Houou Hime

Houou Hime - Princess Fire Bird

This is my new taisho era geiko hikizuri. I purchased it from the same seller that I got my maiko hikizuri and ro geiko hikizuri from (both of which have been traced back to geisha in Gion Kobu), so I feel this seller is quite reliable. The reason I'm stating the reliability of the seller is because I wanted to talk about some of the curiosities of this kimono. Basically, I've come to realise that Taisho era geiko hikizuri are very similar to other kimono from the same era - in otherwords they're not as easy to distinguish from the normal kimono of a common woman as more modern hikizuri are.

The first thing you'll probably notice is that this hikizuri is relatively short compared to modern hikizuri. This is mostly due to the fact that people were shorter back in the early 1900's. At 163cm, this hikizuri is about the length of a modern normal kimono, but is a bit longer than most regular Taisho era kimono. Not neccessarily much longer, but a little. Most regular kimono of that era fall between 140cm - 155cm, with a few exceptions, and furisode tending to be slightly longer. This minimal difference in length may be because it was fashionable at that time for other women, aside from geisha, to wear their kimono trailing. This hikizuri is actually shorter than the other geiko kimono I have from the same era: [link] That one is about 168cm long.

This phoenix hikizuri seems to have been constructed for a very petite individual. I'm on the skinny side of things and actually have difficulty getting this kimono to wrap around my waist enough. So it's reasonable that the geiko who once wore this kimono was not only quite thin, but also quite short (between 4'4" and 5').

The other interesting thing about this kimono and my other Taisho geiko hikizuri, is that their hems are not padded any more fully than normal kimono of that era. Modern geisha kimono have hems that are easily padded three times more thickly than this.

So one might begin to question, given all of these similarities, how can you be sure this actually is a geisha kimono? To be honest I can't confirm it 100%. However, as I mentioned before, the seller I purchased this from is very reputable and they have sold me items I've been able to trace directly back to Gion Kobu. So I trust this seller's sources, and I doubt they would mislable a geisha's kimono.

Other than that there are some visual cues that one eventually begins to pick up as they become more versed in the world of kimono. Probably the most telling is the proportions of this hikizuri. The skirt is very long compared to where the collar meets the outer edge of the kimono. This meeting of collar and edge comes part way down the thigh on most kimono, but on geisha hikizuri, it tends to come down only to the hip or may even be as short as the waist. Basically geiko kimono tend to have collars that come down about 25" (the rest is all skirt) while the collars on regular kimono tend to come down 30" or more. You can see that the collar on this hikizuri ends at about the same length as the sleeves, while the collars of most kimono end below them. I believe this is due to different styles of being worn. This is not a hard and fast rule for hikizuri, but it's a visual clue that can sometimes be picked up on.

Another such cue is the pattern. Geisha kimono are designed to be beautiful from afar while dancing, but also when up close while sitting next to a client. You'll notice that the large phoenixes on this kimono are striking from a distance, but the little plum blossoms and details of the phoenix's feathers can only really be appriciated up close. Dance kimono will tend to be very striking from afar, and many normal kimono will tend to be best appreciated up close.

You'll also notice that the design on this kimono comes very high up on the skirt. This is actually a characteristic of tomesode worn by rather young married women, but I think it's also a type of pattern placement that is rather neccessary for hikizuri. If you think about wearing a kimono trailing; a design that is situated solely along the bottom of the hem, will end up being obscured by the pooling of the fabric. While a design that's higher up on the skirt will still be nicely visible.

There are some other visual clues, but they are difficult for me to put into words. For the most part though, I know this is a geiko hikizuri just by looking at it. There's something about it that just feels different than other Taisho era tomesode.