What most people think of when they picture
kimono is really
furisode. These are the long-sleeved, elegantly-decorated
kimono, and they are reserved for
young women up to about the mid-20s--generally
unmarried.
Geisha may wear them indefinitely. There are three kinds:
- O-furisode, the "classical" furisode. The sleeve corners around rounded; the sleeves are about 115 cm long. These are typically worn by young unmarried women.
- Chu-furisode, the girls' kimono, worn from ages 10 to 18, approximately. Sleeve corners are rounded, length about 95 cm.
- Ko-furisode, for older young women and young married women. Sleeve corners may be squared, length about 75 cm--not that much longer than ordinary kimono.
Outer furisode are
painted or
embroidered with
designs appropriate to the current
season, current
fashion, and
age of the wearer. A mistake in any of these is a serious error. The furisode must be worn just-so, with the proper
obi, etc. Most Japanese young women do not know how to do this anymore and must get an older woman or go to a
kimono school in order to do it. Furisode are generally worn only on special occasions such as
New Year's and the
coming-of-age ceremony. They are extremely
expensive, but they are truly
works of art. A real furisode never has a machine-
printed pattern (like the ones sold in the
Narita airport).
The current shape of furisode is a sort of
cylinder, de-emphasizing any breasts or hips, and dates from the
Meiji period. Wedding furisode are a little more
flowing, but still restrictive. The
mincing walk of
geisha comes from the
hobble skirt-nature of modern furisode.
There are several excellent books on
kimono in English, and they are pretty much exclusively about
furisode.