Japanese Customs

            Japanese Customs: Kimonos and Marriage .
             The purpose of my paper is about the Japanese Kimonos and Marriage. Even though we have not gotten to chapter twelve of the book I found that the section on marital assimilation interesting to me. From reading I decided to write my paper on Japanese Customs since we are talking about the Asian-American experience. Within this I have found that there martial practices are different than Americans. Within in the Japanese culture they tend to marry within there culture and they also marry at an older age. Below in the following paper you will learn about Kimonos and Marriage. .
             Kimonos are the traditional wrap around, full piece robe worn by both men and women. There are many different periods that fall under the kimono history. They are the Primitive, Asuka, Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi, Azuchi Momoyani, Edo, and the Meiji, Taishyo and Shyowa. The time frame for these periods ranges from 561-1868. The kimonos have change in various ways. Some of these characteristics are silk, printed cotton, and various types of headpieces. The sash that is tied around the kimono is called an Obi. It can be tied in a variety of simple and elaborate ways. An Obi may be as wide as one foot and as long as thirteen feet. Some complicated styles may take as long as half and hour to tie.
             From the Nara period (710-794) until then, Japanese people typically wore either ensembles consisting of separate upper and lower garments (trousers or skirts), or one-piece garments. But in the Heian period, a new kimono-making technique was developed. Known as the straight-line-cut method, it involved cutting pieces of fabric in straight lines and sewing them together. With this technique, kimono makers did not have to concern themselves with the shape of the wearer's body. .
             Straight-line-cut kimonos offered many advantages. They were easy to fold. They were also suitable for all weather: They could be worn in layers to provide warmth in winter, and kimonos made of breathable fabric such as linen were comfortable in summer.