Motif: Bats (Komori)

While not necessarily as popular as bird motifs, bats can be found on many garments and accessories. Bats are considered to be auspicious and represent good fortune (the ideograph for 'bat' has a very similar pronunciation to 'luck').

Grey han-haba obi for men with subtle bat motif. This item can be found on ebay, and is not yet part of my personal collection, though it IS on my wishlist.

Bats, like many motifs for good fortune, do not seem to be tied to any particular season, though pairing them with other, more seasonally specific colors or motifs can certainly change that. The men's obi, pictured above, could likely be worn year round with a darker colored kimono, or under hakama, where only a hint of the patterning would be visible. Men's garments in general tend to be a little more staid than the ensembles of women, hence the color-on-color of this particular item.

Swatch image of  heavy-weight cotton hitoe with bat motif.

I consider this heavier-weight cotton hitoe to be quite the lucky find, and I'm very glad to be able to include it in my personal collection. Because of the weight of the cotton, it really isn't ideal for summer wear, as a yukata would be, but its coloring, as well as the subtle gingham patterning make it quite suitable for wearing in the spring and fall. With a garment like this, the selection of the obi will really determine the overall seasonal feel. Though I have worn it on several occasions, I do not seem to have managed to get photos of any of those occasions. I do recall pairing it with the broken asanoha han-haba obi that was featured yesterday for a casual fall look.

We'll be back tomorrow to look at another flighty motif, Chocho (Butterflies)!