Yukatas

Sunday evening my host mother's younger brother invited us to a fancy sushi restaurant for dinner, and Midori asked me if I thought we should wear our yukatas. I agreed immediately. My host mom bought me a yukata my first week here and I hadn't had a chance to wear it yet, and was eager to see what it was like.

Yukatas are extremely difficult things to wear, and so we had to start getting ready an hour before we left. It is a very complicated process. The right side has to be folded over first, otherwise it signifies death. then you have to pull it up so that the hem just reaches ankle-length, tie the first tie around the waist as tight as possible, fold the excess fabric over the tie, straighten it out so that everything lays flat, make sure that everything in front and back in centered, tie the second tie around the lower chest as tightly as possible, and then the real sash, or obi as it is called. It is wrapped around several times until it is suffocatingly tight and just barely loose enough to let you breath enough to stay alive, and then it is tied in a very complicated and artful way to look like a large butterfly. And don't forget that the entire robe and especially the obi are made out of very stiff cotton so that it is nearly impossible to move.

Okay, I made it sound a bit torturous, but it was actually a lot of fun.


This is Midori and I wearing our yukatas, and behind us are Midori's two cousins - Yoshitomo and Miho. My host dad thought it would be funny to make Yoshitomo and I, boyfriend and girlfriend, so apparently I have a boyfriend now. lolol.


It's my extended host family! I'm not going to remember everyones' names, but I can tell you who everyone is. Back row: host mom's younger brother, his wife, host mom, host dad; Middle row: Midori, Yoshitomo, Miho; Front row: ALEXA!, obachan (host mom's mother), obachan (host dad's mother), and ojichan (host dad's father).