金田ケン子（宮城）

About this photo

Her hair is swept up full and round, and her kimono has a fine floral pattern. At the neckline, a wide band of han'eri (a decorative collar) in a pattern different from the kimono's shows. The name under the photo reads "Kaneda Kenko (Miyagi)." It appears alongside photos of other women in Nihon Bijincho (Album of Japanese Beauties, 1908), which grew out of a newspaper's beauty photo contest.

A han'eri is a cloth put over the collar of the juban (the garment worn under a kimono), to keep it clean and also as decoration. The name, meaning "half collar," comes from its being about half the length of the kimono's own collar (hon-eri). From the Meiji to the Taisho era, it was usual to wear it as in this photo, with a wide area of the collar showing.

Today a thin line of white han'eri is more common, and embroidered han'eri are used for bridal wear and for dress-up clothes such as those worn for Shichi-Go-San (a celebration for young children).

Glossary