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Many people don’t know the difference between Yukata and Kimono. Even among Japanese, there are a lot of people who don’t know the difference with Kimono and Yukata. This article will explain the difference of Yukata and Kimono.
There are 3 points that are different between Yukata and Kimono.
1. Whether you wear underclothing (Nagajyuban)
2. The occasion/place
3. The material
Yukata
Kimono
1.Whether you wear underclothing
The big difference between Yukata and Kimono is whether you wear an underclothing called Nagajyuban.
<Yukata>
For Yukata, you can but people usually don’t wear Nagajyuban.
<Kimono>
On the other hand, for Kimono, people usually wear Nagajyuban. There are many reasons why we have to wear Nagajyuban for Kimono, but the main reason is to prevent Kimono to suck the sweat due to the material that Kimono is made which will be explained the material difference later.
2.The occasion/place
<Yukata>
For Yukata, it is more a casual Japanese clothing than Kimono, therefore, there are no specific occasion or place to wear it. Therefore, many people will wear it for summer festivals.
<Kimono>
Kimono are more formal clothing than Yukata. Some people wear Kimono as a daily clothing, but it is difficult to wear Kimono, therefore, many people will wear for a special occasion such as a wedding, New Year’s Day, coming of age, etc.
3.The material
There is a huge difference of the material used for Yukata and Kimono.
<Yukata>
Yukata are mainly made of cotton. Therefore, it is cheaper than Kimono. You can buy Yukata at a pretty much any store around 5,000 yen including the Yukata, Geta (Japanese slippers that people wear with Yukata), and Obi (The long cloth that drapes around your stomach)
<Kimono >
For Kimono, it is usually made of cotton, wool or chemical fiber and sometimes silk. Since the materials for Kimono is better than Yukata, and there are more things to buy to wear a Kimono, it will be around 150,000 ~ 200,000 yen. So today, not many people have their own Kimono.
<Other Interesting Facts>
Yukata was usually used for pajamas until the 1950s. That is the reason why if you go to a Ryokan there are many places that have Yukata for pajamas. Kimono is really complicated to wear, therefore, there are people who professionally work to put Kimono for you. During Edo period, unmarried women wore long sleeve Kimonos. Kimono is recognized as “Japanese Culture” however, it is actually influenced by traditional Chinese clothing. Yukata and Kimono are seen as women’s clothes, however, there are men’s Yukata and Kimono too.
There are many shops in Japan that will let you wear a Kimono and take pictures, so it will be a great experience trying!
Karen
Japan
If you have any question, team Guidable is ready!
http://qa.guidable.co/
