Mayo was born and brought up in Saitama, moved to Tokyo when she was 41 and now lives in Kanagawa. When she was a child she wore kimono for shichi, go, san and she wore it most years, at New Year. She wore it for the first visit to the shrine. Her mother was a housewife, and she didn’t have much chance to wear kimono, so she doesn’t remember her wearing them, but she knows that she really liked them. She would enjoy looking at them and saved up to buy special ones. Her mother loved tsumugi, especially oshima tsumugi. So she saved up and bought one that was the same as the one that a famous actress wore. She would tell Mayo that this kimono is the same as the one worn by that actress. Her mother was in her teens during the war, so all her kimono are from after that time. Mayo is her only daughter, so she inherited her kimono. She kept some and then gave some to her two sisters in law. (Her brothers’ wives).

She had a kimono made for her for coming of age. It was black, and she chose it herself. It was ordered from a dyer in Kyoto. She doesn’t know what happened to it, or where it is now. She thinks as an adult that she started wearing it at about 40. Before that she was busy bringing up her daughters. She learnt from my mother, but not formally. She would ring her up and ask her advice. She started enjoying wearing yukata to festivals. She says that after a certain age, you feel you want to wear kimono. She thinks it used to be more stylish. In the Taisho period all the men wore hats and the kimono were colourful and modern looking. There were modern girls and it was a very stylish period.

Mayo says one of the attractions of wearing kimono is that people treat you nicely. They are kind and they talk to you. Men like it, too. It is attractive dress. She is not wearing it much now, but would like to wear it to the Grey Hair group meeting. Her collection is 22 kimono, which are mainly tsumugi, komon and yukata.

真代さんは埼玉県で生まれ育ちました。４１歳で東京都に移り、現在は神奈川県にお住まいです。子供時代は七五三に着物を着ました。また毎年お正月の初詣にもほとんど着物を着ていきました。

真代さんのお母様は主婦で、あまり着物を着る機会がなく、真代さんの記憶にもお母様の着物姿の思い出はあまりありませんが、着物を見ることが好きで、お金を貯めて好きな着物を買っていました。お母様は紬が好きで、中でも大島紬が大好きでした。お金をためて購入したある大島紬は、お母様の好きな女優さんの着物と同じものだったと、ことあるごとにお母様は語ってくれました。戦争中、お母様はまだ１０代だったため、着物はほとんど戦後のものです。女の子は真代さん一人だったため、お母様が亡くなった後、お母様の着物を引き継ぎ、その後義理の姉妹と三人で分けました。

真代さんの成人式には、真代さんが選んだ黒地の着物を、京都の職人さんに注文し誂えてもらいました。その着物は、今どこに行ったかわからなくなってしまいました。その後、子育てで忙しい日々を送った後、４０歳ぐらいから着物を着るようになりました。着物の着方はお母様から習いました。時々電話をして質問したりアドバイスをもらったりしました。初めのうちは、夏祭りに浴衣を着るのを楽しむくらいでしたが、ある年齢になると着物を着たくなるものだと気付きました。真代さんは、昔の方がもっとお洒落だったと思っています。大正時代には、男性は皆帽子をかぶって、女性は華やかでモダンな着物を着ていたり、モダンガールと呼ばれた人々がいて、もっとスタイリッシュで自由だったのでは、と感じています。

真代さんが着物を着ていると、人が優しかったり、丁寧に接してくれたり、また男性も親切にしてくれます。最近はあまり着なくなりましたが、グループの集まりに着ていきたいと考えています。真代の着物は２２枚で、ほとんどは紬、小紋と浴衣です。