No103

Dear Customers & Friends
Hello from Japan! This is Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.103.What kind of week was the last week for you? Very busy week? Were you on a vacation? Did you have a relaxing week? There was a very shocking news from London which made all of us uneasy. We cannot help thinking about people whoare not found yet.
Yesterday, coming back from the auction, Ichiro felt chilly and had a fever.So this time, I(Yuka) am writing this newsletter.
When I receive e-mails from our customers, I noticed some of the customers apologize about their ignorance about kimono. Everytime I encounter the customers who mentioned about their ignorance, I am always screaming`No,no, no! You do not have to feel that way at all!!'To be very honest, majority of Japanese people have very limited knowledgeabout kimono. Most of us have seen `someone(like our grand mothers)wearing a kimono, and there are some kimono stored in somewhere in the house, but thereis very less chance to wear them actually. I remember most of the mothers werewearing kimono for my elementary school entrance celemony but at my daughter's entrance celemony, I remember only one woman was wearing a kimono. If you come to Japan, expecting to see many people in kimono, I think you will probably seea couple of people in kimono in a week or so--and they are probably wearing a kimono for a paticular reason as a dance lesson or tea ceremony practice or something. (If you go to a Japanese food restaurant, you can see people there working in kimono but they probably change to jeans to go home.) Kimono are very different from other modern garments, and in a way `beauty of form' was the important pillar or the center of its charms.I think most of women (I mean ordinary people who are not particularly doing something very Japanese-like Japanese dance)do not have a courage to go to a traditional kimono shop alone. Kimono corners in the department stores may be all right but still I think people will be very nervous. We feel like we are bad students who are called forward to see a strict teacher.People in most of kimono shops are very nice people, but to be honest, we becomeoverwhelmed --and worry not to say wrong things.I hope you can understand this, and not only the change of lifestyle but also this feeling of `awkwardness' could be one of the reason to avoid people from wearing kimono(of course, kimono price and difficult care of textiels are thereasons too)I want to introduce Hiromi Ichida- who is a charismatic figure in kimono worldin Japan. Even young people knows her for she was in some TV comercial for Japanese tea and a major convenience store.http://www.ageocci.or.jp/jyoseikai/ichida-hiromi-plof.htmlShe was born in Kyoto and started working as a secretary of a company, then worked as a hairdresser, actress and then started having a short corner on a TV program to show how to dress a kimono.She has a liberal view and talks about very basic things--the things which we want to ask but hesitate to ask because we fear the questions were too basic. I read a story in her book about one young girl. This young girl came to her to ask her to dress her for `Coming-of-Age' ceremony. She collected all things forherself and showed her proudly--the things she brought was totally `wrong' things from traditional formal wear and besides she asked Ichida san to tie theobi in front which was a style of a prostitute in olden times. She tried very hard to collect all items, and Ichida san was moved by her passion, she dressedher using all things this young girl brought for her special ceremony. Her father came to see his daughter's proud moment and he became furious to see hisdaughter in such an `avant-garde'style and insisted her to change. They startedto have a big fight.Ichida san suggested them to take the photos of the way the girl liked, first and then change the obi to tie at the back to attend the ceremony, so they couldbe happy after all.Ichida san's lifework is to collect the ethnic costumes from all over the world.She also has a kimono fashion show in all over the world each year.She made many people here not to feel overwhelmed by all the rules but be friends with kimono in more natural way.What I wanted to tell was, please do not be overwhelmed by all the rules and kinds of kimono. You can enjoy wearing or displaying kimono by your own artisticflair. If you would like to dress according to the traditional way, it is greatand if you would like to enjoy by your own way, it is also great. Please do not apologize for your ignorance, you may know more than most youngJapanese people about kimono! Actually, displaying kimono or obi are taken over here from you:-)If I can tell only one rule about kimono, always a left front comes over a rightfront, when kimono is wrapped around your body. If right side comes front, it means you are dead.(burial outfit )We want you to be alive and GENKI(fine) always!Domo arigato gozaimasu for reading this newsletter. We wish you a wonderful new week.
Ichiro & Yuka WadaKimono Flea Market "ICHIROYA"http://www.ichiroya.com
e-mail: info@ichiroya.comaddress: Asia-shoji Bldg.301 1841-1 Nishi 1 chome Wakamatsu cho Tondabayashi city Osaka 584-0025 JAPANTEL&FAX ****( international number ) - 81-721-23-5446