Kimono rentals take off among young women in Japan, who rarely wear them in everyday life any more

With borders closed to outsiders, kimono rental firms are relying on visitors from other parts of Japan, who have shown renewed interest in the kimono

‘We only rarely have a chance to wear a kimono in everyday life, so this made everything more memorable,’ says one domestic tourist in historic Kyoto

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Emi Izawa (right) and a friend at a Kyoto temple, clad in rented kimonos. With borders still closed to outsiders, rental firms are replying more heavily on locals, and there is a renewed interest in kimono-wearing among young people. Photo: Handout

Published: 12:15pm, 10 Mar 2021Updated: 5:38pm, 10 Mar 2021

The four young women clip-clop along the cobbled streets of Kyoto, their hair pinned up and their yukata summer kimono cinched at their waists with decorative obi belts. A tourist takes a snap as they pass, demurely dipping their heads in bows.

These are not geishas, but teenagers in the Gion district of Japan’s ancient capital celebrating their final year of high school by donning traditional attire to take in some of the city’s sights.

Renting a yukata, or a kimono in the colder months, has become popular with many people, and sightseers are keen to slip into traditional clothing when exploring Kyoto, Tokyo and other cities.

Today, with the nation’s borders closed to outsiders as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, rental firms rely heavily on visitors from other parts of Japan. And that, in turn, has provoked a renewed interest in kimonos among some young people.

Emi Izawa (second from right) and three friends at the main gateway to Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto. Photo: Handout

“My school always has a trip to Kyoto for the senior class in the final year and we had heard that some of the girls had rented yukata for a day to see the sights,” said Emi Izawa, who is from Tochigi prefecture in northern Japan and visited the city for two days in October.