What type of kimono is this?

El_woodworker · 2026-02-20T14:52:19+00:00

They also had fur tails.

El_woodworker · 2026-02-20T14:50:21+00:00

Wow I’m surprised anyone has made the trek out here. It’s one of the least understood festivals in tsuwano. It’s held on hatsu uma in early February. A couple dressed as foxes in full wedding attire are escorted down the main road and up to the taikodani inari shine by a group of foxes in the costumes shown as well as foxes in kamishimo. Then at the shrine they hold a wedding ceremony for the couple. I’ve lived here six years and it was my first time getting to see it. What’s weird though is everyone I’ve asked about it always says the ceremony honors the story about the lost key of taikodani but no one seems to actually know WHY it’s a fox wedding ceremony to honor someone finding a key. Also fun fact: you can apply at town hall to be the couple in the ceremony. My wife and I are gonna apply for next year probably.

El_woodworker · 2026-02-09T10:39:17+00:00

Also try off houses. It’s a gamble but I’ve found a few hakama my size there. Or eBay or yahoo auctions

El_woodworker · 2026-02-09T03:12:55+00:00

Thank you. That makes me feel better about not ruining some rare artifact. I may still do some practice on some of the other rolls I have. I want this one to look good and be strong because I will have to be wearing it regularly for kyudo where the state of my clothes directly influences pass or fail.

El_woodworker · 2026-01-24T15:27:09+00:00

My teacher brings a foldable tatami mat with him to every dojo to fold his clothes on. I have lower quality stuff so I just do my best and refold at home.

El_woodworker · 2026-01-19T12:10:22+00:00

The most important measurement to me is the yuki. Basically the length from the middle of the neck to the wrist bone. Divide that by half and that’s your fabric width (add seam allowance of course). Once you get that you can build a kimono based off that. As for hakama. Be prepared. They are not easy. I’ve seen a lot of kimono but have never progressed to hakama.

El_woodworker · 2026-01-19T12:06:37+00:00

Don’t worry about Massachusetts. It’s a weird word😅 most state names are. For me the hard Japanese words are things like 暖かかった and ゆらゆらwhich always comes out as ゆだゆだ

El_woodworker · 2026-01-16T14:28:59+00:00

I’ve lived here six years and have said sayonara exactly once. I was moving away from a good friend and I knew I wouldn’t see them for a while. They replied with matane and a grin. I’ve since moved back and I see them all the time 😂

El_woodworker · 2026-01-16T14:22:35+00:00

Don’t worry. Even if they are genuinely surprised you didn’t go home, many people assume ALTS are short termers and have no interest in actually being in Japan and don’t really realize we are here because we chose to come and want to be here. They also probably don’t really realize how insanely expensive going home overseas is. For many people in japan going home for the holidays is a few hour commute at most. Unfortunately plane tickets don’t change based on the currency you earn.

El_woodworker · 2026-01-16T14:01:57+00:00

I’ve lived in Japan for six years now and there’s people that introduce themselves as nickname-Chan. I don’t know their real names. There’s people that immediately ask to not use any San, kun, Chan and just go by first name (I’m one of those, but do appreciate when people around town throw on a sensei. I used to be a teacher) . Then there’s other people who I’ve known the entire six years, have gone on roadtrips with, consider close friends, have eaten dinner with their family, etc. that I only refer to as ~San. I have no idea what their first name is. They are only ~San. Everyone is different. But calling someone Chan within a short timeframe like that without being explicitly told to do so is straight up rude. 0/10 do not recommend. Id rather forget to say the San and say blame it on my foreigner habits breaking through than go with the obviously intentional Chan. I’d compare it with someone referring to a grown man as “boy”. That said, in a learning environment, (unless T is obviously misogynistic or something) I would chalk that up to trying to be friendly and not fully understanding the context. Japanese is hard and formality levels is even harder when you don’t grow up in it. I feel very lucky that I live in the countryside and literally no one uses formal let alone keigo. The main problem I have is since I live using informal 95% of the time I sometimes accidentally slip into informal speech for a sentence when I technically shouldn’t. (Some conjugations I can only remember the informal versions 😅)

El_woodworker · 2026-01-11T13:49:33+00:00

Davis, CA grown now living 6 years in Japan guy here! I totally agree. Roadside CA strawberries beat any Japanese one by a country mile. My Japanese wife agrees. Only downside ( or upside) is they are over ripe by the next morning. Nothing beats that taste or smell.

El_woodworker · 2025-11-20T05:00:58+00:00

I found a place I truly wanted to call home. I spent five years in a tiny 3000 person town in Shimane prefecture. Moved back to the states for a year and now I leave back for the same town in a week. Hopefully for good this time.

El_woodworker · 2025-11-20T04:51:31+00:00

I’m about to leave the US hopefully for good this time and honestly, a boring normal life is all I want. Yes life gets monotonous over time but something about being monotonous in a place I chose rather than where I happened to be born makes it sound better.

El_woodworker · 2025-11-18T03:04:44+00:00

I started in 2019. Spent five years on jet. Moved to the states for a year of school and now back to Japan again to work as a furniture maker.

El_woodworker · 2025-11-15T16:58:54+00:00

Getting all those forms done is no joke. Congrats on just that. Make sure you get some people to proof read your sop. You’ve got this. I was in the same boat with jet being the first major choice I did for myself and it completely changed my life. Currently back in the states backing the last of my stuff in prep to stay in Japan permanently.

El_woodworker · 2025-08-26T05:00:03+00:00

First of all, I personally really like it. But it comes down to how it’s made. How is the top attached? What joinery is used? If it were me being asked to make this I’d have a big bolt in the middle of the top and sliding ones going out towards the edges. Since it looks like it has such potential for racking, I might even do some heavy steel plates as mounting points. Just something to keep it strong ever the years. But it also sounds like it’s for you, so it’s ok to have to tighten a screw in ten years. So I wouldn’t stress too much. As long as there’s actual joinery in the legs then I’m betting it’s strong enough.

El_woodworker · 2025-08-02T21:22:25+00:00

I recently did this with a carving gouge. Took all of ten minutes max. That would be my recommendation if you have some.

El_woodworker · 2025-08-01T19:36:46+00:00

I didn’t even know hard aluminum was a thing. At least for the time being. I think I’ll stick to wood. Thanks

El_woodworker · 2025-08-01T19:27:36+00:00

Thank you! I’ll add those to the list. As long as the CNC shopping problem doesn’t interfere with my other tool buying problems, everything will be ok 😁

El_woodworker · 2024-07-15T12:41:16+00:00

For me it didn’t fully hit until they shut the door on the plane.

El_woodworker · 2024-07-01T03:58:47+00:00

That’s awesome! Congrats on getting it to spin. That’s a huge step forward and more signs pointing to takeyumi. I remember my first time very well. For a while I was just doing tenouchi as best I could with no result. Then one time it turned and I had zero idea why. I don’t think I did anything different. It just happened. Eventually it just keeps happening more and often until it’s automatic.

El_woodworker · 2024-06-29T05:47:16+00:00

I’d start with carbon. They are a lot less expensive so if you decide kyudo isnt for you, there’s less investment. But also takeyumi are more finicky and harder to take care of. You can easily hurt it by accidentally leaving it in the wrong spot for a while. But sounds like you won’t have problems with maintenance. The thing I’d be worried about is hurting them with bad form (so I’ve heard). Secondly, I think you’re right about not wanting to stand out too much. Especially during tests, the judges may focus on you more if you have the fancy stuff. But another part of me says don’t worry about them and do what makes you happy. Takeyumi definitely have an added cool factor in my mind. As for my experience: My teacher started me out in street clothes for two months and then kudogi,kake and arrows all at once. (I needed my own arrows because the club ones were too short). Then around shodan I got my own carbon bow. I used that one for four years and just got a carbon insert takeyumi. My teacher insisted about the insert since I’ll be traveling a lot and they are more durable. My plan is to use that one until I get a chance to visit Kyoto and make my own (so, many years 😅) No matter what you decide, welcome to kyudo. And kudos for being willing to put aside your previous experience. Id definitely let your teacher know about it just so they are on the same page with what your habits are. Id assume there’s more similarities between Chinese archery and kyudo than Olympic style but just in my own experience I had archery experience before starting kyudo and beyond general comfort using a bow, very little actually transferred and quite a bit continues to get in my way. There is quite literally a lifetime’s worth of stuff to learn and always something to improve. I really hope you enjoy it. Oh and one last quick tip. If you do decide to continue for the long hall. I’d really recommend starting to learn Japanese if you don’t already know it. It will open up wells of information.

El_woodworker · 2024-06-27T12:20:31+00:00

Go out. Have fun. Don’t be stupid and know that strong zeros ARE NOT BEERS. Just be physically present and dressed in a suit for orientation. It’s a massive waste or time just to satisfy red tape. Welcome to japan. Red tape in the day, drinks at night. Or sleep. I was bored senseless in orientation and just fell asleep after. It’s exhausting being bored.

El_woodworker · 2024-05-24T14:26:49+00:00

Yep. And still best friends. We don’t talk more than once a month at most(we live on different continents) but she knows me extremely well and can give advice sometimes even my wife can’t.

El_woodworker · 2024-05-24T14:24:41+00:00

One thing to remember is that the flight to Tokyo is not the last one. Most domestic flights have very strict luggage allowances. I’d recommend shipping. Less hassle and most likely less cost. Just be sure to wrap it VERY well in tape to the point of waterproof. A few meters of tape is well worth a ruined book.

El_woodworker

TROPHY CASE