Maru Obi is the higher rank of all of Obi.
It mainly used in the formal scene.
It produced in Nishijin district, but these days because of its high price, it’s so hard to purchase.
Recently, brides and Maiko are wearing Maru Obi.
Today, I’ll show you more about Maru Obi.
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So what is Maru Obi?
Brides tight Maru Obi on the “Hiki Furisode”, “Shiromuku”, and “Irouchikake”.
And we can see children Maru Obi at the celebration of a child’s third fifth and seventh years.
The History Of Maru Obi
Maru Obi was born in the middle of Edo period, but until then narrow obi was popular.
After women’s hair getting so big, wide Obi was needed to keep Kimono’s balance.
Maru Obi was weaved by the techniques of “Nishiki Ori”, “Kinran” and “Donsu” which came from China.
It was very popular in the Meiji and Taisho Period, but because of the birth of Fukuro Obi, its amount was decreasing.
Fukuro Obi is lighter than Maru Obi and easy to tighten.
Making Maru Obi
The length of Maru Obi is longer than Fukuro Obi and Nagoya Obi.
Its width is 70cm and the length is 435cm.
The Maru Obi came from the spacious obi folded in two.
That’s the same patterns inside and outside.
After the sewing, the width of Maru Obi is about 32~34cm and its length is about 400cm.
The length is shorter than Fukuro Obi.
Features Of Maru Obi
Maru Obi is very heavier than Fukuro Obi because of its structure.
Usually, Maru Obi is made of silk, but rarely you can see chemical fiber such as antique ones.
For the formal scene, gold and silver yarns are used boldly, so it becomes super gorgeous.
We can see traditional and lucky charm patterns like cranes and pines.
It even has summer Maru Obi, made of “Sya” and “Ro” techniques.
The Way To Tight
We can tight Maru Obi both inside and outside.
There are “Hikinuki Musubi” which tight reverse top and bottom.
For example, “Darari Obi” is Maiko’s special way to tight.
It’s complicated to tight but those traditional ways are inherited preciously.
Summary
Maru Obi is difficult to make and the cost is high.
In this modern era, people started to remake Maru Obi to Hanhaba Obi and Nagoya Obi.
In the overseas, antique cloth of Maru Obi is very popular.
If you have a chance to wear and remake Maru Obi, please try to have fun!