Kumihimo (組み紐) is a traditional Japaneseartform and craftwork for making braids and cords.[1][2] In the past, kumihimo decorations were used as accessories for kimono as well as samurai armor.[3]Japanese braiding, as kumihimo is sometimes known in English, is also associated with Shinto rituals and religious services.[2] Literally meaning "gathered threads", kumihimo are made by interlacing reels of yarn, commonly silk, with the use of traditional, specialised looms – either a marudai (丸台, lit.'round stand')[2] or a takadai (高台) (also known as a kōdai).
There are a number of different styles of kumihimo weaving, which variously create a braided cord ranging from very flat to almost entirely rounded.[1]Kumihimo cords are used as obijime, cords worn belted around the front of some obi when wearing kimono.
^ abKinoshita, Masako (1986). "A Braiding Technique Documented in an Early Nineteenth-Century Japanese Treatise" Soshun Bik‾"". Textile Museum Journal. 25: 47–65 – via EBSCOhost Art & Architecture Source.