Meiji (19th century) uchikake, embroidered with a sho-chiku-bai design (the “winter trinity” of pine, bamboo, and plum), an auspicious motif because of its association with long life and rebirth of life after the winter. This uchikake is not a wedding kimono; the short sleeves mean that it belonged to a married woman, and the crests on the shoulders and centre back mean that it was a formal robe.
It may have started out as a long-sleeved wedding outfit and then had the sleeves shortened for use by the owner after her …

Because so many kimono would be prohibitively expensive, wedding kimono are almost always rented, not purchased. Wedding centers buy kimono from the manufacturers, rent them out to brides, and then sell them cheaply to second-hand dealers and flea markets, who sell them to Westerners for use as display or craft items. Although this means that there is no tradition of heirloom wedding outfits in Japan, it also means that people around the world can delight in owning one or more of these beautiful works of art.
As a bit of trivia …

In a traditional wedding, the bride changes her clothes several times. She wears a white wedding kimono (shiromuku), the most formal of all wedding attire, for the wedding ceremony. The all-white ensemble, sometimes with touches of red, symbolises good fortune and a new beginning. On her head she wears a hood or other head covering, traditionally meant to cover the horns of jealousy.
For the wedding reception, she exchanges the shiromuku for a colorful uchikake and wears metal or fabric flowers (kanzashi) in her hair. Later during the reception, she may …

Wedding kimonos are traditionally made from heavy silk lined with a lighter-weight silk, although synthetic fabrics are becoming more common. The designs may be woven, dyed, or embroidered; sometimes a combination of techniques is used. The most elaborate and expensive are the ones woven in the Nishijin area of Kyoto, where kimono have been created for hundreds of years, although these days most of the kimono are machine woven, not handmade.
Dyed kimono, while popular for everyday wear, are less common for weddings. The yuzen dyeing technique was developed around 300 …

Japanese culture is replete with symbolic meanings, and wedding kimono are no exception. The colour combination of red and white is considered lucky, and many uchikake include white birds on a red background or have a red lining in a white garment. In Japan many birds have auspicious associations, and it is very common to see wedding kimono decorated with cranes (symbolising long life), phoenix (wisdom and immortality), peacocks (good fortune), or mandarin ducks (marital fidelity and love). Flowers are used to denote seasons as well as having symbolic associations.
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