So I realize that I have about a month's worth of stuff to tell you guys about... actually, make that two months since my two month anniversary with Japan was on Sunday, but in order for you to actually have something to read I'll be posting non-chronologically about the various trips and weekend activities that I've participated in (or initiated!) Usually my weekdays, aka the days I have classes, aka Tuesday through Thursday, are really blah, with Tuesday being the worse. However, this particular Tuesday （yesterday) was different because I was a princess or 姫様 for about 20 minutes yesterday.
On Tuesdays I take a class called 日本事情, or Japanese Culture and Affairs, and yesterday we took a field trip (修学旅行) to a museum in Fukui. Now, this doesn't sound like the beginning of an exciting story, but what you don't know (well, now you do) is that during this trip we all got to try on kimono from 江戸時代 (the Edo period, 1603 - 1868). I'm fairly obsessed with kimono, partially because of my interest in fashion, partially due to the idea of a historical costume with many traditions surrounding it, and a large part from the part in my brain that says "oooohhh, pretty colors!" (I can tell that you are thinking to yourself that this part of my brain helps me get dressed. Don't deny it.) So because of that I was excited for this particular Tuesday. We had a limited amount of time and kimono at the museum, so once we got there we were split up into two groups, and then my group was hustled over to the designated kimono area. Putting on kimono takes a long time, especially the more formal ones, but we didn't have that kind of time (in a different story for another blog post, it once took about 20 minutes for two ladies to put a formal kimono on me) so we were hustled into our traditional Japanese clothes.
I was one of the last girls to get dressed, and they started putting a yellow kimono on me. I thought that was it, but when that kimono was on, the woman dressing me scooped up this huge, thick, ornate red silk robe and puts it on me, and shows me how to hold it closed. Standing next to me was my fellow American and friend Kim, and she was wearing the same sort of robe. Although I love kimono, I'm a bit ignorant on who wears what, although I do know as a general rule that older women wear more subdued colors with normal length sleeves, and unmarried women (the younger kind) wear brighter colors with long sleeved kimonos (振袖). The outer robe I was wearing didn't seem to fit either category, so I asked Kim. She told me that we were wearing the robes of 姫様, a princess/daughter of a nobleman. So, I was a princess yesterday. Granted, only for 20 minutes because they had to shuffle the entire class into and out of kimono, but it was a royal 20 minutes. And princess-y.
Speaking of Princess for a Day, a shout out to JQ! Happy 17th birthday (one day late)!
Starting the trip off excited in our mini bus!
Aya (on the left) and Kim get dressed. Note Kim's Disney princess hands. :)
This is what the boys wore. Here Jake models his straw hat.
Aya wearing her 振袖
Here Bao-san models the Edo period peace sign. Not much has changed.
My royal attendants help me put on my robes. This is how I get dressed every morning in Japan.p.s. My teacher has group shots of everyone and many more pictures than I have, so once I get those I shall add them to this post. Promise.
< 姫様 himesama: princess, daughter of a nobleman 日本事情 nihonjijou: Japanese Culture and Affairs 修学旅行 shuugakuryokou: field trip 江戸時代 Edo jidai: the Edo period 振袖 furisode: kimono with long sleeves >
< 姫様 himesama: princess, daughter of a nobleman 日本事情 nihonjijou: Japanese Culture and Affairs 修学旅行 shuugakuryokou: field trip 江戸時代 Edo jidai: the Edo period 振袖 furisode: kimono with long sleeves >
