Susoyoke

こんにちは、みんなさん
After a busy Christmas season, I had some time to work a bit on the juban, a very necessary part of my henshin. Maiko wear a two-piece juban, consisting of the top (han-juban) and the bottom (susoyoke). I bought an 100x150cm piece of red fabric, which was enough to create the susoyoke, with fabric left behind that should be enough to make the han'eri, juban collar, chinkoro, hanao, obiage and kanoko cloth. However I'll have to go out and buy some more fabric to make the sleeves, which I might do tomorrow, and while I'm at it I'll buy some pink and white fabric too, the pink fabric being needed to make the hana kanzashi. Though I'm guessing I will work on the Hana kanzashi over my 2-week long winter break, in January, since I'll have plenty of time on my hands ^-^*~

Now, about the susoyoke- this is the bottom part of the juban, the skirt part, which is visible when the maiko lifts her hikizuri when walking, or at some points during dance when the hem must be lifted. Maiko have this red with white patterns, while I've seen different colours on geiko, such as pink and sky blue.
Some example pictures are below;
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/14/4a/df/144adf4b68e1a6edceaaaa88da0df537.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3702/8846297700_9483927490_m.jpg
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5227/5553116545_9534540e49.jpg

Seeing as my henshin is a maiko in April, I decided to paint a Sakura pattern. I made a stencil and used lots of white acrylic paint, then spent 2 hours painting on the design. The end result isn't exactly as good as I wanted it to be, but when I tried it on it turned out it isn't as bad as I thought, so I think it'll do.

Apologies for my lack of tabi- they're on their way, and also the fact I used a red belt to tie it in place as I don't have any himo yet. It's a little short, so when I buy white fabric I'll sew it on as an extender, which is on real maiko susoyoke. This part took me a little longer than expected, but I'm glad that's done now >-< I'm hoping to get the sleeves done by the winter break in January, perhaps something I can start working on as soon as I get the fabric, then maybe I can work on it at weekends/ after school. I'm hoping to work on the eri soon too, I've already done a little trial of the pattern; I will do it using the recently learnt split stitch, in a pattern like this;

https://www.msistone.com/tile-floor-patterns/images/line_drawing_thumb/Floor%20Pattern%20Tool_2015_Diamond_thumb.png

I think I've seen this pattern on a maiko's eri before, but I can't remember where I saw that >-<

Alright, that's all for today! I'll try to give this blog a makeover as I haven't started on that yet, and I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season ^-^ 

さようなら、またね

Ichiroya Purchases

こんにちは
I managed to purchase two important parts of my henshin from Ichiroya- an amazing site selling new and used kimono and all you need to wear them, and more! While browsing eBay for a kimono for the henshin was better for me than Ichiroya (though Ichiroya is great, too), Ichiroya was much better for getting an obi.

Authentic darari obi that maiko wear are not only very difficult to come across, but they are very very expensive. Some lucky people managed to acquire them, and I'm super jealous! *-*
Before I decided to do a maiko henshin, the darari obi was one of the things that put me off doing it, as I felt I'd never be able to get that done. However, I was on a YouTube marathon one day, and I saw a video for tying a Maru obi into a faux darari knot. Click here to see it ^-^

There is more than one tutorial for a faux darari knot, which is a relief! So I stalked Ichiroya for a bit until I found a gorgeous light-blue maru obi, with a colourful motif of kiku- since that's an Autumn motif, I was a bit disappointed, but after looking closely, I saw tiny sakura motifs inside, so I assumed it's multi-seasonal. I consulted with a friend and she told me it could be mostly for Spring/Summer, so I consulted kimono colour combination guides, and went ahead and bought the obi ^^

It's a used vintage obi with some flaws that I don't really mind. It's listed as very good and wearable condition, and cost me around 36$ with shipping c: I used Standard shipping, but I assume it will arrive before the kimono does, so I'll be able to practise tying the faux darari when it arrives ^^

Shortly after I purchased the kimono, I bought a kago bag I've been eyeing for a bit on Ichiroya. It's purple and has a small motif of embroidered sakura, very fitting ^^ With shipping, it cost around 24$.

There is one more 'ready' part I must purchase for the henshin- everything else could be made, given that I purchase the fabric and such. This part is the ougi bira kanzashi- I saw one such piece on Rakuten, however, the shipping seems crazy expensive for such a small item. Someone suggested that I contact Wisteria Gardens, a kanzashi maker based in Poland- so I did. She told me she has an idea for creating that, but I'm not sure of the full cost yet. Though I do have some money put away for just that :)

So, that's all for now! I will next post when I handmake some of the smaller parts of the henshin ^^

またね、みんなさん

Kanoko Dome and Obidome

こんにちは、みんなさん！
I purchased the lovely kimono from eBay. The exact appearance of the kimono is a secret for now, but I can say the auction images are beautiful ^-^ It cost me £72 in total, including shipping- a good price, especially since it's so stunning and a good length (178cm).
In the meantime, I want to prepare as many parts of the costume as possible.
After raiding my jewelry, I found two pieces I'd like to share with you.

First, this pretty butterfly pin that could work as a Kanoko Dome. Being a butterfly, it will fit perfectly with the seasonality of the costume- Spring. It's cute how the wings are made of hearts. 

Maiko obidome are hard to find, and can be very very expensive- costing thousands of dollars. They are also quite large. I found this pin, which isn't massive, but it could work. It's also a butterfly- very fitting. Actually, I found those pieces before deciding to purchase the kimono. Upon seeing them, I thought they would be fitting as kanoko dome and obidome. Then I noticed they are both butterflies that would fit perfectly with the kimono I was eyeing at the time. This was actually one of my main motivations to purchase that specific kimono.... it's just perfect!

I now have to buy a lot of red fabric- I must make the collar, juban, obiage... I will most likely get plain red fabric. For the collar, first I have to learn at least basic embroidery. Since my henshin is for a first year maiko, I won't have to do very heavy embroidery, which is a relief. As for the juban, I will most likely use fabric paint and stencils to add a white design. With the obiage I'll do something similar, albeit with a silver fabric paint or silver leaf. 

It's getting late, so I'll go to bed now. Hopefully, I'll post tomorrow! ^^

おやすみなさい＾ー＾

Where to begin?

こんにちは＾ー＾

So, I'm wondering where to begin with the Maiko Henshin. I might begin by purchasing a beautiful furisode I saw on eBay. It isn't listed as a hikizuri, but it is very long (178cm). It is listed as a wedding furisode, but it doesn't look like the wedding furisode I saw so far; it doesn't have the heavy embroidery, nor is the hem padded or the design very bright and busy. It is a stunning pink kimono with some of my favourite motifs- wisteria, sakura and butterflies- so, Spring motifs, perfect for April and May, which means that I'll pair it with those months' kanzashi. I will have to modify it slightly- by adding tucks in the shoulders and sleeves, and adding a padded hem.

It is truly gorgeous, and I might just as well buy it using the majority of my birthday money, which I haven't spent yet. With the rest of the money, I can purchase a kago bag I saw elsewhere, which is easier for me to purchase than make. Even with those (very late, as my birthday was 2 months ago!) birthday gifts purchased, I'll even have some money remaining >w<

As for the kimono, it has a longer shipping time, which will mean that it will arrive between late January and early February. This is a good opportunity to, in the meantime, put together as much of the costume as possible- I am able to get a pair of Okobo made for me which I expect will be done in January. Hopefully, by the time the furisode arrives, I'll have most of the other pieces finished!
That's all for this post- in the next post I'll write about a few pieces I found that would work in the costume ^-^
またね！

Welcome/おいでやす！

Hello!
Welcome to my blog, "Maiko-san Beronika". I am a 15-year old girl living in Poland with a deep love and respect for the geiko and maiko (geisha) of Japan. Learning about those women, I have discovered a love for the arts that they perform; traditional dance, music and tea ceremony. Living in Poland makes it more difficult for one to bring themselves closer to the traditional Japanese arts, with the main resources being books and the internet. Nevertheless, I am determined to document my journey through this blog as I bring myself closer to the arts of the women that I so much admire.
As I write this blog, my goals are;

• Put together a maiko henshin (costume), as accurate as possible, with the budget of a 15-year old!
• Learn Nihon Buyo, using the internet and videos as resources
• Learn at least basic (Obon) tea ceremony; sadly I do not have access to a Chashitsu but I do wish to learn what I can
• Purchase a shamisen and use books and the internet to learn

Reading this blog, you can follow me on my journey. If you are interested in geiko and maiko, or perhaps your goals are similar to mine detailed above, I encourage you to read my blog with hopes it will be of help to you.

Thank you!

おおきに、よろしょうおたのもします。