Yukata de Mode

Recently the town was in full swing with Toukasan, a yukata festival held in Hiroshima in the first week of June.

As the yukata is more affordable and comfortable than its cold-season cousin - the stiff formal kimono - I set forth into the shops at the earliest opportunity and snaffled up a yukata set, a bargain at around $50. The set included a yukata (summer kimono), obi (belt), pouch-bag, hair pin and getta (wooden sandals), plus a series of complicated and indecipherable instructions for wearing same, accompanied by cute comic-book-style pictures of women getting dressed in their yukata step-by-step.

My yukata was a deep blue with purple-pink flowers (shaped rather like thistles) and water-ripple details. I say, my yukata was one of the more minimalist styles available! Many of the popular patterns were splashed with vivid flowers and emblazoned with large-scale traditional summer motifs of dragonflies and fireworks.

Everyone looked rather spiffing. Women and men graced the main street, Chuodorii, radiant in summery sartorial wares and the pavements were vibrant with the cries of stall-sellers and the clip-clop beat of getta on concrete. Not all men donned the yukata and the men’s version differs quite strongly, in that (a) it is easier to wear and does not include an obi that is so torturously tied and reminiscent of corsetry, as per the women’s gown, and (b) the colours are more subdued with minimal motifs and a generous lashing of simple stripes. Greys, browns, dark blues and blacks were the common hues for men, compared with the women’s array of sunset pinks, violets, oranges, sky blues and egg-yolk yellows. The material for the men’s yukatas was also rougher to the touch, and generally gave the men a rustic, rural look that reminded one of harvest in autumn, whilst the women’s garb was evocative of summer nights in Okinawa.

Sir S did not have time to fix himself in local costume, but looked extremely dapper in a suit and cufflinks. Miss K and Mr J accompanied us – Miss K did a fabulous job dressing her beau and I in our traditional attire, and had adeptly tied our obis with nimble fingerwork, patience and skill. Arigato gonzaimas, Miss K!

Like other festivals I have attended, the streets were lined with stalls selling anime masks, Hello Kitty baked goods, octopus balls, toffee apples and toffee strawberries, plus many games such as the beloved flip-the-fish. Many a child tottered about with their tot-version obis – that is, easy-to-tie-in-a-bow thai-dye scarves - flapping in the breeze as they flicked fishies about with a ricepaper spoon in an effort to claim one as their prize, while their yukata’d grandparents looked on.

We visited the temple to toss in a coin, toll the bell and murmur a prayer, then plucked our fortune from a wooden barrel (good health, say the gods) and admired the rows of red lanterns that were hoisted in a glowing wall around the templegrounds. Later we rendezvoused with Miss Y and Mr M at the illumined temple gate. The company of us set off to J Café for a refreshing drink and to rest our blistered, getta-weary feet in this most fashionable coffee-house, where wicker lanterns cast streaked shadows on the wall and an elegant miniature waterfall tinkled in the background. An absolutely super retreat from the crowds!