So I was watching YouTube shorts and came across some two girls who said married women aren't allowed to wear long sleeves and they cut their sode after marriage, I did some research and they do it to measure their kimono with furōshiki (wrapping cloth) or to make some dōnuki
My question is what symbolism does it have?
A similar trend is the Cut Sleeve which means homosexual love, in mainland china so I was wondering if this had any symbolism
by Ok-King2335
7 comments
Cut it
Use the sleeves to make baby clothes, so the tradition developed that married women wear short sleeve kimono and unmarried wear long sleeve kimono.
It seems to be old tradition.
https://nlab.itmedia.co.jp/research/articles/1091737/amp/
Translation:
During the Edo period, it is said that women would respond to men’s confessions or express their own feelings by waving the sleeves of their *furisode* (long-sleeved kimono). The Japanese words *furu* (to wave) and *furareru* (to be rejected) are related to love, and it is believed that the waving action originally referred to the sleeve movement.
Additionally, in the Edo period, *furisode* were necessary for men to distinguish whether a woman was married or not. When a woman married, she would cut the long sleeves of her *furisode* to make them shorter. This shorter-sleeved kimono is called a *tomesode*. Since cutting the sleeves (*kiru*) could be associated with the phrase “cutting ties” (*en o kiru*), the word *tomeru* (to keep or stay) was used instead.
There are two types of *tomesode*: *kuro-tomesode* (black *tomesode*) and *iro-tomesode* (colored *tomesode*). The *kuro-tomesode* is considered the most formal kimono for married women. It is typically worn by the relatives of the bride and groom or by matchmakers at celebratory events such as weddings. One distinctive feature of the *kuro-tomesode* is the five family crests displayed on the back, chest, and sleeves.
In contrast, the *iro-tomesode* is a *tomesode* with colors other than black and can be worn by both married and unmarried women as formal attire.
Longer sleeves are for younger, unmarried women. Old tradition that I’m surprised even appeared on social media, considering almost no one wears kimono for anything other than one-off ceremonies, and those are usually rentals.
Can married women in Japan still give blowjobs to and bone their husbands?
That might be a more important question.
Not sure what you mean by “symbolism”, but married women cutting their furisode allows them to wear the kimono longer by turning it into houmongi (訪問着). It’s not a rare thing to do but it’s not that common either. Most women will buy a separate kimono according to the occasion and keep the furisode as a memento, or hand it down to their daughter if they have one.
The Chinese cut-sleeve has nothing to do with Japanese furisode and the term comes from a fable about a man who cut off the sleeve to his robe because it was caught under his sleeping lover and he didn’t want to wake him.
The furisode are also a dowry. If you can afford to dress your daughter in meters and meters of brocaded silk that covers nothing but flaps in the wind, you’ve got cash. The silk would still be valuable to resell as a whole kimono or cut off to make other objects.
Because the furisode are so sexy and expensive and immensely unwieldy it is obvious why a married woman running the house wouldn’t wear such things every day to wash dishes, carry infants, do complex budgeting arithmetic etc.
Furisode are NOT lightweight comfortable dress. The obi can’t be tied by yourself. Someone has to put it on you. They have at least two other full layers beneath, multiple collars and the sleeves get in everything. They are highly decorative and highly impractical for everyday use. If you are walking through muddy streets with fifteen pounds of silk on your back you aren’t doing much except advertising that you are young and available.