January 21, 2008
Lyon College News Bureau

The Mabee-Simpson Library of Lyon College is displaying vintage wedding kimonos that are on loan from First Community Bank. Dale Cole, chairman and chief executive officer, purchased them from his friend, Harvey Bell, who currently resides in Japan. The gowns will be displayed until the end of January.

The gracefully embroidered white kimono – shiro-uchikake — is the most popular gown worn during the actual Japanese wedding ceremony. Its white color represents the willingness of the bride to be “dyed” in the color of her husband’s family. The iro-uchikake (colorful uchikake) is worn by the bride during the wedding reception over the shiro-uchikake.  The bride will normally change her dress several times, a tradition dating from the 14th century that signifies that she is prepared to return to everyday life.

The uchikake kimono originated in the Edo era and was mainly worn only by court nobles. The kimono is made of silk and beautiful silk brocade. The kimono is rich in fine embroidered patterns and scenes of flowers, cranes, pines, and nature motifs embellish the kimono in rich color. The wedding day will be the last time the bride will wear a rich highly patterned kimono, for in Japan they are reserved only to be worn by young unmarried women. Red is the most popular uchikake kimono color, however they are available in many different colors from imperial purple to sea green.

The display is open to the public.

The white kimono, shiro-uchikake

The iro-uchikake (colorful uchikake)

Close-up of the embroidery