The Hendersons in Himeji: Junihitoe

On February 21st, Josh, two of my Shogai students, and I visited Himeji's Historical Museum. My favorite experience while visiting the museum was being able to try on a >junihitoe, also known as a 12 layer kimono. I was told by the ladies who dressed me that this type of kimono was worn by the ladies of the Imperial Court in the Heian period (794- 1185). However, at the Historical Museum people are given the opportunity to try on this kimono or samuri armor three times a day in an area of the museum that is free to visitors. We arrived at the museum early that morning in hope that I would be the only person wanting to try it on. If there are other people waiting in line, we would have to draw straws to see who gets to dress up. Luckily, I was the only one who who showed up at this time so I there was no drawing of the straws. The whole process of putting on the kimono took about 15 minutes. They do not put on each layer individually, instead they would add multiple layers at a time. It was very easy for me to hold my arms extended out for the first couple of layers but the third layer was more like 7 or 8 all at once! It was extremely difficult for me to keep my arms held out for the entire time because the weight of the kimono was so heavy. I later found out that some Junihitoes can weigh up to 40 pounds. YIKES!! When the ladies finished, there was a little photo shoot and then the ladies helped me to take the kimono off. This process was really easy! They just untied the obie (belt) and slipped the kimono off me like a jacket! Trying on the kimono was such a neat experience and I totally felt like a Japanese princess! Here are a few pictures... please enjoy!