Memoirs of a Jodi

I have now experienced what it is like to be dressed up as a traditional Japanese woman. I now understand why women wearing kimono have to shuffle along when they walk and sit bolt upright.

Mayumi arrived at my apartment with two big parcels wrapped in material. We had organised for her to dress me in her "furisode" (kimono with long sleeves). It is a Winter Kimono and so now is the best time to try it on, because it gets quite hot. Mayumi alerted Jono to the fact that I was going to change and he went out for a while.

First things first, no room for modesty here. I had to strip down to my bra and underwear (in front of Mayumi, her friend and daughter!). The first layer was the "underwear". It consisted of a light, cotton wrap top and skirt. The skirt was wrapped tight around my hips and tied. The top was wrapped across my body and tied tightly with a cord. I also put the toe socks on, which clipped up the sides. My feet were a little too big for them but they were suitable for this purpose.

The next layer is called the "nagajuban" (the kimono version of a petty coat). This was a beautiful peach and pink kimono which was made from silk. It felt so soft. It has really long sleeves which I had to lift out of the way so Mayumi could reach around me and through the little holes to wrap more cords around me. A new handy invention used for kimonos is an elastic with clips at each end. One clip is attached to the opening of the kimono and wrapped across my body and around the back where it is clipped to another part to keep it closed. Another waist band was added.

The top kimono is called the "furisode". It is made of a much heavier material. It too was draped over me, clips and elastic attached and wrapped, and the sleeves of the "nagajuban" were neatly inserted into the sleeves of the "furisode".

The last addition was the "obi" (a big fat belt that looks like its tied in a bow at the back). After something that resembled origami was completed, a few tugs and tucks were made to complete my ensemble. A "kanzashi" (decorative chopstick) and "kushi" (comb) in my hair and a bit of lipstick... and wah-lah, "I'm turning Japanese!!!"

Mayumi and her friend would giggle at me when I walked up and down the hallway as I would have to do the whole shuffle. They were impressed at how I looked in it. I have a photo of Mayumi when she wore this very kimono when she got married. She was a very young 20 years old. So what do you think?