#帯結ばない帯結び (English: No-knot obi, Romaji: obi musubanai obi musubi) is a way of obi musubi that can be done, not by tying a knot, but by wrapping the obi around your waist and make different styles of arrangement. After making the arrangement, use a belt or obijime to hold your obi in place. It is a fast and convenient way of obi musubi that could be done in just 25 secs.
English name ‘No-knot obi’ is translated by @m.i.sutton.
This hashtag has immediately became a hot topic among kimono lovers through the spread of Social media. After knowing this hashtag, people started to try this method on their kimono dressing and use this hashtag to share their comments and ways of kimono coordination and styling.
Others kimono lovers will also use this hashtag when they create their own original no-knot obi, to share and promote their own creation and at the same time, promote the kimono culture.
This widely spread hashtag was created by Mrs. Ayaaya, who is a kitsuke teacher in Osaka. During the pregnancy of her second child, she had a strong thought of wearing kimono, even she was pregnant at that time. Due to this, she thought of this way of obi musubi.
Her students, who were in her kitsuke classes, were curious about her musubi method. Then, Mrs. Ayaaya started to teach her students how to tie this obi musubi and named it as ‘帯結ばない帯結び’(No-knot obi) at that time.
After that, Mrs. Ayaaya started to share and upload more different kinds of ‘no-knot obi ’tying methods on her Social Networking Site. She has been reported by several Japanese Media, including NHK, the Asahi Shimbun, the Yomiuri Shimbun, the Japan NEWS 、kimonoanne, Nanaoh, and other kimono magazines and books.
After being reported by the media, Mrs. Ayaaya published her first publication ‘帯結ばない帯結び’ ( Publisher: TAC出版) on 17th October 2019. Different kinds of ‘No-knot obi’ were recorded in this book. It was now sold on every Japanese bookstore, including Amazon and Rakuten! If you would like to purchase or sell this book, please contact the publisher (TAC出版) for further information.
What kind of message it can be delivered by using this hashtag?
Some people might think that obi musubi is a complicated process when you need to put on a kimono. Due to this reason, they might not have any interest in wearing any kimono. However, this ‘No-knot obi’ that Ms. Ayaaya proposed has solved this problem, letting more people willing to try to wear kimonos.
Moreover, since the ‘No-knot obi’ trend has rapidly spread on social media, this hashtag has turned into a trigger, letting more youngers having an interest in wearing kimonos and turn to be kimono lovers.
No matter you use hanhaba obi, nagoya obi ,or fukuro obi, you can also enjoy the ‘No-knot obi’. It is an easy, convenient, and fashionable obi musubi style. Just because it could be done in a short time, this also encourages more people to try to wear kimono as casual wear.
If you are interested in this trend, feel free to follow Ms. Ayaaya to know more further information~
