A Wedding Kimono Is Beautifully Elaborate And Ornate!

Whether you have a deep love and appreciation of Japanese culture, or you are simply someone who adores learning about how they celebrate marriages and weddings in other cultures, you would have to travel a very long way to find a wedding outfit as beautiful as that of the wedding kimono.

Like western wedding dresses, the kimono is beautifully elaborate, and gives the wedding ceremony a certain kind of gravity that no other ceremony can match.

Though a modern Japanese woman might choose to get married in a western wedding dress, a very formal wedding, one that is performed at a shrine, typically sees the bride in one of these beautiful robes.

The kimono that is worn today dates back to the Edo period, and it is typically called an uchikake. Before the Edo period, the uchikake was a formal robe that was reserved for women of high class or who was born in the nobility, but after this time, it became the traditional Japanese bridal outfit.

An uchikake was typically composed of a long robe made of pure silk, and it had long and flowing sleeves. The uchikake was long enough to drag on the floor in a beautiful train, and the hem was often padded so that it would not crinkle or rumple as the bride performed the wedding ceremony. Starting in the 1960s, the uchikake were very frequently rented, as they are quite expensive!

The kimono could be of any color, especially during the Edo, but they were always made of silk and they were always highly embroidered or brocaded. Some of them would have an amazing amount of decoration on them, while others had simpler designs.

Some common designs for japanese wedding kimono included cranes and pine trees, though there were many natural elements that might be used.

The uchikake itself could come in any color, but perhaps the most famous type of uchikake is the shiromuku, which is a robe that is made of pure white silk.

The word shiromuku itself refers to the Japanese words for "white" and "pure." One theory for the popularity of the shiromuku was that the bride was presenting herself to her husband and his family as a pure white blank canvas and that she was open to learning their ways and their tradition.

During the Edo period, a wedding could last as long as three days and on each day, the bride would wear a different formal kimono.

The shiromuku mentioned above was worn on the first day, and on the second day, a red uchikake would be worn to fend off evil spirits. Then on the third day, the most formal kimono, a black one, would be worn.

Like American wedding dresses, wedding kimono would not be complete without their accessories. During a traditional wedding, the bride wears a white wedding head covering, known as a tsuno kakushi, as well as gold combs and other flowery accessories in her hair.

Typically, the bride also carries a small silk purse called a hakoseko, and in very traditional ceremonies, she will carry a small sword called a kaiken. She will also likely have a fan worn tucked inside her obi belt as well.

Take some time to learn more about the different wedding kimono that are used in Japanese culture; their beauty and elegance will take your breath away!