The Kimono is the national costume of Japan in Japanese history.
Originally kimono indicated all types of clothing, however it has come to mean specifically the full-length traditional garment worn by women, men, and children.
Kimonos are T-shaped, straight-lined robes that fall to the ankle, with collars and full-length sleeves.
The sleeves are commonly very wide at the wrist, as much as a half meter.
Traditionally, on special occasions unmarried women wear kimonos such as furisode with extremely long sleeves that extend almost to the floor.
The robe is wrapped around the body, always with the left side over the right and secured by a wide belt (obi) tied in the back.
Kimonos are generally worn with traditional footwear (especially geta, thonged wood-platform footwear; and zori, a type of thong-like footwear) and split-toe socks (tabi).
Today's kimonos trace their origins to garments that were originally heavily influenced by a traditional clothing of China called hanfu through extensive cultural exchanges
between China and Yamato period Japan beginning in the fifth century.
However, kimonos have seen much modification throughout Japan’s history,
and many Chinese aspects were transformed into ones that met indigenous tastes and conditions more closely.
The direct forerunners of modern kimono began to take shape during Japan's Heian period.
Since then, the basic shape of both men’s and women’s kimonos, while remaining essentially unchanged,
went through several modifications during Japan’s period of isolation.
Despite popular thought, kimonos are not a one size garment.
They come in various lengths and widths. kimonos are often made to fit one wearer.
One must find a kimono with a sleeve width that comes to each wrist when one's arms are at their sides.
Secondly, a kimono should be as long as one is tall to allow for the Ohashori, or the tuck that can be seen under the obi. The Ohashori is created to pull down the back of the kimono so that the collar does not sit against the neck. Kimonos are made from a single bolt of fabric. The bolts come in standard dimensions, and all the fabric is used in the making of the kimono. All traditional kimonos are sewn by hand, and the fabrics from which they are created are also frequently hand made and hand decorated. Various techniques such as yuzen dye resist are used for applying decoration and patterns to the base cloth. Repeating patterns that cover a large area of a kimono are traditionally done with the yuzen resist technique and a stencil.
In the past, a kimono would often be entirely taken apart for washing, and then re-sewn for wearing. Modern fabrics and cleaning methods have been developed that eliminate this need. However, the washing of kimonos in the traditional way can still be found.
Over time there have been many variations in color, fabric (silk, cotton and hemp and etc) and style, as well as accessories such as the obi and geta.