Kimono Terminology
To see a visual glossary of some of the basic terms, click here.
Eri – Collar. Can refer to the kimono collar, juban collar, or any other collar.
Fukuro – Means double fold and is a type of full width obi. This type of obi was created in the 1920's and is often patterned along 60% o the length. The back of the obi is often lined with plain silk or brocade. Because it has less pattern, the fukuro obi is less formal than the maru obi but usually cannot be differentiated from a maru obi when worn.
Furisode – The most formal kimono worn by unmarried women. It has long, flowing sleeves.
Geta – Wooden shoes worn with yukata, a very casual style of Japanese shoe.
Hakama – A pleated skirt worn by both men and women. They come in divided pants like umanori hakama, and undivided skirt like andon hakama.
Haneri – The detachable collar worn over the juban collar.
Hanhaba – A half width obi that is either sewn in half, or constructed with half the width. This is the most casual obi and the only kind of obi worn with yukata.
Haori – A type of coat worn with kimono. It has similar collars to a kimono.
Harimon – A family crest that can be bought separately and applied to a kimono.
Hikizuri – A long kimono for dance that has a slightly padded hem. This is also the kind of kimono that geisha and maiko wear. Also known as a susohiki.
Hiyoku – In the past, women wore multiple layers under their kimono, called hiyoku. While most modern kimono are not worn with hiyoku, some formal kimono still have an extra layer of fabric attached behind the collar to give the image of a hiyoku. This is most commonly seen with tomesode.
Houmongi – A type of kimono that has a pattern along the bottom hem and on the sleeves. The pattern is continuous across the seams of the kimono. It is a very formal kimono meant for married and unmarried women.
Iromuji – A type of kimono with one solid color. This is a semi-formal kimono that can be more or less formal depending on the number of crests.
Irotomesode – Tomesode only have a pattern along the bottom hem. Iro tomesode are any solid color besides black. This is slightly less formal than the kuro tomesode (the most formal kimono for married women).
Juban – The undergarment worn underneath a kimono to protect the fabric from touching your skin. The juban collar will be seen when finished dressing, and often contains a slot of a collar stiffener to give the collar shape.
Kuro tomesode – The most formal kimono for married women. This kimono is black with a pattern only along the hem. It is usually only worm by the mother of the bride at a wedding.
Kimono – Literally means thing to wear. In the past, it just referred to any kind of clothing. But today, it more specifically references the main outer garment of traditional Japanese clothing. Often a kimono is made of silk, cotton, or synthetic material. The basic shape is linear in nature and shaped like a T.
Kitsuke – Literally means the way of wearing. It is commonly used to mean the way of putting on a kimono.
Komon – A type of kimono with a small pattern that repeats across the entire kimono and is continuous across the seams.
Maru – Maru is a type of full width obi that is rarely worn today. This obi is the most formal type of obi and is completely patterned. Maru obi are often elaborately patterned brocade and have gold or silver threads.
Michiyuki – A type of kimono jacket that buttons and ties closed. It has a more box shaped opening instead of crossed collars like a kimono.
Mofuku – Formal wear for funerals, mofuku has five crests on it.
Mon – A family crest, also called kamon. The number of crests signals how formal a garment is. No crests is the least formal, followed by one crest, three crests, and five crests as the most formal.
Musubi – Literally means knot. There are many kinds of musubi that an obi can be tied in.
Nagoya – A type of obi invented in Nagoya. It has one section of the obi that is sewn in half to make tying the obi easier. It is a slightly less formal style of obi than fukuro.
Obi – The wide sash that is used to keep a kimono closed. There are many kinds: hanhaba, nagoya, fukuro, maru, heko, and kaku.
Obi age – A piece of cloth used to cover the obi makura and tied in a decorative knot in the front.
Obi dome – An optional decorative piece that can be threaded onto the obi jime.
Obi jime – A cord used to hold the obi in place and tied in a decorative knot in front.
Ohashori – The fold over on a women's kimono for the extra cloth. While this was not traditionally necessary on kimono and was only used to adjust kimono that were too long, now it has become a standard part of a modern kimono.
Shibori – A method of dying fabric where the undyed fabric is tied up with string to prevent the dye from touching certain sections.
Tomesode – A formal kimono for married women with a pattern only at the hem. Comes in many colors.
Tsukesage – A kimono with a pattern along the hem and sleeves that does not continue across the seams. This is slightly less formal than a houmongi.
Uchikake (打ち掛け) – A very formal kimono signified by the heavily padded hem. It is worn over a kimono and obi and trails on the floor like a hikizuri/susohiki. The padding of an uchikake is much heavier than that on a hikizuri. Today, these are only worn over a wedding kimono or as a part of stage performances.
Yukata – An informal summer kimono made of cotton. These originated from the clothing worn inside at Japanese hot springs and bath houses. Now it is worn during the summer at festival or other casual events.
Yuzen – A method of dying where a pattern is drawn on the kimono with dye resistant paste. Then when the kimono has been dyed, the paste can be washed off to reveal the undyed pattern.
Zori – Traditional Japanese shoes worn with kimono. They are more formal than geta.
Eri – Collar. Can refer to the kimono collar, juban collar, or any other collar.
Fukuro – Means double fold and is a type of full width obi. This type of obi was created in the 1920's and is often patterned along 60% o the length. The back of the obi is often lined with plain silk or brocade. Because it has less pattern, the fukuro obi is less formal than the maru obi but usually cannot be differentiated from a maru obi when worn.
Furisode – The most formal kimono worn by unmarried women. It has long, flowing sleeves.
Geta – Wooden shoes worn with yukata, a very casual style of Japanese shoe.
Hakama – A pleated skirt worn by both men and women. They come in divided pants like umanori hakama, and undivided skirt like andon hakama.
Haneri – The detachable collar worn over the juban collar.
Hanhaba – A half width obi that is either sewn in half, or constructed with half the width. This is the most casual obi and the only kind of obi worn with yukata.
Haori – A type of coat worn with kimono. It has similar collars to a kimono.
Harimon – A family crest that can be bought separately and applied to a kimono.
Hikizuri – A long kimono for dance that has a slightly padded hem. This is also the kind of kimono that geisha and maiko wear. Also known as a susohiki.
Hiyoku – In the past, women wore multiple layers under their kimono, called hiyoku. While most modern kimono are not worn with hiyoku, some formal kimono still have an extra layer of fabric attached behind the collar to give the image of a hiyoku. This is most commonly seen with tomesode.
Houmongi – A type of kimono that has a pattern along the bottom hem and on the sleeves. The pattern is continuous across the seams of the kimono. It is a very formal kimono meant for married and unmarried women.
Iromuji – A type of kimono with one solid color. This is a semi-formal kimono that can be more or less formal depending on the number of crests.
Irotomesode – Tomesode only have a pattern along the bottom hem. Iro tomesode are any solid color besides black. This is slightly less formal than the kuro tomesode (the most formal kimono for married women).
Juban – The undergarment worn underneath a kimono to protect the fabric from touching your skin. The juban collar will be seen when finished dressing, and often contains a slot of a collar stiffener to give the collar shape.
Kuro tomesode – The most formal kimono for married women. This kimono is black with a pattern only along the hem. It is usually only worm by the mother of the bride at a wedding.
Kimono – Literally means thing to wear. In the past, it just referred to any kind of clothing. But today, it more specifically references the main outer garment of traditional Japanese clothing. Often a kimono is made of silk, cotton, or synthetic material. The basic shape is linear in nature and shaped like a T.
Kitsuke – Literally means the way of wearing. It is commonly used to mean the way of putting on a kimono.
Komon – A type of kimono with a small pattern that repeats across the entire kimono and is continuous across the seams.
Maru – Maru is a type of full width obi that is rarely worn today. This obi is the most formal type of obi and is completely patterned. Maru obi are often elaborately patterned brocade and have gold or silver threads.
Michiyuki – A type of kimono jacket that buttons and ties closed. It has a more box shaped opening instead of crossed collars like a kimono.
Mofuku – Formal wear for funerals, mofuku has five crests on it.
Mon – A family crest, also called kamon. The number of crests signals how formal a garment is. No crests is the least formal, followed by one crest, three crests, and five crests as the most formal.
Musubi – Literally means knot. There are many kinds of musubi that an obi can be tied in.
Nagoya – A type of obi invented in Nagoya. It has one section of the obi that is sewn in half to make tying the obi easier. It is a slightly less formal style of obi than fukuro.
Obi – The wide sash that is used to keep a kimono closed. There are many kinds: hanhaba, nagoya, fukuro, maru, heko, and kaku.
Obi age – A piece of cloth used to cover the obi makura and tied in a decorative knot in the front.
Obi dome – An optional decorative piece that can be threaded onto the obi jime.
Obi jime – A cord used to hold the obi in place and tied in a decorative knot in front.
Ohashori – The fold over on a women's kimono for the extra cloth. While this was not traditionally necessary on kimono and was only used to adjust kimono that were too long, now it has become a standard part of a modern kimono.
Shibori – A method of dying fabric where the undyed fabric is tied up with string to prevent the dye from touching certain sections.
Tomesode – A formal kimono for married women with a pattern only at the hem. Comes in many colors.
Tsukesage – A kimono with a pattern along the hem and sleeves that does not continue across the seams. This is slightly less formal than a houmongi.
Uchikake (打ち掛け) – A very formal kimono signified by the heavily padded hem. It is worn over a kimono and obi and trails on the floor like a hikizuri/susohiki. The padding of an uchikake is much heavier than that on a hikizuri. Today, these are only worn over a wedding kimono or as a part of stage performances.
Yukata – An informal summer kimono made of cotton. These originated from the clothing worn inside at Japanese hot springs and bath houses. Now it is worn during the summer at festival or other casual events.
Yuzen – A method of dying where a pattern is drawn on the kimono with dye resistant paste. Then when the kimono has been dyed, the paste can be washed off to reveal the undyed pattern.
Zori – Traditional Japanese shoes worn with kimono. They are more formal than geta.
Dressing Tools
Date jime – A wide flat strip of fabric used to hold various garments in place.
Eri shin – Collar stiffener, can be inserted into the juban collar to keep it stiff and straight.
Hoseigi (補整着) – Padding used to adjust the body shape. This padding comes in many forms and is worn below the nagajuban.
Korin belt – An elastic band with clips on the end used to keep the kimono collar in place.
Koshi himo – Temporary cord, this small strip of fabric is used to hold various parts of the kimono in place.
Obi ita – Obi stiffener, can either be inserted into the obi or clipped around the waist before putting the obi on to keep the obi smooth and free of wrinkles.
Obi makura – Obi pillow, used to add volume and shape to a musubi and often also used to hold the obi in place.
Eri shin – Collar stiffener, can be inserted into the juban collar to keep it stiff and straight.
Hoseigi (補整着) – Padding used to adjust the body shape. This padding comes in many forms and is worn below the nagajuban.
Korin belt – An elastic band with clips on the end used to keep the kimono collar in place.
Koshi himo – Temporary cord, this small strip of fabric is used to hold various parts of the kimono in place.
Obi ita – Obi stiffener, can either be inserted into the obi or clipped around the waist before putting the obi on to keep the obi smooth and free of wrinkles.
Obi makura – Obi pillow, used to add volume and shape to a musubi and often also used to hold the obi in place.
