Tuesday, February 9, 2010

First kimono outing


After a few months of studying kitsuke (kimono dressing) at home, I finally gathered up enough courage to wear a kimono to go out 2 weeks ago. I scheduled 2 hours earlier than usual for this whole ordeal, still I barely made it on time to my Nihon Buyo lesson and was totally exhausted! I was so nervous walking on the street (or more like tiptoe-ing in my zouri/slippers), praying that nothing would get loose or fall apart (*o*)


Yes, wearing a kimono is hard work but it is so worth it at the end :) In fact, kimono is such a fascinating field of knowledge that I love to pursue it further. Similar to wearing a wedding dress, a kimono can fulfill so many beautiful dreams for a woman. I am grateful that my kimono dream has come true right here in Japan. I will write more about kimono and gradually post my humble collection. This soft salmon pink kimono has different shades of murasaki hana (purple flowers), so I chose a deep mauve Nagoya obi with pink roses to match it. The obijime/tie and obiage/scarf are of brighter pink to give a light and cheery mood, perfect for a happy dance :) Yikes, I'm not even sure how to stand and pose in a kimono!

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Jaime

Is that you in the photos? Somehow (though I don't know you, except for via your YJ blog), I truly feel happy for you that you have found time to pursue your interest in various aspects of Japanese traditions. Way to go, gal :)

cheers
alcy

gosijo said...

Sooo beautiful, Jaime!

Congratulations on your new blog!

yudi said...

Dear Jaime,

Congratulations on your new blog, what a fruitful journey with wuri Yong Joon.

yudi

Anonymous said...

Dear Jaime:
Greetings even during a blizzard when the internet is intermittent and can shut down. But this news of yours about a personal blog on your Japanese Journey is blessed snowfall. Congratulations! I hope you will find happiness and meaning in savoring and writing about your experiences. We certainly enjoy your wit, originality and sense of humor,
Sumimasen,
josephine

myoce said...

Dear Jaime,

Congratulations !
This is a beautiful blog :), I'm glad you'll be able to record your beautiful experiences and memories while you are in Japan here.

Thank you for sharing with us.

Love, myoce

Marce said...

Hi Jaime,
this was a beautiful surprise, Congratulations Dear Sister for your personal blog!!!!
I think so, God has a plan for each of us, I m so happy because im able to read your experiences ther in Japan. I love that culture, too.
Have a nice time.
Marce

karen said...

hi hi Jaime,

Congratulation on ur new blog !!
I love d pink colour n d sakura pic is awesome, I love d japan culture, food n of course d shopping hehehee...tks..for sharing, sis :)

Wishing u n ur family HAPPY PROPEROUS CHINESE NEW YEAR & HAPPY VALENTINE DAY !!!

Hugs Hugs ~~ Karen

Anonymous said...

Jaime-san,

Atarashii blog no o-pun (open), omedetou gozaimsu!!

I'm so impressed by your interests in our culture and your energy to pursue them. You inspired me a lot to re-discover (and re-start) things I had forgotten for a while.

At the last chanoyu lesson, we Japanese women were so ashamed of not wearing kimono. (to be exact, not being able to wear kimono by ourselves)

Now you have a lot more reasons to come back to Japan, hehe.

cloud nine

Anonymous said...

Congratulations are in order Chinggu! You really surprised us with this new baby. Keep up the good work and hopefully we can see more pictures of you without the blurry part and would love to see you in action.

Take care and hugzx2.

judy

jaime said...

hi alcy,

welcome to my little home. yes, the pink blur is me! hehe, i can;t use YJ's pix here anymore. hope my topics won;t bore you. please take care!

love ... jaime

jaime said...

hi gosijo,

thanks for visiting! glad you like it :)

love .. jaime

jaime said...

dear yudi,

welcome. you are so right, the fruitfulness of this journey has a large part to do with yong joon and sisters like you. i know if i have more time to spend with you, we will be very close friends. Miss you, please take care!

love .. jaime

jaime said...

Hi josephine,

thanks for coming here. I 'heard' from CNN that New York city is shut down because of heavy snowfall. I figure you are probably in the same situation. please stay safe!

love ... jaime

jaime said...

hi myoce,

welcome. hehe, i should have started writing my adventures 2 years ago. but well, i guess i can continue when i return to canada. thanks for visiting!

love ... jaime

jaime said...

hi hi marce,

welcome! really, you love japanese culture too? i hope i can write as much as i can to share with you. please bare with my very slow speed :)

love .. jaime

jaime said...

hahaha karen,

you love shopping, then you have come to the right place! If I cannot claim any talent, shopping is definitely my skill :) And shopping in Japan is like heaven, oops, maybe I have exaggerated! i'll try to write about the fantastic shopping in tokyo.

love ... jaime

jaime said...

oh my dear cloudnine,

welcome, i have so much i want to share but it's all because of you. you are the one who enable me to have access to all these experience here. thanks and big hug!

love .. jaime

jaime said...

hehe chinggu,

welcome. i already am quite shy to post my own pictures up. why, you don;t like my pink blur? what color do you want me to change it to? hahaha!

love .. jaime

yudi said...

Dear Jaime,

I feel very honored about what you think about me, I feel close to you too, actually watching all your efforts to live a more sincere and fulfilling life following wuri Yong Joon’s steps inspires me to pursue a better self, I regret I didn’t learn and try enough before, but it is not too late to start now.

BTW, does “Sakura no Yume” mean “Sakura Dream”? Not quite sure about the “no” there.

love..yudi

xiaoyi said...

Dear Jaime,

Wow, I just haven't been dropping by in a while, and you have so much great experiences to share!! Thank you for sharing and glad that you are enjoying so much in Japan. Keep up the good work but do take care!!
Happy Lunar New Year!!

Loves, xiaoyi

jaime said...

Dear Yudi,

You are still young, so much hope and opportunities are waiting for you. Figthing!

Yes, this blog title is Sakura's dream, 'no' in Japanese has the possessive connotation of ('s). Happy CNY!

love .... jaime

jaime said...

Hi Hi xiaoyi,

Thanks for dropping by. sorry that i am so busy this coming week. have a happy CNY too!

love ... jaime

jenny said...

Dear Jaime

Sorry for being late to drop by at your new blog . Congratulation on your new blog .

Very glad to know that u were happily staying in Japan and in this blog u will be sharing with all about Japan . Thank you soooooo much .

Oh i love the cherry blossom and hope u will share with us too .

Thank you sooooo much jaime .

Love

Jenny Chee