Eek! Worry comes again!

[pixyteri]

心配な。。I read some more research about ko-furisode, and it said that it's either worn by older, unmarried women or married women. Maybe the source was wrong, but the "ko", 子, child, implies smaller or younger. Hence why it is usually a graduation kimono

Comments

[faeriemuriel]

The disparity might be because of when the naming convention happened. "Older" used to be a lot younger for Japanese girls--maiko (apprentice geisha) were only acceptable up to age 14. This changed when the government said that kids had to go to school for a certain amount of time. You would wear ko-furisode for graduation because that was when it marked your coming into a woman-age and leaving child-age.

Liza Dalby has written a wonderful book called "Kimono". I love her to death because she's an American anthropologist who became a geisha.

[liberty]

Technically she never really "became" a geisha, she didn't do the training, she just went with geisha she knew to their engagements as part of her research. She did dress as one and perform, but she didn't have clients or anything.

But she's the closest thing to a Western geisha there will ever be!

[kabe_no_hana]

Actually, there is a western geisha:
http://www.marieclaire.com/world-reports/news/japans-western-geisha

[liberty]

oh wow! I didn't know about her. thanks for the link!

[faeriemuriel]

Oh! Thank you! I knew of Liza and an Australian woman who studied, but I didn't know about this woman! I'm planning to study geisha myself if everything goes well, so info like this is important to me.

[kabe_no_hana]

I just recently found out about her from my mother who saw her on a television show and started asking me about her. ^^;
That sounds really interesting, studying geisha. Good luck with that!

[pixyteri]

How cool! Good luck :)

[pixyteri]

That's what I mean.;

I'm wearing it improperly..but I don't care, to me it is important and I have a right to wear it. I never had a coming-of-age ceremony or important graduation ceremony.

That's neat. :) About Western geisha, that is. But does Western mean they are White or half or..I dunno. Either way whatever it's cool. I don't think I'd ever be good enough for something such as that.

[faeriemuriel]

I do think that Liza was...half-Japanese? She was fluent in the language, knew how to play traditional instruments, spent some childhood there...She kind of plays that off in her books, but she did have a big background before studying geisha.

[pixyteri]

How lucky ;_; I want to be fluent in Japanese. Got to study more. And my childhood, I can never go back on..damn USA!

[fawnsfawning]

Never had a coming of age? Not even a Sweet Sixteen?

[pixyteri]

No. I had birthday parties/other small parties, but never a sweet sixteen event for "coming of age"...my 16th year was a difficult one, 15-16 I was super depressed and had problems where I couldn't go to school as often. :/

[fawnsfawning]

There doesn't really need to be an event, as long as it got celebrated(be it just you and your immediate family or not) it still counts as a coming of age.
I didn't celebrate my Quinceañera the traditional way, but It still counts as having one because regardless of the celebration it's more so the people around you now recognizing you as a woman and not a girl.

[pixyteri]

I guess, but to me it didn't feel like I had one.; ..Plus, I want to justify wearing this, because it's untraditional and maybe wrong in some people's eyes, but to me it feels right.