About Color Options
Colors of threads in designs and name embroidery, and do-dai colors may vary due to minute variations during manufacturing.
Also, monitor settings vary widely, rendering the colors on your computer screen differently than originally intended.
Chiba Budougu makes every effort within the scope of our control to maintain continuity in the quality of our products; however, we cannot guarantee minute changes due to the factors described.
We appreciate you understanding.
About Thread Colors
From your name sewn into your hakama to the colors included in a Wave & Bird pattern stitch, Chiba Bogu.com can meet your customization requests right down to the thread color. What parts are available for customization? Here is a list:
- Name Stitching
- Embroidery Patterns
- Accents
- Other Custom Applications You May Desire
NOTE:When Personalizing your bogu with Japanese characters, please remember to set your browser's Text Encoding to Shift_JIS otherwise it will not display properly in your order.
Have a specific color in mind? Talk to our staff and we may be able to find it for you.
Name Personalization
We include this as a service at this time at no charge, as thanks for your patronage. Since we are a custom bogu builder, all our goods are prepared by hand for each individual customer. Such being the case, we find it natural to personalize the custom kendo equipment we have prepared for you.
If you wish personalization, please inform us the name spelling and the thread color you desire. For Japanese kana, the phonetic characters, or kanji, Chinese iconic characters, we require either e-mail, e-mail attached word processor files, or facsimile message sent to our shop: +81-470-73-4062.
Limitations on Embroidery
Name embroidery is in principle limited to 15 characters; however, for keiko-gi we recommend that characters be limited to 5 or less (the embroidery is applied to the lower lapel and long names will not fit without becoming visible above the hakama otherwise.)
Kamon Family Seal
Kamon the Family Seal Applied to Bogu
The kamon, or traditional seal for households, go back to the feudal period of Japan, when family names, social status, and association to recognized domains were a part of the social landscape.
Families had their own seal, which served as the symbol of the house. In some cases of the powerful or wealthy, the use of this emblem could extend on to favored persons or families who served under them.
Warrior houses, often emblazened their armor, the trappings of their horses and battle equipment to indentify themselves in the field.
This custom lives on in the modern times as kendo men and women still adorn their kendo armor with their chosen kamon, applied to the do-dai, the hard lower portion of the body armor, or embroidered into the mune or ago, the chest and throat protectors, respectively.
With family lines less distinct, in these days, some will select the kamon of a famous shrine or old feudal region. People living in foreign lands may adopt the kamon of their teacher, or use the emblem of their club or federation. In any case, the purpose and effect is still the same, this symbol serves to indentfy the individual, and association to the group.
At Chiba Budougu, Ltd., we regularly incorporate kamon into the the design features of our custom bogu orders. These include:
* Screen-painting the design onto several do-dai for a team or club do.
* Hand painting the design to an individual do-dai.
* Creating a relief design (a raised emblem) on the do-dai, hand-painted to the selected color.
 
* Emboridery of the design into the mune of the do, the chest portion of the body armor.
The embroidered design above is not a kamon, but ginko leaves that were special ordered, in addition to a kamon applied to the do-dai.
* Embroidery of the design into the ago, the throat protector extending down from the helmet.
* Other custom applications are also possible, such as the back, inner side of the mune, and so forth.
Materials and colors include metallic lacquers and paints in gold or silver, and the full spectum of colors in normal lacquers and paints. Thread colors for embroidery can be selected from the Information section labeled "Thread Colors."
Size, complexity, and type of application will determine the cost. As these factors are specific to each custom order, we ask you to contact our Customer Service Department at info@chibabogu.com for further details.
A clear sample of the design you wish to incorporate into your custom bogu, the size, location, and color or thread color, should be considered and prepared for discussion. Based on the information you provide us, we can offer a formal price quote.
Please note, that this service is not listed as an option item in the online-store database. Therefore, it must be order directly with our Customer Service Department, extra charges will be handled separately from online-store orders.
PS We'll be adding more photographs in time, so please check back with us again later!
Trim & Edging Types
Trim and Edging Materials Employed in Kendo Armor:
Essentially, there are three popular materials used for trim and edging in kendo bogu, the armor. There are leather, cloth, and Clarino, a synthetic fabric.
Leather: The best version of leather trim and edging is that which has been dyed in “aizome” or real Japanese indigo dye. Japanese indigo was used as a medicine for bruises and scraps in pre-modern Japan, and so it is no surprise we find it used in kendo clothing and armor. It is the color that is most associated with kendo equipment as a result. Japanese indigo as possesses a natural characteristic of retarding fungal growth, suppressing the natural tendency for kendo armor to get moldy. Aizome dyed armor ages nicely, taking on a lighter hue, giving high quality bogu the distinctive patina of use that experience kenshi have come to recognize. Other versions of leather trim and edging are dyed with man-made synthetic dyes.
Cloth: The cloth used for trim and edging of kendo armor is similar to the heavy, embroidered cloth employed in the use of practice jackets, the keiko-gi. Cloth breaths well, allowing kendo armor to dry out quickly. Not as durable as leather, cloth trim and edging is normally selected for economy, and for its fast drying characteristics, especially for those living in hot and humid climates.
Clarino: This man-made synthetic fabric has both the appearance and feel of natural leather. It is commonly referred to as “man-made leather” in kendo-armor circles. In cases where the kendo equipment is constantly sweat-soaked due to consecutive, heavy practices, Clarino will actually out-perform leather for durability. Clarino also has a natural moisture-wicking property and dries rapidly, making it an ideal material for bogu used in hot and humid environments. As Clarino is dyed with synthetic dyes, it does not change color significantly with use, and as a consequence, does not develop the same ‘patina of use’ as aizome-dyed leather trim and edging.
For further inquiry, please contact our Customer Service Department at info@chibabogu.com
Stitching: Ten-zashi, Choku-zashi, and Gunome- or Gou-zashi
The first two, ten- and choku-zashi refer to the way the stitches are made, and the gunome-zashi refers to extra lines of stitch being added in between the standard lines.
In ten-zashi (ten meaning "a point") the stitches are made with only a point exposed on front and back sides. In order to do this, the stitch must pass through diagonally. It requires the greatest expertise and craftsmanship, especially on thicker futon where the layers of padding tend to slide over one another with the pressure and drag of the needle pressing through the different layers one after another.
In choku-zashi, the thread is passed straight through the futon, in order to make the next stitch, the thread runs exposed, like a 'dash' on the back-side, until the next stitch where it is passed straight through.
Ten-zashi and choku-zashi can be used in a variety of stitch widths, but nowadays, ten-zashi is only commonly found on the most expensive bogu, either 1.2 or 1.5 bu tezashi.
Gunome-zashi refers to adding an extra line of stitch to some portions of the futon in order to make it stiffer and better shape-keeping. You have surely seen examples of this, where the men-tare, the flaps of the men are sewn with a stitch pattern twice as close as the main futon. Also, the edges of the flaps of the tare (this is also called "gaku-zashi" or frame (as in picture frame) where the main 1.5 or 2.0 bu futon is "framed" by an surrounding rectangle of 0.75 or 1.0 bu stitching. It is the usual practice with more sophisticated 1.5 or 2.0 bu futon. However, tighter pitches such as 1.0 or 1.2 bu as so close already, there are termed "sougou" zashi (or stitched all with the same pattern.)
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