Japanese Hair Straightening


Japanese hair straightening technology was invented in Japan in late 1995 to satisfy the desire of many Japanese wanting to have completely straight hair. It quickly spread to other parts of Asia and became popular in US, Canada & UK where kinky, frizzy, curly and wavy hairs are more common than in Japan. In the West it is commonly known as re-bonding. Terms such as ionic re-texturizing, Japanese straight perm and thermal reconstruction are also used.


At a cost ranging from $500 to $1,500, Japanese hair straightening is a fairly involved procedure which takes between 4 and 8 hours to complete. Main part of the job is to iron the hair in extremely small sections with a special Japanese straightening iron


Kimono Robe


Kimono, which literally means “clothing”, is one of world’s finest and most recognizable national costumes. It is believed to have its roots in ancient China as early as fifth century. Japanese nobility adopted traditional Chinese court attire which consisted of a loose upper garment with side slits and trousers for men and a short wrapped upper garment and long flowing skirt for women.


Kimono is a much less common sight these days and is usually worn only by older women or at formal and traditional occasions such as funerals, weddings or tea ceremonies. A silk kimono would easily cost a million yen but the biggest challenge is how to put on the kimono and tie the decorative sash (known as “obi”). The complicated procedure is beyond the ability of many young women and they usually have to ask their mothers to help or to take a course at kimono school.


A summer version of cotton kimono, known as yukata, is more common for informal leisure clothing. The name yukata comes from the word bath (”yu”) and under-clothing (”katabira”). Ancient Japanese court nobles wore linen “yukatabira” which were draped loosely after taking a bath. It gradually became popular among japanese warriors and later the general public when public bath became more accessible by common people. Today, yukata is widely used for everything from festivals, summer daily wear to simple night attire. Today, yukata is the most popular daily clothing wear in Japan is made of lightweight cotton fabric.


Today kimono style silk robe has become very popular in the fashion world. They are designed with a raglan style of sleeve offering more room in the shoulder area with a looser fit. It is commonly worn as dressing gown for all occasions. Kimono design is also popular for home wear pajamas and bathrobe.


Shoji


The original concept of “shoji” was born in China, and was imported into Japan sometime around eighth centuries. Shoji means “something to obstruct” for use as room partition. This includes freestanding screen and fixed panel with paper. By twelfth century shoji had evolved into something unique to Japan - the sliding doors with translucent “shoji paper”.


Traditionally shoji paper was made of Japanese mulberry tree called “Kozo” or shrubs called “Mitsumata” and “Ganpi”. Shoji paper, also termed as “Washi” which translates directly to mean “Japanese paper”, was scarce and valuable because it was all hand-made with natural materials. The western term of “rice paper” is more with oriental reference as shoji paper has nothing to do with rice.


In modern Japan as well as in home furnishing, shoji now means wooden sliding doors with translucent material. These doors slide on wood tracks very smoothly and quietly, work as a room divider or window coverings. The translucent material can be either authentic washi paper, translucent paper, chemically brightened paper, synthetic fibers or even waterproof Acrylic plate.