Off White Obi Belt 'Shiratsuyu'

Off-white pre-tied obi belt with black streaks, the narrow kind worn low

White, or nearly, with black marks. This narrow obi is a stiff band in an off-white with short black streaks woven through it, none of them a full line, so the band reads as pale from across a room and as marked from close, with a pre-tied knot at the front that hooks on. It is the only pale narrow obi in the collection, and it is the one that changes an outfit most.

It is the narrow obi for a dark yukata or kimono, where a pale line at the waist is the whole point.

The name, Shiratsuyu, is the white dew, the drops on a morning field, and the band is that pale.

The band is a thick woven cloth folded double and stitched flat, stiff enough to hold its line round the waist, and the knot is sewn in place on a short separate tab that hooks over the band at the front, so the obi goes on in one movement: wrap, fasten at the back under the band, hook the knot on. The closure is adjustable and hidden.

Wear it over a yukata, a jinbei top, a kimono or a haori, wrapped twice round the hips rather than the waist, low, the way a man ties a narrow obi and a woman ties one when she wants the same line. The knot sits at the back or at the side, as you prefer; the photograph shows it at the front only so you can see it. Over a plain tee and a wide trouser it works as a belt.

The streaks come from a black thread that surfaces and sinks in the weave, so they are random, and on the knot, cut on the bias, they slant. The off-white is a warm one, closer to cream than to paper, and the band is the same on both faces.

Hand wash cool, flat, and dry flat; do not wring, because the stiffening in the band creases. Iron on the reverse if it needs it. It is a belt, and it takes a belt's life.

From across a room it is a pale band on a dark robe. From close the band shows its streaks, the knot its slant, and the white its warmth. It is the obi for the black kimono in the range and a person who wants contrast.

One size. The band wraps a waist from about 70 to 110 cm with the closure adjusted, and the pre-tied knot means the length does not change how it looks. It is cut to Western sizing, so there is no size to take up.