Types of Obi

I recently decided it was high time I go through my Japanese obi collection and realized that I need some more. Let's be honest... once you have at least 3 kimono, you'll want the triple amount of obi... just in case you need them. They are like shoes.. You can never have too many pairs.

I wrote in my previous hub about kimono kitsuke and I left it with a promise to chat about various types of obi and kimono.

First of all, an obi is a sash worn with kimono in traditional Japanese attire. It varies in length from 3 to 4.3m and in width from 15 to 32cm. This creates various types of obi. Obi are used to enhance the beauty of a kimono, having to coordinate with the said garment in color, season, design.

Like kimono, obi are separated into categories depending on various factors, like:

- the season to wear them :

• awase (lined or at least 2 layers of fabric, worn from October to mid May);
• hitoe (unlined, worn from mid May to June and September) and
• usumono (various silk gauze like ro, sha; hemp - worn in the hot summer months);

- by shape and size (the most important one):

• hanhaba obi - lit. half width obi - measures 15cm in width and anywhere from 3 to 4.2m in length; worn especially with yukata, and/or komon kimono;
• nagoya obi - this is a rather new type of obi, emerged in 1930s, in a city called Nagoya; it has a particular shape, making it ideal for the o-taiko musubi (drum shaped knot). Its length is usually around 3.5m; the first 2m are 15cm in width, and the rest of 1.5m is 30cm.
• fukuro obi - the most common type of obi used nowadays. Its 29-32cm in width and up to 4.3m in length make it ideal for a wide range of knots. Depending on the placement of the design, it breaks into 3 types: taiko-gara fukuro obi (it has the length of a fukuro obi, but the design is placed so that it makes it best suited for o-taiko musubi); rokutsuu fukuro obi (patterned 60% of its length - the unpatterned part is not visible when worn) and zentsuu fukuro obi (at least one side of the obi is 100% patterned);
• maru obi - the most formal type of obi, 100% patterned on both sides; 29-31cm in width, up to 4m in length.

- by formality level:

• obi made of weaved/painted silk is considered the most formal; maru obi are the ones only made of silk, and usually include golden threads in their weave;
• the most common formal type used nowadays is fukuro obi made of silk with golden threads, however, it's below the silk maru obi.
• silk nagoya obi;
• the lowest rank in formality is considered to be the cotton hanhaba obi, worn with yukata.

When wearing a kimono, one should always keep in mind that a formal outfit shouldn't mix different types of fabric; informal outfits can easily mix and match (e.g. silk only with silk, but wool can be mixed with hemp for a casual ensemble).

Next up... hmmm... I think the types of kimono. Or the accessories. What do you think?