A kimono rental company in Kyoto, Japan, has now started offering hijab-friendly kimonos for the many Muslim women who flock to the cultural capital of the country for a day out in the traditional Japanese dress.
A kimono rental company in Kyoto, Japan, has now started offering hijab-friendly kimonos for the many Muslim women who flock to the cultural capital of the country for a day out in the traditional Japanese dress.
A kimono rental company in Kyoto, Japan, has now started offering hijab-friendly kimonos for the many Muslim women who flock to the cultural capital of the country for a day out in the traditional Japanese dress.
Yumeyakata, a kimono-rental store based in the cultural city of Kyoto, Japan, has recently begun offering hijab-friendly services for the many Muslim women who also wish to have the full experience of wearing a kimono while in Japan. Offering what they call wagara (traditionally patterned cloth) hijabs, Muslim women can now wear the traditional kimono with a matching traditional hijab, without worrying whether their headscarf will clash with the outfit or not.
For only 300 yen (a little less than $3), Muslim women can now choose from over 20 different designs, from season-related patterns of sakura or snowy mountains to more traditional patterns of Japanese weaving. The company hopes to expand its wagara hijab collection to at least 50 different designs as well, incorporating not only different designs but the use of different fabrics as well.
The fact that the expanding market for Muslim women who wear hijab has even reached the shores of Japan is a promising sign, as the normalization of hijab will inadvertently also bring about the normalization of ordinary Muslims in the country. While the population of native Japanese who identify as Muslim is still relatively low, immigrants and multi-ethnic Japanese who live in Japan and identify as Muslim is on the increase.
Although it may seem like a small step for one kimono company to include the design of hijabs made from traditional Japanese cloth, it remains an important stepping stone for many Muslim women who struggle with fitting into homogenous societies like Japan, which have not traditionally catered to diverse peoples.
The Yumeyakata company is based in Kyoto in two different locations: one at 128 Manjujicho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto, and the other at 472-1 Kinpukicho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-0846. You can find their website in English here, with the option for traditional hijabs under their “Options” category.
