KAZUKO’S PROFILE プロフィール

Kazuko, belongs to the 55-64 years old age group. She was born in Fukuoka prefecture and now lives in Tokyo with one her three daughters and husband. When she was a child, her mother often wore kimono. Especially in winter, her mother wore a wool kimono almost every day because it was warm. It made Kazuko think that it was a natural thing to see one’s mother in kimono. When she was an university student, she learnt kimono wearing. Her father liked to go to watch Sumo wrestling, so she often went there together with him, in kimono. When she was sewing han-eri, her father liked it because he thought it was feminine.

After marriage, she could not wear kimono because she was busy dealing with her children but when she arrived at her 40s, she started to enjoy wearing kimono again. She was given kimono by many people, and she met many wonderful people through kimono. She dressed her daughter in a furisode for her coming-of-age ceremony.

After marriage she moved 13 times because of her husband’s work. When she lived in Kansai area for four years, she went to Kyoto around 50 times. She saw Geiko who were wearing beautiful summer kimono in a perfect proper way even in their private time, in a museum, even in the hellish hot summer of Kyoto . She realized that Kyoto was a professional kimono wearers’ city. After that she hesitated to go Kyoto in kimono, of course she knew nobody would complain to her if she wore kimono in any style, though.

She moved to Tokyo 5 years ago, and she has been feeling free to wear kimono just for fun, like when going out to theaters or restaurants. She sometimes wears haori over her regular clothes, makes skirts from unpicked kimono or wears black datejime as a sash belt. She enjoys wearing kimono accessories mixed with regular clothes every day.

She owns 23 kimono in Tokyo. Also she has one tansu of formal kimono in her parent’s place in Fukuoka. Because she has no place to put the tansu in Tokyo and she is worried about earthquakes.

14 of her kimono are tsumugi (almost all are Oshima-tsumugi), and 4 komon kimono, all shibori ( tie-dye). Also she has one homongi, one cotton kimono, one yukata and one uchikake.

和子さん、５５－６４歳の年齢のグ ループ、福岡県生まれ。３人のお嬢様のうちの一人と、ご主人様の３人で東京にお住まいです。和子さんが子供の頃、お母様は普段から着物を着ていていました。特に冬は着物を着ていると暖かいのでウールの着物をほぼ毎日着ていたため、子供心にもお母さまの着物姿は当然な目で見ていました。大学生の頃、着物の着方を覚え、一人で着られるようになりました。お父さまは相撲観戦が好きで、着物を着てよく一緒に行きました。和子さんが半襟を付けていると、その姿が女性らしいと、お父様は喜びました。結婚し、子育て中は忙しくて着物を着られなかったのですが、４０代になり着物熱が復活し、着物が好きという話をすると、色々な人から着物を譲られたり、着物に詳しい人達との出会いがありました。娘さん達の成人式には和子さんが振袖を着せました。

結婚してからご主人の仕事の関係で１３回引っ越しをしました。関西に４年住んでいたときには京都に５０回くらい出かけました。とにかく暑い夏の京都で見かけたのは、芸姑さん達が美しい夏着物をしっかりきれいに着ている姿で、京都は着物のプロフェッショナルの街だと感じました。誰からも文句を言われる訳ではないのですが、京都で着物を着るのは気が引けて着ませんでした。５年前に東京に来てからは自由に気楽に着られると思い、観劇や食事など楽しみのために着ています。また羽織を洋服の上からジャケットとして着たり、着物をほどいて巻きスカートにしたり、黒い伊達締めをスカートのサッシュベルトにしたり、と着物周りのものを洋服とうまく組み合わせて普段から気軽に身に付けています。

東京でのお手持ちの着物は２３枚。置き場所に困るのと地震が怖いので、普段に着る小紋や紬以外は、箪笥一竿分の着物を福岡のご実家に保管しています。２３枚のうち紬が１４枚、そのうち大島紬が８枚。小紋４枚は絞りです。他、訪問着、木綿、浴衣、打ち掛けなどをお持ちです。