If at first you don't succeed...

... untie the obi and start over.

Holly, David and Pia enjoy tea after struggling with kimono

To gain more practice in wearing kimono, sensei has us practicing temai once a month in kimono. It felt like we were sent back in time to when we were two-year-olds learning to tie shoelaces and button our own coats. After much fumbling and frustration we managed to get ourselves respectably dressed.

Wearing kimono demands much mindfulness of we Westerners. They are unfamiliar so we must move carefully and thoughtfully. Standing up, sitting down and walking gracefully are especially challenging. On the upside, kimono restricts or, rather, shapes movement and helps us to have better posture when sitting and bowing, and helps us understand why certain motions in temai are the way they are (for example, why the natsume is set down in a certain way).

Next month, we will be even better.

:: :: ::

Online reference for wearing kimono and tying obi

Rebecca Cragg of Camellia Teas demonstrates how to tie Nagoya obi (YouTube)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obi_%28sash%29

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpURUVT3Msk&feature=related 

http://www.wafuku.co.uk/kimonoinfo5.htm

http://www.ehow.com/how_4480025_tie-geisha-obi.html

http://stores.japanesegoods.jp/Page.bok?template=traditionalkimono

http://www.hanamiweb.com/kimono.html

http://tanuki.org.uk/kimono.html