How to Choose a Kimono Rental Shop: Price Tiers, Hair and Makeup, and What's Included
Choosing a yukata rental shop for a summer festival is a fairly low-stakes decision — most shops in a given area offer something similar, at a similar price. Choosing a full kimono rental shop is a bit more involved, because the range between a basic casual rental and a full hair-and-makeup photo studio experience is […]
Wearing Kimono as a Visitor: Answering the Questions People Are Too Polite to Ask
A surprising number of guests at the shop would ask some version of this quietly, almost apologetically, right before getting dressed: "is it actually okay for me to wear this?" I always gave the same honest answer, and I'll give it here too, along with a couple of related questions that tend to come up […]
What Is a Kamon? Family Crests on Kimono, and What Five, Three, and One Crest Mean
The first time I noticed a small emblem stitched onto the back of a customer's kimono, I assumed it was decorative. It isn't. That little mark is a kamon (家紋), a family crest, and the number of times it appears on a kimono is one of the clearest signals of how formal the garment is. […]
What Is a Nagajuban? The Hidden Layer Under Every Kimono
If you've ever been dressed in a kimono, you may have caught a glimpse of colorful fabric peeking out at the collar or cuffs, layered just underneath. That's the nagajuban — and it's one of the more overlooked but genuinely interesting parts of how a kimono outfit actually works. What is a nagajuban, and what […]