kimono, origami rider 1 / 着物も折り畳み 1

"mom! look that bloke! whos he? " "wot? eh, well, dont, stop pointing!"
「お母ちゃん、あれなに？」「何？え、あ、こら！指差したらあかん」



Japanese culture tend to be folded.
Futon, Origami,Fan, is folded. Kimono also is folded.

As I written before, a small wheel folder is very easy to ride with kimono for its design.
My hobby is not riding bicycle. I mean, I like riding bicycle of course, but that is not my aim. I like to visit places like shrines and temples, museums and gallaries, theatres and venus, clubs and concerts, etc. by my bike. I do not want to clothes to make sacrifices for their looks. I do not want to go to places with sports uniform. I just want to avoiding clothe clash don't I !
Perhaps, it is very nice to be cycling over 100km with cycle wear and just passing some interesting places when you are riding in the mountains or wherever it is. But I would like to visit these places. I just can not ignore as I can not resist the attractiveness of Japanese tradition which,nowadays, most Japanese people are forgetting and ignoring. My aim is not only riding bicycle, no. To go to somewhere and doing things I like is very important to me. I just do not want to go to the clubs in sports gears to dance, to go to galleries to see some interesting things and then maybe eat out at the cafe, restaurants, and do not want to go to cinemas, theatres, libraries, no. Maybe it is very nice to wear if you are a really serious cyclist who does race and competition but I am not, I am easy going. So Kimonos are very good for my taste.

日本文化の傾向として折り畳みを好みます。
布団、折り紙（この二語は既に英語化されてます）扇子、そして着物も。
着物が折り畳みと言うのは案外日本人も気づきませんね。

今迄に書いていますが、小径折り畳みはそのデザインが着物にも向いてます。
僕 の趣味は自転車に乗ると言う事だけ、ではないのでサイクルウエァにはどうも抵抗があります。サイクルウエァの機能は良いのでしょうが、自転車に乗る事が目 的ではなく、飽くまで手段なのでファッション迄は犠牲にしたくないです。１００kmを越える周遊などで、山々を越えて、面白そうな所を通りすぎる為には良 いかも知れませんが、その面白そうなところを素通りするのは僕にはあんまり面白くありません。趣味としては、自転車に乗ってどこかに行って、何かをしたり する事で、道中の寄り道も大事だったりします。自転車に乗って、劇場や芝居、美術館やギャラリー、クラブやコンサート、帰りにカフェや食事に行くのに「ス ポーツ着」では、よう行きません。
そりゃ、競技や試合にでるなら別ですが、そう言う趣味を持ってませんので今のところ「乗る為に着る」服は必要無さそうです。
着物もそう言う僕の趣味傾向に合ってますし、和服も洋服も好きです。


from top right clockwise：
a tenugui (handkerchief) , a kimono (yukata), an obi (belt),
tabis (socks), hakama (trousers).
上、右から時計まわりに。
手拭い、長着、帯、足袋、袴。


this peace is NOT accordance with USUSAL/CONVENTIONAL fashion.
hakama, tabis, are very old style, and nobody puts hakama on yukata thesedays.
trad. but very unique way of fashion i d say.　
お気づきの方もいると思いますが、このコーデは全く独特のもので、伝統に
雁字搦めの方からしたら驚きかもしれません。伝統的ですが、独創的です。


Kimono is not so popular especially for both young and senior male.
On the contrary, there are lots of people they would like to wear kimono some day and those ones includes the people of the first passage, complicated?!
Well, it is not popular means you rarely see men in kimonos apart from professionals in special occasions such as Sumo wrestlers, and the people of Noh/Kyougen actors, Kabuki actors, Bunraku performers, on the stages, monks and priests at temples and shrines, etc. Moreover they tend not to be wearing kimonos their days off!! So there are a very few of men are wearing kimonos on their will.
And kimono is elusive for Japanese people as well as that some customs and traditions are Greek to Japanese people.
On the other hand, there are lots of young and senior male who does want to wear kimono, however, they do not know what to do. Young girls in Yukata (a summer kimono which tend to be very casual) in summer days is not unusual these days, even though it was unusual about 15-20 years ago. Boys have started to wear Yukata quite recently. Yukata is a kind of fashion. They realized to that Japanese fashion is cool(oops, a bad expression anyway) and they would like to know more but there are only rumours and no one answers practically.
Why? I suppose they believe the myth of kimono....
So what is that myth? I am telling you.




着物は最近人気無いですね、男性には老若問わず。
それと矛盾しますが、潜在的にはいつか着物を着たいと思ってる人たちは多い様です。しかも、これには今迄和服を着たことのない男性も含みます。ややこしいですか？
つ まり、不人気だけども実際には着たいと思ってる人は多く、そう思ってる人が多い割には現実に街では着物を着てる人を殆ど見かけない、例えば相撲取り、能/ 狂言、歌舞伎、文楽などの伝統芸能や、僧侶や神官などの例外を除いては。しかも、これらの人も普段は洋服ですよ！個人の意志で和服となると壊滅的です な・・・。
２０年くらい前はとても珍しかった、女子の浴衣も今やすっかり夏の風物詩です。
そして男性もつい最近浴衣を着る様になってきま した。浴衣もファションの一部に成って来たようです。なにかで着る機会があり、浴衣から始まって「これはクール（ヒドいシャレや）やん」と なって、もっと着物をとは思えどもそこには漠然とした情報しかなくどうして良いのかいまいち解らず、と言う様な感じでしょうか。
その曖昧な情報とは、即ち着物に関する「迷信」です。



kimonos can b folded flatly, compactly.
1 of my favourite hero from manga.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astro_Boy_(1960s)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osamu_Tezuka

小さく、真っ平らに畳めます。柄は僕の好きな手塚のアトムです。

# it is expensive, isn't it?
Well. that depends. Some are really expensive but some are not.


#they are difficult to wear, aren't they?
No,they aren't! It takes about 5 minutes to wear montuki-hakama(as formal as black tie) for me.

#it must be too hot in summer, and too cold in the winter?
Not quite. You can not avoid Japan's scorching weather, unless you are in a room fully air condiyioned, especially in Osaka where its peak is hotter than Okinawa(the south end of the country, very close to Taiwan) . Wearing western clothes does not necessarily mean cool and comfy. Kimono could be better because the material and patterns are developed in this country. It goes Japan's 4 seasons.

#rules and manners are complicated!!
Don't worry about that because you even don't know 'can i wear a polo shirt in this occasion, wot black tie is, wot the rule of colours in trad. fashion is, wen can i wear a hat, or a cap, can i put these shoes on for a formal party? ' so that you aren't familiar with western manners are you! Why you are so worrying about Japanese manners? But at least you are shopping at fashionable shops in town? Well, no, you are just tricked by the sellers and you had been lost your way in a labyrinth of information.

to be cond.

＃高いんちゃうの、着物は？
モノによりけりです。何でもそうですが、上はキリがありません。

＃着るんムツカシ無い？
いや、そんな事無いです。紋付袴でも５分で僕は着ますよ。

＃夏あついし、冬寒そー。
い いや、別に。どんな格好でも大阪のうだる様な暑さからは逃れらません。最高気温が沖縄より高くなると言う大阪の都心部ではクーラーの効いた部屋に居る意外 に涼しくなれる事はないでしょう。洋服なら涼しいと言う訳ではありません。けど、和服ならマシに感じられるはずです、この国の気候に、四季に合ってますの で。

＃約束事やしきたりが多そうで・・・。
それも心配無用、だって洋服の約束事も知らんでしょう？<こんな時にポロシャツでもい いの？ブラックタイ着用って？トラッドファッションの色の原則は？いつどこで、どう言う服に、どう言う帽子を冠るの？この靴は正式なお呼ばれに穿いても良 いの？> ね、洋服のルールも何も知らんでしょう！なんで和服だけそんなにルールに怯えるの？　え、けど少なくともお洒落なセレクトショップで、お洋服はお買 い物してると？　いや、それが既にそこで店員に騙されてる、それとその前に氾濫した情報に翻弄されてる。

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"mom! i knew it i v seen im on telly, Samurai thing!" "yup, there migh'been film shootins or somethin"
「おかあちゃん、解った、あれTVで見たわ、時代劇や」「そやね、撮影でもあったんちゃう」