Obi (belt)

Obi ( Japanese 帯 ) is the belt that is worn with the kimono or keikogi (sportswear for Budō ). The word is derived from obebe , an ancient word in the Kyoto dialect for kimono.

kimono

The obi often surpasses the conspicuousness of the kimono underneath, both in terms of its design and the choice of textile used; A traditional maru obi is four meters long and about 30 cm wide, made of striking, colorful or shiny and noble materials, embroidered with expensive, lacquered threads and covers the entire belly of the geisha in several layers up to the sternum. It is chosen to match the kimono and to match the seasons, but is often in strong contrast with the colors of the kimono and traditionally forms the much more conspicuous part of clothing. The material of the obis ranges from dyed cotton fabrics to conspicuously colored silk brocade , sometimes meters long and correspondingly heavy.

Different ways of tying obi

Women obi

Chūya-Obi / Haraawase-Obi / Kujira-Obi: The front and back of the Chūya obi ( 昼夜帯 , “day and night obi”) or Haraawase obi ( 腹合 (わ) せ帯 , “connected to one another at the belly”) consist of different materials, originally white Satin and black velvet , where the name Day and Night comes from. It is also known as the Kujira Obi ( 鯨帯 , "Whale Obi") because of its black back and white belly.
Fukuro obi: The fukuro obi ( 袋帯 , from 袋織り , fukuro-ori , "double weave ") was developed in the late 1920s. It has the same dimensions as the maru obi , but the back is unpatterned brocade or silk. In addition, the front can only be patterned to 60%. The hon-fukuro-obi ( 本袋帯 , "true fukuro-obi") is sewn in the pillow style without a hem, while the nui-fukuro-obi ( 縫い袋帯 , “sewn fukuro obi”) consists of two pieces of fabric sewn together. It is cheaper and lighter than the maru obi , but still formal.
Hanhaba obi: The Hanhaba obi ( 半幅帯 , "half-width obi") is a casual obi with half the width and is used e.g. B. worn with Yukata or under the Haori .
Hitoe obi: A hitoe obi ( 単帯 , "single-layer obi") consists of only one layer, with thick and stiff fabrics such as Hakata fabrics ( 博多織 , Hakata ori ) - thin warp threads firmly interwoven with thick weft threads - or hand-woven materials . It is mainly worn in summer.
Maru-Obi: The maru obi ( 丸帯 , “complete obi”) is the most formal obi and is made of brocade that is sewn with elaborate patterns using gold thread. It is up to 67 cm wide, which, however, are turned over and then 30–33 cm, and 420 cm long. It was popular during the Meiji and Taishō times , but is now almost only worn at weddings due to its high cost and weight.
Nagoya obi: The Nagoya obi ( 名古屋帯 ) was created at the end of the Taishō period in Nagoya and is simpler than the Fukuro and Maru obi and also shorter at 314–345 cm. It is easy to tie because it is already pre-folded and one end has the normal width for the knot, but the other end is half the width.

Chuya obi
Fukuro obi
Hanhaba obi
Maru-Obi
Nagoya obi

Drum knot (light gray, outside) with obijime (dark gray, center) and obiage (dark gray, top) so that the obimakura is covered.

A women's obi also has the following parts:

Obiage: The obiage ( 帯揚 (げ) , "obi lifter") or shoiage ( 背負揚げ , "lifter worn on the back") is a small cloth that fixes the upper part of the obi knot ( musubi ).
Obidome: The Obidome ( 帯留 (め) , "Obi-Festhalter") describes a pair of hooks and eyes that are used to attach the Obijime as an alternative to the tight knot.; But decorations on knotted obijime are also called obidome and are not limited to metal as a material.
Obiita: The obijime ( 帯板 , "obi board") or maeita ( 前板 , "front board") is a belt-shaped cardboard that is placed between the obi layers so that it retains its shape.
Obijime

Obidome
Obijime (flat)
Obijime (round)
Obimakura

Men's obi

Kaku obi: The formal kaku obi ( 角帯 ) mostly consists of Hakata fabric. But it will u. a. also silk pongé ( 紬 , tsumugi ), - gaze ( 絽 , ro ) or - damast ( 緞子 , donsu ) used. It is about 4 m long, 9 cm wide and either single-layer or double-weave.
Heko Obi: The heko obi ( 兵児帯 , heko denotes men between the ages of 15 and 25) is the informal male obi. It consists of crepe ( 縮緬 , chirimen ) Habutae silk ( 羽二重 ), cotton or other materials. It is available in a wide (around 74 cm) and a medium-wide (around 50 cm) frame with a length between 350 and 400 cm.

For men, an inrō can be attached to the obi as a pocket replacement, secured with a netsuke .

Heko Obi
Kaku obi

Children's obi

Sanjaku obi: The Sanjaku-Obi ( 三尺帯 ) consists of a layer of cotton and is, as the name suggests, 3 shaku d. H. 90 cm long. Originally it was a Tenugui towel abused by craftsmen as an obi .
Shigoki obi

Musubi

In the case of more elaborate obi, the knot - called musubi ( 結び ) - requires a lot of skill from the clothing required to tie it and is supported with different numbers of cushions so that it keeps its shape. Without a professional dressing, it is hardly possible to achieve the desired shape without wrinkles.

In geisha, the knots and length of the obi differ depending on the level of training. A young learning geisha, called Maiko , who is under twenty years old, wears a だらり結び , darari musubi , a "hanging knot". It is very elaborate, brightly colored, heavy and takes up space, is knotted almost at the shoulder blades and extends to the floor, where it can even form a train. This striking obi leaves only a strip of the actual kimono on the shoulders and on the lower part of the kimono in the kimono of the learning geisha. In the adult, older geisha, the knot is also complex, but the obi is less long, so that the obi does not reach down to the ground and the knot is much lighter. This knot often has a small box shape and is known as o taiko musubi ( お太鼓結び , "drum knot").

Chō-Musubi ( 蝶結び , "butterfly knot")

Darari-Musubi ("hanging knot")

Fukurasuzume ( ふくら雀 , "plump sparrow")

Otaiko-Musubi ("drum knot ")

Tateya-Musubi ( 立て矢結び , "standing arrow knot")

Budo

Obi in the colors of the Gokyū (five student grades)

Black obi, wadō-ryū karate

In the Budo disciplines, the obi belongs to every keikogi . It is used functionally to hold the suit jacket (Japanese Uwagi ) together and its color shows the degree of progress of the Budōka . In Iaidō and Kenjutsu it is primarily used to carry the sword ( katana ) in the scabbard ( saya ); here the color does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the degree of progress of the budōka.

material

The Budō-Obi is always made of strong fabric, mostly cotton , rarely silk , and usually about 4 cm wide, but can (for example in the Iaidō) be up to 8 cm wide. The wider obi is important for the correct fit of the sword (see above). The length depends on both the body size and the Budō discipline with its requirements for the obi.

Tie type

The obi will - e.g. B. in Jiu Jitsu and Jūdō - wrapped twice around the body at about hip height and tied with a knot (Japanese Musubi, 結び ) at the front. There are many knot variations of different martial arts and their schools.

A common type of obi binding in Iaidō (usually a wider and longer obi is used here)

For example, the Iaidō belt with a length of approx. 4 m is wrapped around the body three to four times and then closed with a particularly flat knot; then the belt is shifted so that the knot sits on the back of the lumbar vertebrae (see adjacent drawing).

origin

The use of colored belts to indicate the level of progress of fighters goes back to Kanō Jigorō . This originally only used black and white belts. These two colors are still used today in Koryu schools.

Other colors were later used, although fewer colors are still used in Japan than in western countries. The basic idea behind the colors was to assess a fighter's ability at a glance. With this, a master could immediately assign his students to different groups and exercises that were appropriate to their respective level of development. This necessity arose when the martial arts (Japanese Bujutsu) developed into Budo sports and thus the lessons were no longer exclusively personal and in small groups.

In the western world, more colors were later introduced to serve as motivation and to show the student that even small advances can help them .

Meaning of the colors

The belt colors of the master degrees in Judo

Master degrees ( Dan ) are usually indicated by a black belt. Some sports - such as Jūdō - also use red and white or red belts for high master degrees.

For the student grades ( Kyū ) in Japan one uses mostly white and brown, sometimes also yellow and blue and less often also green. In the western countries you can find other colors, for example orange or purple, or mixed colored belts (e.g. in Jiu Jitsu). In addition to a basic color, these so-called mon grades also have a different colored or white stripe in the middle, which is intended to symbolize the transition to the next level. The Mon-Grad system is often used with children so that they can take belt exams without having to wait years in between to reach a minimum age.

However, such color systems are not used in all sports (even in the West). In the Iaidō z. B. the belt color has no information about the progress of the wearer.

Web links

Commons : Obi - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ 昼夜帯 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

↑ 鯨帯 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

^ ^A ^b ^c Diane Wiltshire, Ann Wiltshire: Design with Japanese Obi . Tuttle, 2002, ISBN 0-8048-3427-X , pp. 94 ( limited preview in Google Book search).

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Kimono and Obi types. In: Hanamachi. Retrieved July 16, 2011 .

↑ 半幅帯 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

↑ What's HAKATA-ORI? (No longer available online.) In: 21st Century HAKATA-ORI Japan Brand. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012 ; accessed on July 17, 2011 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.

↑ 単帯 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

↑ 名古屋帯 . In: 百科事典マイペディア /kotobank.jp. Hitachi Solutions, May 2010, accessed July 17, 2011 (Japanese).

↑ 帯揚 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

↑ 帯留 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

↑ 帯板 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

↑ 帯締 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

↑ 帯枕 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

↑ 角帯 . In: 百科事典マイペディア /kotobank.jp. Hitachi Solutions, May 2010, accessed July 17, 2011 (Japanese).

↑ 角帯 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

↑ 兵児帯 . In: 百科事典マイペディア /kotobank.jp. Hitachi Solutions, May 2010, accessed July 17, 2011 (Japanese).

↑ 三尺帯 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from June 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2

[1] 昼夜帯 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

[2] 鯨帯 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

[wiltshire-3] A ^b ^c Diane Wiltshire, Ann Wiltshire: Design with Japanese Obi . Tuttle, 2002, ISBN 0-8048-3427-X , pp. 94 ( limited preview in Google Book search).

[hanamachi-4] Kimono and Obi types. In: Hanamachi. Retrieved July 16, 2011 .

[5] 半幅帯 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

[6] What's HAKATA-ORI? (No longer available online.) In: 21st Century HAKATA-ORI Japan Brand. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012 ; accessed on July 17, 2011 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2

[7] 単帯 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

[8] 名古屋帯 . In: 百科事典マイペディア /kotobank.jp. Hitachi Solutions, May 2010, accessed July 17, 2011 (Japanese).

[9] 帯揚 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

[10] 帯留 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

[11] 帯板 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

[12] 帯締 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

[13] 帯枕 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

[14] 角帯 . In: 百科事典マイペディア /kotobank.jp. Hitachi Solutions, May 2010, accessed July 17, 2011 (Japanese).

[15] 角帯 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

[16] 兵児帯 . In: 百科事典マイペディア /kotobank.jp. Hitachi Solutions, May 2010, accessed July 17, 2011 (Japanese).

[17] 三尺帯 . In: デジタル大辞泉 /kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2011 (Japanese). , Digital version by Akira Matsumura (Ed.): Daijisen . Shogakukan

[18] Archived copy ( memento of the original from June 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2