How to Tie Otaiko Musubi

N
agoya obi is the most convenient of the formal obi. It was
first produced in the city of Nagoya at the end of the Taisho
era (1912-1926). It is appropriate for occasions ranging from
around the house to formal parties.
The distinguishing characteristic of the Nagoya obi is the te is
already folded in half and sewn shut. However, there are
types of Nagoya obi that are partially or completely unsewn;
these are called variously fukuro Nagoya, kyoubukuro, or
hiraki-nagoya. It is easy to tell these from fukuro because, like
all Nagoya obi, they are 123-136 inches (314-345cm) long,
N AGOYA O BI
while fukuro are 157 inches (400cm) long. As well, the
stiffener that is usually sewn inside is visible in the unfolded te
of these varieties of Nagoya obi.
Because of its shorter length, the Nagoya obi is tied in a
single fold otaiko musubi (drum bow), while the fukuro or
maru obi are tied in a double fold otaiko musubi. Other
musubi for the Nagoya obi include: tsunodashi (drum bow
with horns), bunko (box bow), and kai no kuchi (shellfish
bow, also called clam’s mouth).
doumawari,
waist section
te, folded section
tesaki,
end of the te
Otaiko Musubi
obi-yama,
crest line
kikkou (tortoiseshell),
an auspicious motif.
tare,
trail section
tesaki
kime sen,
bottom of drum
taresaki,
end of trail section
Obi Terms
tare,
trail section
asanoha,
hemp leaf
pattern
Doumawari - the section that is
wrapped around the waist
Kime sen - the bottom of the drum of
the otaiko musubi
Musubi - the way of tying the obi
Obi-yama (crest line) - the top of the
musubi
Oridashi sen - edge of the woven
section
Otaiko musubi (drum bow) - the
most common musubi. O - polite
prefix, taiko - drum.
te, folded section
oridashi sen,
end of
woven section
Tare - the trail section that creates the
musubi
Taresaki - the end of the tare, below the
oridashi sen
Te - short section that is folded in half.
Includes the doumawari.
Tesaki - the end of the te
Otaikogara - obi that are only patterned in
the front (doumawari) and drum section
Roku - obi that are 60% patterned with the
tesaki patterned, the doumawari
unpatterned, and the tare patterned.
Zentsuu - obi that are fully patterned
doumawari,
waist section
tesaki,
end of the te
G ETTING S TARTE D
H ow To Tie the O ta i ko M usu b i
1. Measure out part of the narrow
section (te) that's equal to the width of
your front from hip to hip, plus an inch
to an inch and a half (2-3cm).
2. Place the bottom of the te
beside your right hip (just right of
center) in front with the seam up
(the rest of the te goes over your
right shoulder).
te
open side
tesaki
folded side
tare
3. Wrap the obi around you
twice (to your left), placing
the obi-ita in back between
the two layers on the
second pass.
tesaki
obi-ita
tare
The beginning of the
tare should end up where
you started. If not, rotate the
obi, drawing out more te as
necessary. (Keep the obi-ita in the
center of your back).
Optional: tie a koshihimo to keep things in place. (Be sure to tie the knot
behind you.) This usually isn’t necessary, unless the obi is very stiff or bulky.
H ow To Tie the O ta i ko M usu b i
4. Flip over the tare and
bring the te down.
P REPARING TO
F ORM THE D RUM
5. Bring the tare up and expand it (the
design should be facing you). The
bottom should form a blunt triangle
and be in the center.
e
sid
en
op
fol
de
ds
ide
tare
te
6. Center the obi-age over the
obi-makura. Place them on your
front with the hump of the obimakura up. The bottom should be
just level with where you wrapped
the obi around you.
obi-makura
wrapped in
obi-age
P REPARING TO F ORM
THE D RUM - CONT ’ D
H ow To Tie the O ta i ko M usu b i
7. Tie the obi-makura and obi-age in a tight square knot
(the knot will be on your back) Don't worry about making
it look great, but make sure the obi-makura is level.
(if you tied a koshihimo earlier, untie it now)
8. Drop the tare down and make sure everything is level and centered.
H ow To Tie the O ta i ko M usu b i
F ORMING
THE
D RUM
9. With one hand, fold the tare up into itself. There'll be three layers - the
outside, the fold, then your hand, then the part that will hang down below
the drum (the taresaki). If the obi has an oridashi sen woven in, it should be
just visible below the drum.
taresaki
te
taresaki
The drum should reach just
below the bottom of the obi.
10. The part that hangs below
(taresaki) should be as long as your
index finger. If the fold is a little long,
tuck it under the obi-makura.
11. Pass the remainder of the te
through the drum (over the fold). A bit
should stick out. Both sides should
look square.
tesaki
If the tesaki is too long, tuck the excess
behind the drum on the folded side.
F INISHING U P
H ow To Tie the O ta i ko M usu b i
12. Lace a koshihimo through the drum and over
the te and tie it behind you. You'll be replacing
this with the obi-jime in a moment.
koshihimo
13. Make sure everything is straight.
Carefully rotate the whole obi to the
right so the drum ends up centered
on your back. You’re almost there!
14. Retie the obi-age if necessary.
You may wish to tie the obi-makura
separately and tuck it in first.
koshihimo
H ow To Tie the O ta i ko M usu b i
F I N I S HI N G U P
15. Carefully thread the obi-jime through where the last
koshihimo is. Tie the obi-jime in a tight and neat square
knot, and then remove the koshihimo.
You’ve done it!
Congratulations!
Practice will make it easier, but you
should be proud of yourself!
How to Tie the Otaiko Musubi with Nagoya Obi by Lydean Works is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution 3.0 United States License. You may share, reproduce, or distribute this page as you wish. Please
do not use my artwork for your own purposes, but feel free to use the directions and other words as you wish.
Created March 2010 by Lydean Works.