The regular assembly held in September in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, is also known as the "Jeans Assembly."
To widely promote jeans, a specialty product of Kojima, Kurashiki City, and to develop local industries.
This is the stated objective.
The mayor also commented, "I want to have a lively discussion in comfortable attire."
Such flexible thinking is truly impressive.
Currently, eight of Kurashiki City's council members are women.
Of these, four recently wore "denim kimonos & Kojima obi."
It was in 2019 that Councilwoman Arakaki of Kurashiki City proposed, "Let's attend the Jeans Assembly in denim kimonos!"
In July of the previous year, Kurashiki City was hit by an unprecedented disaster due to the heavy rains in Western Japan.
Naturally, the regular assembly in September of that year did not involve "jeans..."
However, the following year,
With the sentiment "We want to support the damaged Kurashiki!", the female council members united and,
on the first day, they all attended the Jeans Assembly wearing "denim kimonos" made from denim, a specialty of Kojima, Kurashiki City, and "Kojima obi" made from denim, tatami borders, and Sanada cord, which are also specialty fibers of Kojima.
(That caused a bit of a stir at the time, haha.)
Three years have passed since then.
New kimonos have emerged that weren't present in 2019.
Councilwoman Arakaki's kimono is a silk denim kimono.
It features "Nanasai-zome" (seven-color dyeing), which, along with the excellent texture of the fabric,
creates an elegant kimono with original dyeing.
Councilwoman Ogo's kimono is a "two-tone kimono," made from silk denim fabric in a two-tone design.
It has a stylish and urban feel.
We hope to continue to evolve and create "denim kimonos & Kojima obi" that even male council members can wear,
and thus contribute, however small, to the development of Kurashiki City.
We look forward to your continued support.
(September 2022)
