Interview with Fumi Akutagawa - kimono teacher

Probably my favorite interview of all time, she's very reassuring to listen to :-).

Beginning Post

This is obviously my first post here, so I'm obviously very new at the 'blogging thing'.   I will say that I intend to use this blog to document, not only my kitsuke progress and so on, but also to document my friend's progress, and kitsuke news (from here and Japan).  I also wish to show, possibly different or new methods of doing things - kitsuke wise (such as maybe tying obiage/obijime in an unusual way).

A bit about me to get this started.  I'm 22 years old, and live in Upstate, NY (Albany and above).  My original interest in kimono and kitsuke actually stems from my interest in Geisha culture.  One thing that especially grabbed me about these mysterious women, was their specific and stylish way of dress.  Since the first time I actually saw geisha in Kyoto, I wanted more than anything, to own the same beautiful items of clothing.

Since then (3 years ago), I have amassed about 30 kimono; everything from yukata　（浴衣、ゆかた）, to komon　（小紋、こもん）, to furisode　（振袖、ふりそで）,  to tomesode　（留袖、とめそで）, and wedding kimono　（花嫁着物、はなよめきもの）.  I have a lot of time, money, and effort in my collection, and am very proud of the items I own.  The only problem with this is, the more kimono I own, the more I want to buy. 

Not only do I see these beautiful items as clothing, but as an art major, I also see each kimono I own as a wearable piece of art.  Even if there is another kimono with the same pattern as one I own, there are still tiny, almost invisible, differences between the two kimono.  I love the fact that each kimono I own, is one of a kind.