, as the motifs on a hōmongi are likely to cross fluidly over seams in a way a tsukesage generally will not. However, the two can prove near-indistinguishable at times.
Hōmongi may be worn by both married and unmarried women; often friends of the bride will wear hōmongi at weddings and receptions. They may also be worn to formal parties.

Iromuji are monochromatic, undecorated kimono mainly worn to tea ceremonies. Despite being monochromatic, iromuji may feature a woven design; iromuji suitable for autumn are often made of rinzu silk. Iromuji are typically worn for tea ceremony, as the monochrome appearance is considered to be unintrusive to the ceremony itself. Some edo komon with incredibly fine patterns are also considered suitable for tea ceremony, as from a distance they are visually similar to iromuji. Iromuji may occasionally have one kamon, though likely no more than this, and are always made of silk. Shibori accessories such as obiage are never worn with iromuji if the purpose of wear is a tea ceremony; instead, flat and untextured silks are chosen for accessories.

Edo komon are a type of komon characterised by an extremely small repeating pattern, usually done in white on a coloured background. The edo komon dyeing technique originated within the samurai classes during the Edo period. Edo komon are of a similar formality to iromuji, and edo komon with one kamon can be worn as low-formality visiting wear; because of this, they are always made of silk, unlike regular komon.

Mofuku are a category of kimono and kimono accessories suitable for mourning; mofuku kimono, obi and accessories for both men and women are characterised by their plain, solid black appearance. Mofuku kimono are plain black silk with five kamon, worn with white undergarments and white tabi. Men wear a kimono of the same kind, with a subdued obi and a black-and-white or black-and-grey striped hakama, worn with black or white zōri.
A completely black mourning ensemble for women - a plain black obi, black obijime and black obiage - is usually reserved for those closest to the deceased. Those further away will wear kimono in dark and subdued colours, rather than a plain black kimono with a reduced number of crests. In time periods when kimono were worn more often, those closest to the deceased would slowly begin dressing in coloured kimono over a period of weeks after the death, with the obijime being the last thing to be changed over to colour.

Kurotomesode kimono are formal kimono with a black background and a design along the hemp, worn to formal events such as weddings and wedding parties. The design is only present along the hem; the further up the body this design reaches, the younger the wearer is considered to be, though for a very young woman an irotomesode may be chosen instead, kurotomesode being considered somewhat more mature. The design is either symmetrically placed on the fuki and okumi portions of the kimono, or asymmetrically placed along the entirety of the hem, with the design being larger and higher-placed at the left side than the right. Vintage kimono are more likely to have the former pattern placement than the latter, though is not a hard rule.
Kurotomesode are always made of silk, and may have a hiyoku - a false lining layer - attached, occasionally with a slightly padded hem. A kurotomesode usually has between 3 and 5 crests; a kurotomesode of any number of crests outranks an irotomesode with less than five. Kurotomesode, though formalwear, are not allowed at the royal court, as black is the colour of mourning, despite the colour designs decorating the kimono itself; outside of the royal court, this distinction for kurotomesode does not exist. Kurotomesode are never made of flashy silks such as rinzū, but are instead likely to be a matte fabric with little texture.

Irotomesode kimono are slightly lower-ranking formal kimono with roughly the same pattern placement as kurotomesode, but on a coloured background. Irotomesode, though worn to formal events, may be chosen when a kurotomesode would make the wearer appear to be overdressed for the situation. The pattern placement for irotomesode is roughly identical to kurotomesode, though patterns seen along the fuki and okumi may drift slightly into the back hem itself. Irotomesode with five kamon are of the same formality as any kurotomesode. Irotomesode may be made of figured silk such as rinzū.

Tsukesage are lower-ranking formalwear, a step below hōmongi, wherein the motifs generally do not cross over the seams of each kimono panel, but have the same placement as a hōmongi. Similarities between the two often lead to confusion, with some tsukesage near-indistinguishable from hōmongi. Tsukesage can have between one and three kamon, and can be worn to parties, but not ceremonies or highly formal events.

Uchikake are highly formal kimono worn only in bridalwear or on stage. The name uchikake comes from the verb "uchikake-ru", "to drape upon", originating in roughly the 16th century from a fashion of the ruling classes of the time to wear kimono unbelted over the shoulders of one's other garments; the uchikake progressed into being an over-kimono worn by samurai women before being adopted some time in the 20th century as bridalwear.
Uchikake are worn in the same manner in the present day, though unlike their 16th-century counterparts, could not double as a regular kimono due to their typically heavily-decorated, highly-formal and often heavily-padded nature. Uchikake are designed to trail along the floor as a sort of coat. Bridal uchikake are typically red or white, and often decorated heavily with auspicious motifs. Because they are not designed to be worn with an obi, the designs cover the entirety of the back.

Shiromuku are the pure-white wedding kimono worn by brides for a traditional Japanese Shinto wedding ceremony. Comparable to an uchikake and sometimes described as a white uchikake, a shiromuku is worn for the part of the wedding ceremony, symbolising the purity of the bride coming into the marriage. The bride may later change into a red uchikake after the ceremony to symbolise good luck.
A shiromuku will form part of a bridal ensemble with matching or coordinating accessories, such as a bridal katsura, a set of matching kanzashi, and a sensu fan tucked into the kimono. Due to the expensive nature of traditional bridal clothing, few are likely to buy brand-new shiromuku; it is not unusual to rent kimono for special occasions, and Shinto shrines are known to keep and rent out shiromuku for traditional weddings. Those who do possess shiromuku already are likely to have inherited them from close family members.

Susohiki kimono are extremely long kimono worn by geisha, maiko, actors in kabuki and people performing traditional Japanese dance. A susohiki can be up to 230 cm long, and are generally no shorter than 200 cm from shoulder to hem; this is to allow the kimono to trail along the floor.
Susohiki, apart from their extreme length, are also sewn differently to normal kimono due to the way they are worn. The collar on a susohiki is sewn further and deeper back into the nape of the neck, so that it can be pulled down much lower without causing the front of the kimono to ride up. The sleeves are set unevenly onto the body, shorter at the back than at the front, so that the underarm does not show when the collar is pulled down.
Susohiki are also tied differently when they are put on - whereas regular kimono are tied with a visible ohashori, and the side seams are kept straight, susohiki are pulled up somewhat diagonally, to emphasise the hips and ensure the kimono trails nicely on the floor. A small ohashori is tied, larger at the back than the front, but it wrapped against the body with a momi wrap, which is then covered by the obi, rendering it not visible.

Jūnihitoe describes the layered garments worn by court ladies during the Heian period. The jūnihitoe consisted of up to twelve layered garments, with the innermost garment being the kosode - the small-sleeved kimono prototype which would eventually go on to become the outermost garment worn.
The total weight of the jūnihitoe could be up to 20 kg. The garments were decorated in relatively large motifs, with a more important aspect being the numerous recorded colour combinations an outfit could have.
An important accessory of this outfit was an elaborate hand fan, which could be tied together by tassels tied onto the end fan bones. These fans were made of cypress wood entirely, with the design painted onto the wide, flat bones themselves, and were known as hiōugi.
No garments from the Heian period survive, and today the jūnihitoe can only be seen as a reproduction in museums, movies, festivals and demonstrations. The Imperial Household still officially uses them at some important functions, such as the coronation of the new Empress.

Men's kimono

In contrast to women's kimono, men's kimono outfits are far simpler, typically consisting of five pieces, not including footwear.
Men's kimono sleeves are attached to the body of the kimono with no more than a few inches unattached at the bottom, unlike the women's style of very deep sleeves mostly unattached from the body of the kimono. Men's sleeves are less deep than women's kimono sleeves to accommodate the obi around the waist beneath them, whereas on a woman's kimono, the long, unattached bottom of the sleeve can hang over the obi without getting in the way.
In the modern era, the principal distinctions between men's kimono are in the fabric. The typical men's kimono is a subdued, dark color; black, dark blues, greens, and browns are common. Fabrics are usually matte. Some have a subtle pattern, and textured fabrics are common in more casual kimono. More casual kimono may be made in slightly brighter colors, such as lighter purples, greens and blues. Sumo wrestlers have occasionally been known to wear quite bright colors such as fuchsia.

Related garments

Though the kimono is the national dress of Japan, it has never been the sole item of clothing worn throughout Japan; even before the introduction of Western dress to Japan, many different styles of dress were worn, such as the attus of the Ainu people and the ryusou of the Ryukyuan people. Though similar to the kimono, these garments are distinguishable by their separate cultural heritage, and are not considered to be simply 'variations' of kimono such as the clothing worn by the working class is considered to be.
Some related garments still worn today were the contemporary clothing of previous time periods, and have survived on in an official and/or ceremonial capacity, worn only on certain occasions by certain people.

Religious garments

Some related garments are specific to certain religious roles. The chihaya is worn only by Kannushi and Miko in some Shinto shrine ceremonies, and the samue'' is the everyday clothing for a male Zen Buddhist lay-monk, and the favoured garment for Komusō monks playing the shakuhachi.

Ceremonial and professional garments

Jittoku are a style of haori worn only by some high-ranking male practitioners of tea ceremony. Jittoku are made of unlined silk gauze, fall to the hip, and have sewn himo ties at the front made of the same fabric as the main garment. The jittoku has a wrist opening that is entirely open along the sleeve's vertical length. The garment originated in the Kamakura Period, and are worn without hakama.
For formal ceremonies, members of Japanese nobility will wear certain types of antiquated kimono such as the suikan and the ''Kimono#Jūnihitoe. Outside of nobility, jūnihitoe are only found in dress-up studios, or in museums as recreations; no examples of Heian period clothing exist, and only small and fragile samples of the fabrics used in those times survive.

Bridalwear

Brides in Japan who opt for a traditional ceremony will wear specific accessories and types of kimono, which may be changed and switched out for certain parts of the ceremony; for instance, the wata bōshi hood is removed during the ceremony, and uchikake are worn over the top of shiromuku bridal kimono once the ceremony has been completed, usually at the reception. Many bridalwear traditions, such as the addition of a small dagger, are amalgams and facsimiles of samurai dress from previous eras.
;Tsunokakushi: Tsunokakashi is a style of headwear worn by brides in traditional Shinto wedding ceremonies. Tsunokashi may be made of white silk and worn with the bride's white shiromuku wedding kimono, or they may be made of colored materials to match or coordinate when the bride opts for a non-shiromuku style. Tsunokakashi, unlike wata bōshi, do not cover the high topknot formed by the bride's takashimada-style wig.
;Wata bōshi: Wata bōshi is a style of full-coverage hood also worn by the bride in traditional Shinto weddings. The wata bōshi is always white and worn with shiromuku. Wata bōshi entirely cover the bride's hairstyle.
;Takashimada: takashimada katsura are the style of Nihongami wig worn by brides. This wig resembles the style worn by geisha, with a few key differences; namely that the wig appears to be shorter and fuller, with the mage at the back placed much higher on the head. The takashimada is worn with a matching set of tortoiseshell or faux-tortoiseshell kanzashi hair accessories
;Kanzashi: Kanzashi hair ornaments, made of tortoiseshell or faux-tortoiseshell, are worn with the takashimada wig. These hair accessories will come in a matching set, including a highly-decorated kushi comb and kogai hair stick, and a number of bira-bira-style kanzashi, often decorated with flowers in either tortoiseshell or metal and coral or coral-substitute.
;Hand fan#Japanese hand fan: Sensu folding hand fans, in either entirely gold or silver leaf, are worn tucked into the obi.
;Futokorogatana: Futokorogatana, lit. "chest sword", are small daggers tucked into the collar, often held inside a small, decorative purse made of brocade fabric.
;Hakoseko'': Hakoseko are small, highly-decorative purses worn with wedding kimono. These are also made out of decorative brocade fabric, often with tassels on the ends of the purse, and usually contain some combination of a small mirror and a comb.

Accessories

There are a number of accessories that can be worn with the kimono, and these vary by occasion and use. Some are ceremonial, or worn only for special occasions, whereas others are part of dressing in kimono and are used in a more practical sense.
Both geisha and Maiko#Appearance wear variations on common accessories that are not found in everyday dress. As an extension of this, many practitioners of Japanese traditional dance wear similar kimono and accessories to geisha and maiko.
For certain traditional holidays and occasions some specific types of kimono accessories are worn. For instance, okobo, also known as pokkuri, are worn by girls for shichi-go-san, alongside brightly-coloured furisode. Okobo are also worn by young women on seijin no hi.
; Datejime datemaki
; Fur clothing
; Geta
;Hachimaki
; Hakama
; Hakama Boots
; Hakoseko
; Hanten
; Haori
; Haori himo
; Happi
; Haramaki
; Hifu
; Jika-tabi
; Jinbei
; Hadajuban
; Kappōgi
; Oil-paper umbrella#Oil-paper umbrella in Japan
; Kinchaku
; Kimono slip
; Koshihimo
; Michiyuki
; Nagajuban
; Nemaki
; Netsuke Netsuke
; Obi #Accessories for women's obi
; Obidome
; Obi-ita
; Obijime
; Obi-makura
; Ojime
; Hand fan
; Setta
; Susoyoke
; Suzu
; Tabi
; Tasuki
; Tenugui
; Waraji
; Yumoji
; Zōri''

Layering

Pre-WW2, kimono were commonly worn layered, with three being the standard number of layers worn over the top of undergarments. The layered kimono underneath were known as dōnuki, and were often a patchwork of older or unwearable kimono taken apart for their fabric.
In modern-day Japan, layered kimono are only seen on the stage, whether for classical dances or in kabuki. A false second layer called a hiyoku may be attached instead of an entirely separate kimono to achieve this look; it is a type of floating lining, sewn to the kimono only along the centre back and underneath the collar.
This effect allows it to show at the collar and the hem, and in some kabuki performances such as Fuji Musume, the kimono is worn with the okumi flipped back slightly underneath the obi to expose the design on the hiyoku. The hiyoku can also be seen on some bridal kimono.

Care

In the past, a kimono would often be entirely taken apart for washing, and then re-sewn for wearing. This traditional washing method is called arai hari. Because the stitches must be taken out for washing, traditional kimono need to be hand sewn. Arai hari is very expensive and difficult and is one of the causes of the declining popularity of kimono. Modern fabrics and cleaning methods have been developed that eliminate this need, although the traditional washing of kimono is still practiced, especially for high-end garments.
New, custom-made kimono are generally delivered to a customer with long, loose basting stitches placed around the outside edges. These stitches are called shitsuke ito. They are sometimes replaced for storage. They help to prevent bunching, folding and wrinkling, and keep the kimono's layers in alignment.
Like many other traditional Japanese garments, there are specific ways to fold kimono. These methods help to preserve the garment and to keep it from creasing when stored. Kimono are often stored wrapped in paper called tatōshi.
Kimono need to be aired out at least seasonally and before and after each time they are worn. Many people prefer to have their kimono dry cleaned. Although this can be extremely expensive, it is generally less expensive than arai hari but may be impossible for certain fabrics or dyes.