Raiment for Receptions: A Japanese Bride's Last Furisode

Raiment for Receptions:
A Japanese Bride's Last Furisode

Alumni Gallery
May 25, 2005, to March 12, 2006

Jean L. Druesedow
Curator

The furisode, or "swinging sleeve" kimono, is traditionally worn only by women before marriage. The last time a Japanese bride wears these long, swinging sleeves is at her wedding reception. On this occasion, elaborately embroidered furisode, called uchikake, are worn over a matching kimono and serve to display the family's status as well as to keep the bride the visual focus of the reception party. In The Story of the Kimono, Jan Liddel (1989) writes that during the wedding reception "the bride changes at least two or three times. This astonishing fashion show is designed to entertain the guests and parade family status, and it usually presents a mixture of traditional and Western-style clothing, such as evening dress. At least one furisode will be worn, which may be rented, as the bride will never wear this long-sleeved robe again." The Japanese bride's traditional apparel usually consists of a white kimono called shiromaku (shiro meaning white and maku meaning pure) worn for the wedding ceremony, or for a wedding photograph if she has decided on Western dress for the ceremony itself, and then at least one colorful and elaborate uchikake during the reception. The seven richly ornamented garments in this exhibition, all from the Silverman/Rodgers gift to the Kent State University Museum, are examples of uchikake worn as part of such wedding festivities. They are examples of the extravagance made possible by the late 20th century Japanese economy, and were acquired by Shannon Rodgers after 1975.

Along the major shopping streets of Tokyo and other Japanese cities, shops selling and renting Western-style wedding gowns abound. Shop windows feature the latest fashions in wedding dresses, each one seemingly more elaborate than the last. The bride and groom often rent, at great expense, both Western-style and traditional apparel for the ceremony and reception which are usually held in luxury hotels or wedding halls. Sometimes the hotel's services include the rental of traditional garments for the wedding couple and their families. The costs incurred for weddings and receptions have created a billion-dollar industry in Japan - no small part of the expense is rented wedding apparel.

Jean L. Druesedow
Exhibition Curator

Furisode
Japan, ca. 1975-1985,
Ivory silk satin embroidered with muti-colored silk floss.
Silverman/Rodgers Collection,
KSUM 1983.1.0825

Motifs and Meanings

Many of the motifs to be found in these embroidered robes originated in China. Their meanings, sometimes augmented, became incorporated into traditional Japanese sensitivity to the changing seasons as symbols of life's shifting dimensions.

By far the most common motif represented on these reception robes is the crane, believed to live a thousand years, and known in Japan as a symbol of beauty and longevity. In folk tales, the crane appears in the disguise of a beautiful, obedient and hard-working wife to a mortal man - surely a lesson not lost on a new bride. The crane is often depicted in a pine tree with bamboo and plum blossoms. Pine, bamboo and plum in combination are known as shochikubai, and are ancient symbols of longevity, fidelity, integrity and perseverance. Again the imagery and symbolism would be meaningful to a bride: the ever-green and long-living pine is the dwelling place of the gods, the resilient bamboo bends under heavy snow yet never breaks, and the plum blooms bravely in February, before any other flower.

Two of the robes depict the phoenix, the mythical bird considered the female counterpart of the male dragon. Colorful tail feathers represent the virtues of truthfulness, propriety, righteousness, benevolence and sincerity, all attributes desirable in a bride. A cautionary note against jealously and greed may be implied by the presence of a sparrow associated with another folk tale of a man who has a pet sparrow but an unsympathetic wife jealous of the bird.

Flowers that appear on the robes include peonies which are symbols of wealth and prosperity, and the manifestation of feminine beauty and sexuality when found on textiles celebrating marriage. The iris represents masculine fertility and success. A stream flowing through the flowers represents water, an indispensable blessing from another world. Chrysanthemums, the symbol of Japan's imperial family, imply ease, serenity amidst splendor, lasting good cheer and longevity. Motifs on the robes that acknowledge the passage of time and fading beauty include maple leaves, suggesting autumn and the coming winter of life, and cherry blossoms, implying an awareness of the transience of both life and beauty.


Furisode Japan, ca. 1975-1985, Red silk satin embroidered with silver metallic thread. Silverman/Rodgers Collection, KSUM 1983.1.0843	Furisode Japan, ca. 1975-1985, Ivory silk embroidered with silver and gold metallic thread and multi-colored silk floss. Silverman/Rodgers Collection, KSUM 1983.1.0830


Furisode Japan, ca. 1975-1985, Orange silk embroidered with metallic thread. Silverman/Rodgers Collection, KSUM 1983.1.0833	Furisode Japan, ca. 1975-1985, Ivory silk damask embroidered with metallic thread. Silverman/Rodgers Collection, KSUM 1983.1.2162


Furisode Japan, ca. 1975-1985, Purple silk satin embroidered with metallic thread. Silverman/Rodgers Collection, KSUM 1983.1.0826	Furisode Japan, 2ca. 1975-1985, Ivory silk satin embroidered with metallic thread and multi-colored silk floss. Silverman/Rodgers Collection, KSUM 1983.1.0844

Supported by:
This exhibition has received general operating support from the Ohio Arts Council
and promotional support from 89.7 WKSU FM, a service of Kent State University.