09/12/2014

Kisetsu - Rain and Dew


"(...) O cuidadoso ritual de transformar o rosto em porcelana viva, moldar os cabelos num arranjo exótico e envolver-se em camadas harmoniosas de seda pareceu a Ame, naquela noite, um processo incomodamente rápido. Olhar-se no espelho, por fim, e soterrar o semblante amargo com um sorriso doce de boneca teria sido difícil se a jovem não estivesse tão habituada a fazê-lo. (...)"
Kisetsu - Primavera, Cap.6

 "(...) The careful ritual of turning her face into living porcelain, shape her hair in an exotic swirl and wrap herself in harmonious layers of silk seemed to Ame, that night, like an uncomfortably fast process. Gazing at the mirror and burying a bitter countenance under a sweet doll-like smile would have been difficult if the young woman weren't so used to doing so. (...)
Kisetsu - Spring, Chpt.6
 


Illustration for my novel, Kisetsu, featuring Ametsuyu, a high-ranking courtesan from Akahana, and one of the main characters of the story. 

Ametsuyu, meaning "rain and dew" is her stage name, more flourished than a regular name would usually be. Stage names like so were common among artists and courtesans in ancient Japan. Most people, though, just call her "Ame".


Ajisai (hydrangea) was chosen to portray her, for being a summer flower related to the summer rainy season. It's also a flower which blooms in different colors, from pink to blue hues, depending on the soil conditions. This dual nature is symbolic to Ametsuyu's divided feelings regarding... well, I'll give you no spoilers! ;)


18/10/2014

My Novel: Kisetsu

The first volume of my period novel, set in XVth century Japan, 
is now avaliable at Amazon and Amazon.com.br, in portuguese!

Kisetsu - Volume 1: Spring


 ...The english version is on its way in a few months! Stay tuned!


 Sinopse

No Japão do séc.XV, uma longa guerra contra a província rebelde de Mutsu ameaça a supremacia do governo. Para derrotar a insurgência, o shogun, líder militar sob mando do Imperador, vê-se obrigado a buscar alianças entre os regentes provinciais, arriscando-se a abalar um frágil equilíbrio de poder entre famílias inimigas. Sob fachada de um festival de Primavera, os senhores provinciais são convocados ao palácio do shogun, em Kyoto, numa confluência de poderes como não se via há uma década, para definir os rumos da guerra e do poder no país.

Assim, começa a fiar-se uma intrincada teia de tramas políticas e pessoais envolvendo as famílias mais prestigiosas de um Japão instável. Um mundo repleto de sutilezas, onde rancores e afetos são velados por finas máscaras de formalidade, e conflitos de dever e desejo, lealdade e suspeita, honra e ambição enlaçam vidas e sentimentos no ciclo efêmero das quatro estações.

“Primavera”, primeiro de quatro volumes da saga Kisetsu (“Estações do Ano”), inicia essa jornada histórica. Com personagens profundos e um enredo intricado, mergulha o leitor na cultura, estética e valores do Japão medieval, encantando-o com suas nuances e instigando-o com sua beleza. 


Synopsis

In XVth century Japan, a long war against the rebel province of Mutsu threatens the government’s supremacy. To defeat the insurgency, the shogun has no choice but to seek alliances with provincial lords, at the risk of undermining a fragile balance of power between two enemy households. Under the facade of a Spring festival, the provincial lords and their families are invited to attend at the shogun’s palace, in Kyoto, in a political confluence as not seen in a decade, to define the course of war and power in the country. 

Thus, an intricate web of political and personal plots begins to spin, involving the most prestigious families of an unstable Japan. A world filled with subtlety, were grudges and affections are veiled by fragile masks of formality, and conflicts of duty and desire, loyalty and distrust, honor and ambition entwine lifes and feeling in the ephemeral cycle os seasons.

"Spring", the first of four volumes in the Kisetsu ("Seasons") saga, opens this historic journey. With deep characters and an intricate plot, it plunges the reader into the culture, values ​​and aesthetics of medieval Japan.


Sobre Mim / About Me

Meu nome é Maitê Serra, autora de Kisetsu – Primavera, um romance histórico passado no Japão do século XV, publicado em português e em processo de tradução ao inglês.

Sou uma designer de interiores brasileira-espanhola, novelista e ilustradora, apaixonada pela cultura tradicional japonesa e pela beleza intricada do kimono. Meus interesses vão de arte a moda histórica,  design e decoração, escrita criativa, cozinhar e uma looonga lista de livros, filmes e séries!

Este blog é uma mescla de tudo isso, com artigos e arte originais meus, além de features de trabalhos interessantes de outros que gosto de compartilhar. Obrigada pela visita!
 
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi! I’m Maitê Serra, author of Kisetsu – Primavera, a historical novel set in XV century Japan, published in portuguese and currently in process of English translation.
I’m a brazilian-spanish interior designer, novelist and illustrator, in love with Japanese traditional culture and the intricate beauty of kimono. My interests go from art to historical fashion, beautiful color palettes, design & decoration, creative writting, cooking and enjoying too many books, movies and series to even list!

This blog is a miscellany of all these things, with original articles and art by me, as well as features of interesting and beautiful works from others that I’d like to share. Thank you for visiting!

21/09/2014

Wafuku Question: Michiyuki

I was asked by Orangenbluete on my DeviantArt account about the kind of "over-kimono" that the lady with blue hair wears in this picture:

http://th00.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2014/264/f/c/natsume_yuujinchou_full_763300_by_orangenbluete-d7zz5j9.jpg 
(from the anime Natsume Yuujinchou... I didn't watch it, though)

This is a traditional "kimono coat" called michiyuki. It's meant to be worn when going out in the street, to protect the kimono from getting dirt or wet, and also to make the wearer warmer. Michiyuki can have different lenghts, from short, waist-line ones to others as long as the kimono itself. It is usually plain color, or has discrete, simple patterns - which makes sense, since it's made to suffer more wear than the kimono underneath it.

A red michiyuki, closed by buttons.

A dark, plain color michiyuki.

Different from haori (another traditional kind of kimono over-garment) michiyuki has a square neckline, and is usually closed by buttons. It's also mostly made for women - while haori was a male outfit that ended up having female version too after Meiji period (1868-1912). Also different from haori, michiyuki is always worn closed.

Michiyuki (left) and haori (right). Notice the different collar shapes. Also, haori is tied with a cord 
in middle chest and worn open, while michiyuki is closed by side buttons, and always worn closed.

Also, be careful not to confuse michiyuki with dochugi, yet another type of going-out over-kimono. Dochugi is worn in the same way and occasions as michiyuki (and also closed), but the collar and sleeves are just like of a kimono. Also, it is fastened by cords at the side.

Maiko-san wearing michiyuki over her kimono (see the square collar?).
Photo by Walkkyoto on Flickr.


Geiko-san wearing a dochugi over her kimono. Notice how it's tied at the side.
Photo from Walkkyoto, on Flickr.

Michiyuki and dochugi have a quite old-style feel to it (as you can see, they're worn by geisha and maiko, so, they're very traditional wafuku). These garments reminding me of the first half of the 20th century.. - althou I'm not sure when they first appeared, so their early origins might be a bit older. They're both very fit for rainy or snowy weather.

I hope this cleared things up about michiyuki (and a bit of other kimono overgarments). Thank you for the question, Orangenbluete! ^^



22/08/2014

Types of Kimono - Yukata

 So, after a long hiatus, I'm back on my kimono tutorial posts! 
And today we'll cover the last "basic" type of kimono, the yukata.

The term yukata comes from "yukatabira", or "bath underclothes". As one may probably guess, this is the most informal kind of kimono, being used after the bath (commonly at onsen hot spring resorts), as well as for sleeping, relaxing at home or for attending at summer festivals.

Dark blue + white are the most classical colors for yukata
(also paired with light blue in this yukata from Kimonomachi).

Due to it's common use in summer, yukata is often described as "a summer kimono". Althou that is not completely wrong, it's also not ideal as a definition, because not all summer kimono are yukata.

Yukata are made of light cotton, with no lining. Other summer kimono are also characterized by lack of lining, but are made from other materials. Kimono summer fabrics, which include gauze-like fabrics like ro and sha silks, are called usumono.

 Usumono tsukesage from K-Bridal. The gauze-like fabric calls for adequate underkimono (since it shows through). In spite of being transparent and unlined, this is a formal tsukesage - only, made for wearing during the heigh of summer. Therefore, it's not yukata!

Apart from the different materials, yukata are also worn in a very relaxed, informal way: often without a juban (underkimono) or tabi (wafuku traditional "socks"). Other summer kimono, on the other hand, may even be made of light, transparent fabrics, yet they are worn more formally, with juban and other usual kimono accessories.

 From left to right: yukata from Soubien, and usumono tsukesage, from K-Bridal. Both summer kimono, but with different 
formality levels. The lady in yukata doesn't wear a juban, obi accessories* or tabi - all elements present in the other lady's 
more formal kimono. Also, the yukata patterns themselves are simpler, repeating all over the fabric in a way that 
resembles a komon - all signs of a casual style in kimono aesthetics.

Different from other kinds of kimono this tutorial covered so far, yukata is not exclusive for females. There are also yukata for men - althou, they have a different shape than the female version, with shorter sleeves. There's also no age or marital status restrictions for yukata, which means, everyone can wear it, from little kids to granny and grandpa. The differences will be in the colors and motifs: as usual in kimono aesthetics, female kimono tend to be more colorful than male kimono. Also, brighter tones and bigger patterns are commonly worn by the youger generations, while more mature wearers go with subdued, discrete fabrics.

Male yukata, featuring dark, sober colors - with a youthful touch given by the golden 
obi. The lack of a juban fits a super-casual look. This kind of  fan, called uchiwa
is a traditional summer accessory. From Kimonomachi.

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/ef/fb/b6/effbb693b276e1485cf0c9f32c4b5b2f.jpg
 Kids wearing yukata. Notice how the girl's sleeves are longer 
than the boy's - a shape difference in the female and male yukata.

When using yukata as a sleeping garment, one will simply tie it with a narrow belt, of the same fabric from the yukata - like in western bathrobes. To wear it in public, thou, it's appropriate to tie it with a proper obi.

Beign very informal kimono, yukata are worn with informal obi as well. For tying a female yukata, a nagoya-obi with simple design, a half-leght casual hanhaba-obi, old-fashioned chuya-obi, or even super light heko-obi can all be used. For male kimono, there are only two kinds of obi - more formal kaku-obi, and male-designed heko-obi. Both can be worn with yukata, althou, I think good sense in choosing a casual designed kaku obi is required, so the combination won't look odd - same as with female nagoya-obi.

As for musubi (obi knots), the simple bunko and cho musubi are maybe the most popular knots for wearing with yukata. Another common option would be kai no guchi musubi, which is fit for both female and male obi. The classical taiko would be a way too formal musubi for yukata, but it's floppy casual "sibling", tsunodashi musubi (also known as ginza musubi) can be worn.

Yukata worn with bunko musubi (left) and cho musubi (right). The main difference 
between these knots is the bow position, horizontal in bunko and vertical on cho.

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/06/65/35/066535e33879097a887e681a33a59518.jpg
Couple in yukata. The lady wears what looks to me like a tsunodashi/ginza musubi variation (?). 
The gentleman wears kai no guchi musubi. Photo: Yoann Gruson-Daniel, in Kimonobsession 47.

 http://img.enfactory.jp/profile/pf/img/library/l/1324471499.jpg
 Another kai no guchi musubi, this time worn by a lady. Since female 
obi are wider than male obi, the knot ends up with a bigger size.

Besides those musubi, yukata also allows one to simply tie their obi in non-traditional ways - specially when wearing heko-obi, which, different from others, is not made from stiff/firm but very soft fabric. This creates a variety of floppy, informal knots that I like to nickname foofy mess musubi (not a proper kitsuke term, thou! lol ;p).

Maybe this could be considered a bunko or cho variation (?), but it's one 
of those heko-obi floppy knots I just like to call "foofy mess musubi".

Some girls and young ladies also add a second obi when wearing yukata (or, sometimes, komon). These are short, decorative, often gauze-like sashes named puchi obi, or puchi heko-obi, and are meant to be worn over a regular obi. The addition of a new layer of color and texture, and another bow, makes the overall look to be more frilly.

This lady wears a transparent puchi obi over her pink obi.

A puchi obi tied in front over the obi, in a bow or flower shape, 
makes a flashy accessory choice for yukata. From Cream Dress.

And this closes the basics about yukata, as well as the basic Types of Kimono topic! For the next topic of these tutorials/articles, I'll be holding a poll in my DeviantArt page, so vote on your favourite subject!

* The obi accessories, as obi-age, obi-jime and others will be explained later on this tutorial. ^^


This is also my 100th post on HANAMI! ^^
A big thank you to all my followers!
I hope this blog will go on for many more posts!


18/03/2014

Kisetsu Illustration - The Ryuu Household

Finally, it's done! My newest illustration for my  period novel, set in XVth century Japan - Kisetsu. It features the main characters from the Ryuu clan (and close vassals). The flowers are related symbolically to each character. The kanji reads Ryuu-shi, "Ryuu Clan".

The first volume of Kisetsu is now avaliable at Amazon
and Amazon.com.br, in portuguese!


Two more clan illustrations like this to go... Just need to convince my poor hand to draw and paint all those gazillion of flowers again... Sigh...

16/01/2014

Work in Progress - Elsa

Just a small in-progress shot of my next Disney Princess (well, queen!)...


I'm not sure if I'm happy with her face... :(


09/01/2014

Sketch of my next Disney... Queen? XD

So, I watched Frozen, for which I was looking foward to since I first heard of this upcoming movie about the Snow Queen... And I loved it! The story is very nice, the characters are sweet and the whole movie has such beautiful designs and scenery... you almost feel cold from watching it!

Also, I can't take "Let it Go" of my head. It's too adicting! If you never listened to that song... don't do it! It will haunt your ears for days! Lol... Plus, I really liked a certain plot twist in the end (I'll give no spoilers! But it was a nice change), and the fact that there's now a Disney queen that's not a villain (or an "extra" in the background with no lines...), but a lovely main character! ^^

Next in my Disney Princess series was supposed to be Jasmine, but...
I just let it go (;p). So, here's Elsa!


And, yes, I know she's a queen, but she was a princess in the first part of the movie, and she's awesome, so... I'm definitelly counting her in my series! :3 I'm still not sure about this design... Her original dress is so pretty, so I end up making little changes (I like the snowflake crown, thou). I wonder if I should go further... I wish I could make it look more period-style, to fit better the rest of the series, but I don't really know how... Regency cut? Medieval?

Forgive the messy lines... I just can't make clean sketches at all. X/