The soft, cool, and pleasant feel of silk against my cheek, and the gentle, elegant beauty of coral.

I must have been in first or second grade. There was a period when my mother, who worked as a hairdresser, became very interested in kimonos. She was involved in kimono dressing and even handled bridal attire, so kimonos were likely familiar to her, but I recall her wearing them herself only a few times a year. Then, one day, she started wearing them both in daily life and at work.

I asked my mother, who was working at the salon wearing a kimono under a white *kappogi* (a traditional Japanese apron), why she was doing this. She just smiled enigmatically, saying, 'Oh, just because.' But regardless of the reason, my mother looked beautiful in her kimono, and more importantly, she appeared to me as a 'gentle and elegant mother,' which I was perfectly happy with. My mother was quite a tomboy, even from a child's perspective, so the image of her as a gracefully feminine mother made me feel incredibly happy. I wasn't a child who could easily express affection, but I remember clinging to her and being very cuddly during that time.

What I still remember vividly is being given a lap pillow by my mother, who was wearing a coral-colored kimono. The soft, cool, and pleasant feel of silk against my cheek, and the gentle, elegant beauty of the coral color, left me utterly enchanted. I remember asking her to keep the lap pillow for 'just a little longer!' as I was so delighted with the situation as a child.

Of course, such a dreamlike state couldn't last forever. One day, my mother returned to her usual Western attire, and her personality reverted to its former self as well. I clearly recall feeling disappointed, thinking, 'Oh, well.'

Childhood Experiences Last Forever

Some time later, my mother proudly mentioned, 'When I dress a kimono, clients tell me they don't get tired all day and it doesn't come undone!' At the time, I just thought, 'Oh, really?' But when I grew up and started working, one day it suddenly dawned on me: 'I see!' Those days when she wore a kimono all day long were for that very reason. She was personally researching how to dress a kimono so it wouldn't be tight or come undone. Hmm, I always knew she was someone who tackled things with all her heart and mastered them in the end, but 'So that's how it was!' I realized anew, belatedly, the depth of my mother's character.

They say, 'Children are raised by watching their parents' backs,' but I wonder if things realized in adulthood are truly imprinted in our childhood DNA. However, the 'kimono incident' (perhaps?) with my mother seems to have firmly embedded itself in my DNA. After all, the equation of kimono equals coral, and 'gentle and elegant,' has been unconsciously formed.
As proof, the first kimono I had made for myself was a coral-colored one, because I insisted, 'This is the one I absolutely want!' Perhaps childhood experiences truly do last forever...!