Parade of Nations - GREECE
French: Grèce // English: Greece // Japanese: ギリシャ (Girisha)
According to Olympic tradition, the team from Greece is the first to enter the stadium in the Parade of Nations because it is the birthplace of the Ancient Olympic Games. They’ve hosted the Modern Olympics twice: the 1896 Olympic Games, which served to revive the Olympic tradition, and the 2004 Summer Olympics, where they entered the stadium last as the host nation. The Olympic sports often dominated by Greece are Athletics (i.e. track and field, road running, racewalking, & cross country running) and Weightlifting.
Kimono Maker: Sakahara Sakae/ 坂原 栄（さかはら さかえ）
Technique: Edo Yuzen/ Tokyo Yuzen/ 東京友禅
“Sakahara-san is known as the “Magician of Color. The Greek kimono, the birthplace of the Olympics, has a bright blue background with the image of the Aegean Sea and the Greek sky, as well as the ‘Parthenon,’ ‘the Greek alphabet,’ ‘olives,’ and the national flower ‘Acanthus Mollis.’ The symbol of intelligence, the owl, is also drawn. The world of mythology and ancient civilization, as well as the nature of Greece, are beautifully expressed.”[1]
Kimono Motifs
The Parthenon Temple
Considered the peak of Doric architecture, the Temple of the Parthenon was built by Ancient Greeks between 447-438 BCE. The temple’s columns are famous an optical illusion called entasis, which creates a bulge in the mid-section of columns for possibly aesthetic or structural purposes. [1]
Whites Doves
Since the times of the Old Testament, doves have been considered a symbol of peace for signaling the end of the Great Flood. A natural choice as the mission of both the Imagine One World organization and the modern Olympic Games is to promote world peace. [1]
Olives
A sacred plant to Greeks since ancient times, it’s said that the winner of the ancient Olympics was awarded a laurel of olive leaves. [1]
Owls
The messenger of the Goddess Athena, it has been cherished as a symbol of wisdom and scholarship. It’s also present to the Greek 1 Euro coin. [1]
Obi Maker: Watabun/ 渡文（わたぶん）
Technique: Kyoto Nishijin’ori/京都 西陣織
“The obi is boldly designed with the dove, a symbol if peace, the stone columns of the Parthenon, and the leaves of the Acanthus Mollis, the national flower of Greece. Using molded thread in Olympic colors, they gave texture of the stone columns and gave the Acathus leaves a three-dimensional effect. This obi was handwoven with a lot creativity.” [1]
Bibliography
Source 1 – Kimono Project for Greece
(https://peraichi.com/landing_pages/view/forgreece)
Index Page – IOWKP x Tokyo 2020 Parade of Nations