My friends wear formals for parties, traditional silks for marriages and casuals for shopping! The occasion determines the dress. But, in Japan, the design on the traditional kimono voices the occasion, the seasons and also about the person who wears it.
What they say
For instance, cranes ( kurçn ) symbolise good fortune and longevity and so form the motifs on a wedding kimono for brides.
The giant colourful crane necklaces is a common sight in front of every shrine. It is believed that folding one thousand paper cranes ( orizuru ) will make a wish come true.
Sadako Sasaki, a young Japanese atom bomb survivor, tried to fold one thousand cranes in 1955. She wished for world peace.
These origami cranes are now largely conceived by the West as a symbol of peace.
Butterflies ( chô ) are considered the souls of the living and dead. As a motif on the kimono, it is a symbol of joy.
Images of carp ( koi ) suggests perseverance and are often a motif on young boys’ kimonos. A design of carp ascending the rapids indicates the Children’s Day Festival held on May 5 (Boys Festival — Tango no Sekku ). It is a homophone of the word “affection”.
‘Dragon flies’ ( tonbo ) is a homophone of “victory”. It is also called katsumushi (victory insect). Dragon fly motifs symbolise late summer and early autumn. Japan was once known as akitsushima (the land of dragon flies).
Shô chiku bai (three friends of winter) — the evergreen pine, the flexible but unbreakable bamboo and plum. The first tree to blossom each year is a favourite motif for a winter kimono and voices the sentiment “if winter comes, can spring be far behind?”
Cherry blossoms ( sakura no hana ) the medicinal chrysanthemums ( kiku no hana ), the king of flowers — peonies ( shakuyaku ) are other common motifs on the kimono.
