Kimono shopping in Kyoto, Is it Faux Pas?
I’m not sure why I wanted a Kimono so badly. I swear I didn’t specifically travel to Japan to buy fancy silk robes but hey, there must have been something sub-concious in my mind. After all who wouldn’t want to drape themselves with silk and flounce around the house like gloria swanson.
I blame the hit TV show Will and Grace. Not to say that i wouldn’t have come to the fabulous conclusion that Kimono are fabulous, but it certainly helped remembering those episodes with Will draped in his sophisticated Kimono strutting around his chic new york apartment like a landlady who has nothing better to do with her time, and so became the addiction of Kimono shopping in Kyoto.
Kimono shopping in Kyoto IS the must do whilst in this beautiful city. In fact, apart from eating and visiting the many many many temples it is no. 3 on my list of things to do. After all, what is more special than a silk peice of art. And let me tell you. It is like wearing art.
We wandered around a few cities in Japan, and Kyoto was in our opinion the no. 1 for Kimono.
First off, before we get into any conversations about cultural appropriation, Westerners wearing and buying Kimono was 100% accepted and entirely encouraged in Japan.
You see, while the tradition of Kimono is 100’s of year old, the tradition is dying in Japan. Sadly the industry has been in decline right through the 20th century and is now seen as a dying art. This is a result of modernisation and westernisation of Japanese apparel. In fact you would be hard pressed to find many Japanese people committed to wearing Kimono daily, whereas only our grandparents generation this was seen to be the norm.
As a result, and combined with an ageing and declining population, the second hand and vintage kimono market in japan is thriving. Thats what we are talking about today, because buying a new kimono, as it would likely be for most Japanese is reserved for formal occasions and quite financially unaffordable. This of course refers to what i would consider real kimono, none of that manufactured elsewhere (china) rubbish that can still be found in souvenir stores.
So, how do i know if the Kimono is of good quality? well first off, if you are shopping for Kimono, you have two options. Buying from a souvenir store or from a used or vintage clothing store.
I would always advise on the latter. The odds are most Kimono from a vintage store would be actual kimono that a Japanese person would wear. The souvenir examples i’m sure no self-respecting Japanese person would be seen dead in.
Types of Kimono - These are the most popular types you will find.
Yukata - Informal Kimono, usually made from cotton or similar. Some can be quite informal and various versions exist for male and female in different lengths.
Kimono - Silk, linen and other premium materials. Usually bright and would have originally been very expensive. Several types exist all the way up to Wedding Kimono and jackets with the finest of embroidery.
Accessories: Belts (obi), hair accessories and shoes (geta)
Oh and a little secret. I bought nine. shhhhhh.
So where to buy Kimono in Kyoto Japan?
well, let me tell you. there are Kimono shops and there are KIMONO shops. The best places to buy any second hand good in Japan is anywhere there are no tourists. As soon as you’re in a place designed to cater to westerners hello $$$.
The thing we found was anywhere within 1km of any tourist hot spot, you’d be paying upwards of $50 AUD for any shitty second hand Kimono. The trick was walking far away from the train stations, up back alleys and through the side streets of those never ending food markets. Realistically though, in hind sight, Japanese people don’t generally like second hand, so regardless of your kimono, its likely to be in a shop destined for western consumption in any case, we were just after a bargain.
I forget how big and tall i actually am until scaled against the typical Japanese (in Kyoto)
On that note, don’t be afraid to look deeply in the back of shops that sell odds and ends. a couple of my favourite Mo’s or Kim’s came from places selling food out the front or vintage up market 90s clothes with the old Kimonos stuffed in the back. In fact most of our Kimonos came from Teramachi market, just up from Nishiki market. Was a little hole in the wall place, $5 AUD for the cheapest and $50 for a gold embroidered Furisode (wedding Kimono). But most importantly, like anything, shop around as even 50m up the arcade the prices were 4-10X the amount simply due to better location/shop-front/marketing to western tastes.
Happy Hunting!
