Monday 31 December 2007

What is juban?




Juban is a piece of clothing worn under the kimono, to protect it from body sweat, make up, etc. and is a vital piece in kitsuke. Juban come in an array of colours - red, white and pink, as seen above; there are also purple, blue and orange ones. The most popular colours, however, are shown above. Juban may also be patterned, whether it is woven into the cloth (like the white one above - it has clouds and streams and kiku woven into it) or dyed (the pink juban has a pattern of butterflies dyed all over it). Juban are never embroidered.


The juban is not noticeable when one wears kimono, except for the (usually) white bit just under the kimono collar, and behind openings in the sleeves. Therefore, it is not absolutely vital that the juban matches the kimono, although it is recommended. I, for one, have no qualms wearing a red juban underneath a white-and-green kimono, as shown by one of my previous posts. In fact, for me, I think that wearing such a contrasting colour may open up new areas of colour combinations, just like the set I was wearing in the post.


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