What’s In an Obi? Part 2

On The Second Day of Fun I present... a continuation of a series that I started at this time last year! I’m not too sure why this series hasn’t gotten any additions, but that will be remedied now!

Image courtesy of Geisha Kyoto Maikochaya. Owned By: Man (まん) in Gion Higashi Motifs: Cherry Blossoms and Butterflies I really liked the look of this obi just from the overall design, but then upon further inspection I noticed that it was hiding a bit more! Now, the flower designs all look like cherry blossoms, and for the most part they are, except for the middle of every second one; those are actually bell flowers instead! You can tell because the petals are pointed instead of possessing the characteristic heart shape at the end. Then again, those bell flowers aren’t even sitting inside of cherry blossoms either! What look like cherry blossoms are actually an old motif that’s translated into English as drawer pulls that form together to mimic cherry blossoms. What’s even better is that the bell flowers, in a bid to blend in, have cherry blossoms on each of the petals! So, why are there bell flowers on an obi that seems to be evoking spring? Because the kamon of Man is a bell flower butterfly, so this obi combines both elements of their kamon together ^^