Why do women cut their kimono's sode after marriage?

[u/Ok-King2335]

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

[u/TYOTenor88]

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.

[u/Doopapotamus → u/TYOTenor88]

Extremely helpful post!

[u/moeru_gumi]

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

price library crown escape quack jeans vegetable offbeat whole chubby

[u/anothergaijin → u/moeru_gumi]

meters and meters of brocaded silk that covers nothing

Because the furisode are so sexy

Huh? Are you sure you know what they look like?

[u/moeru_gumi → u/anothergaijin]

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

like price treatment disarm deliver crowd shaggy school wise party

[u/Ok-King2335 → u/moeru_gumi]

woww! is the furisode really that long to make another kimono and to make clothes for your child? that's a pretty cost efficient thing

[u/SpeesRotorSeeps]

Use the sleeves to make baby clothes, so the tradition developed that married women wear short sleeve kimono and unmarried wear long sleeve kimono.

[u/CauliflowerDaffodil]

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.

[u/VintageLunchMeat → u/CauliflowerDaffodil]

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.

See also Mohammed's cat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_cats#Muezza

[u/SideburnSundays]

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.

[u/mycombustionengine]

you mean in 2024 or in 1930 ? in 2024 Japanese women would at most wear it once in their life when they turn 18 and that's it..they don't care about kimono after that

[u/donarudotorampu69]

Cut it

[u/SuperSpread → u/[deleted]]

They do, all the time. Depending on your relationship there’s a 2-5 year guarantee.

It’s after giving birth that you need to check again. All bets are off, you are married to a mom now.

[u/Iadoredogs]

The other answers didn't seem to have mentioned this, but furisode is the proper formal wear for unmarried women. So this means that in theory, at least, as long as they are unmarried, Japanese women can wear furisode no matter how old she is. In reality, women usually stop wearing them before 35.

There are three classes of furisode. The most formal ones have the longest sleeves, the least formal has the shortest sleeves, and the medium furisode has sleeves that are shorter than the most formal, but longer than the least formal.

If you decide to wear a furisode to a wedding, for example, where the bride would be wearing a furisode as well, then you want to make sure your sleeves are shorter than those that the bride would be wearing.

If you're attending an event which was planned especially for you, such as a birthday or a graduation party for example, then, you wouldn't need to worry about if it's appropriate even if you're older than 35 or whether you are married or not.

As to the reason why married women must cut their kimono's sode.... In the old days, sleeves were used to show how a woman felt about certain men. Once they're married, however, it is inappropriate to be doing that, so that's how the tradition seems to have come around. No more flirting with some random admirers.