Mr. Motochika Yamashina speaks in Kyoto about “The traditions of court culture and their inheritance: The 1st Imon – Court Costumes”

After the meal, you will be able to observe the costumes being worn in the second floor hall, where Mr. Yamashina will explain the style of clothing, and you will hear about Kyoto’s imperial court culture, city, and people’s lives that span over a thousand years.

Imon-do is a systematization of the techniques for dressing in gorgeous attire such as the twelve-layered kimono and the sokutai. As the attire worn by the Imperial Court changed from soft to tough attire at the end of the Heian period, it became difficult to dress oneself, and so there was a need for imimon-sha who were skilled in tailoring and dressing. For generations, the Yamashina family has been involved in the preparation and dressing of attire for the Imperial Court, and this tradition has been passed down to Yamashina Motochika, the 30th successor to the family head and young head of the Yamashina school of Imon-do.