Kimonos, hakamas
and traditions

Dress Up! Dress Down! By Nandwani Balma

Japan is full of rich tradition and history. Most of us are familiar with the tea ceremony, something we find highly interesting, and enjoy participating in during tours. It teaches us to slow down and slowly sip peace into our lives.

The Japanese kimono graces us with a picture of serenity. The kimono, on a simple backdrop of a Japanese home or garden, is a picture of calm that hooks us up to a Zen-like feeling. The formal kimono is noted for silk quality and beauty. Summer has its own kimono, called yukata, made of earth’s cotton. The word “kimono” is actually used for women’s outfits, while a Japanese man’s outfit is called hakama.

Hakama, or skirt-like pants, was originally worn by men. Today, however, they are worn by both men and women. Still, women rarely wear hakama, except at graduation ceremonies and for traditional Japanese sports, such as kyudo, aikido, and kendo.

A kimono varies in sleeve length for married and single women. Single women wear their kimono with long sleeves, and married women with shorter sleeves.

I attended the Coming-of-Age-Ceremony and Festival, also known as Seijin-No-Hi, held on the second Sunday of January. Anyone born between April 2 the past year and April 1 this year, and who has or will shortly turn 20 years old, gets invited to participate in the festivities.

The ceremony establishes the transition from childhood to adulthood. The Japanese view being 20 years old as the age of majority or adulthood. Below this age, a Japanese man or woman is not permitted to drink or vote.

Those coming of age are brought to a government building to listen to speeches of responsibilities of adulthood, much like in a graduation ceremony. Traditionally, the Coming of Age celebrators are offered small presents by their loved ones.

Another interesting festival is the Shichi-Go-San, or “Seven-Five-Three”, a traditional rite of passage in Japan for seven and three year-old girls, and five year-old boys. The festival is held annually in November, and celebrates the growth and wellbeing of young children. This is not a national holiday though, and is generally observed on its nearest weekend. Children, both girls and boys, wear the kimono/hakama, and are taken to shrines during this festival.

Chitose Ame, literally “thousand year candy”, is given to children on Shichi-Go-San. It is a long, thin, red and white candy, wrapped in a thin, clear and edible rice paper film, and is used to symbolize healthy growth and longevity. It is placed in a bag, decorated with both crane and turtle, to represent long life. The tradition has changed very little since the Meiji Period. In current practice, the ritual regarding hair has been discarded.

What is beautiful about the Japanese family is how they pass their respect for customs and traditions from one generation to the next. A foreigner or tourist in Japan is always thrilled to see how old traditions stay intact and valued, generation after generation, in the changing of season and time. I would like to thank the Koseki family and their friends, who are a blend of Japanese-Filipino heritage, for the use of their pictures.

For most of us, a trip to Japan is not entirely complete until we don on a kimono or hakama, blend into a festival, and then convert ourselves temporarily into Japanese by virtue of a serene pose in an authentic outfit.

Only then can we say “sayonara” to a place that steals a piece of our heart.*

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