Kyoto Budogu Blog

Monday, February 17, 2014

Gozen White and the Five Kazari Ito



People who met me in the dojo of the world know that I have a privileged relationship with white. I have been always wearing white hakama and gi and my heart still belongs to white. It took more than one affectionate remark from my teammates Mirial and Angela to convince me to use blue kendogi and hakama when I was in the Italian National Team. Now that I am free of “matching” obligations, I wear happily white, even if lately I decided to give it a go with my indigo blue gear (which is a pity to keep in a drawer). This as far as clothing is concerned.
My relationship with white bogu, instead, has been a bit more distant. Knowing the hassle of bleaching the indigo stained hakama and gi, I always steered away from white bogu. Nevertheless, white still works some fascination on me.
My sensei Horibe Akemi used to wear white bogu and clothing, when she was a young woman. She showed me several times the picture of all the white bogu that were the standard equipment of all her students in her dojo in Hong Kong – a wall covered of white and red, it made quite an impression.

The Gozen White bogu that Kyoto Budogu is now offering is fully in the line of the tradition of white bogu: nice unbleached cotton (my favourite) and bright red lacquered do (a classical combination).
I tried it on with some hesitation, but to be fair, it felt comfortable and light. The men is really well padded, easy to wear, with the diagonal stitching on the “wings”, that helps it keep a very attractive shape.
The fiber do is light and protective, it is finished in white clarino. Nodo and mune have matching decoration.
The kote are extremely well equipped for everyday practice – I doubt they could stay snow-white for long (there are ways to wash kote, too), but they are flexible in the wrist, without losing the thickness that defends against brutal kote attacks (of course, no one brutally hits kote in your dojo, it is just a hypothetical case…).
My favourite piece is the tare, with its five kazari ito. I really like the unbleached cotton with the immaculate leather finishing. It is also very lightweight, but offering a good waist support at the same time.
If you are looking for a striking white bogu, the Gozen White feels good (before any other aesthetic considerations, that are left to personal taste): light, easy to wear and that makes the day for me.


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