The kanji for furisode literally reads "swinging sleeve," which is appropriate because a furisode is a traditional Japanese kimono with long hanging sleeves. The lengths of the sleeves depend on the style of the furisode which will be discussed a little later.

Historically, furisode were worn by young children of the wealthy. Boys would wear them up until the age of 18, when they were deemed "manly" and girls would wear a furisode up until they married, where the furisode would then be converted into an appropriate kimono to wear for a married woman.

Today, furisode are given to women to show that a single woman is of marital age. Usually this is a gift to signify a woman's coming of age, although many women do rent furisode these days as they are quite expensive (approximately 1 million yen/$8,355). When the woman is married, she can have her furisode altered into a regular kimono. It is important to note, however, that furisode are generally not worn after the age of 30, but that may be due to the societal stigma involving unmarried women after the age of 30.

While a furisode style may change over the years, the overall idea of a furisode is to promote youthfulness and femininity, so bright colors and floral designs are often utilized to get this point across. While the style of a furisode has changed variably over many years, the purpose of the design and the wearing of the furisode roughly stays the same. There are several types of Furisode: ofurisode, chufurisode, and kofurisode.

An ofurisode (big furisode) has longer sleeves that are about 41 inches in length which may result in it touching the ground for many. An ofurisode is also known as "hon-furisode" which means "the most formal furisode" which can be quite thick and more difficult to move around in as a result. It may also have the family crest sewn onto the fabric.

A chufurisode (medium furisode) has shorter sleeves at around 35.4 inches in length which is more practical albeit less formal than the ofurisode. The chufurisode is the most common furisode and although it is the medium furisode, the sleeves have become longer with the increasing height of Japanese girls making it almost as long as the ofurisode.

Then there's the kofurisode, whose sleeves are shorter thus making the garment more casual than both the ofurisode and chufurisode, but it can be easier to move around in and more practical. Often, a kofurisode will be worn with a hakama. The kofurisode is the least common furisode.

Like other kimono, there are certain occasions in which to wear a furisode. The biggest occasion is Seijin no Hi or coming of age day, although it has been known to be called Adult's Day. It is a day celebrating those who have become adults in the past year, which in Japan, is the age of 20. All girls who have turned 20 years old in the last year since the last Seijin no Hi will dress in a furisode, which can be thought of as a coming of age formal dress. Think of it similar to the western debutante ball where a girl comes out to society as a woman of marriageable age.

Just so you know, Seijin no Hi occurs on the second Monday in January, and at the age of 20, women are given the right to vote, smoke and drink should they so choose. These rights are also given to men at the age of 20, so it is a big occasion to celebrate in Japan.

Other occasions to wear a furisode would be weddings (of course, not appropriate for the bride to wear a furisode), tea ceremonies, and other such special events. These are more formal events where furisode have been worn. It is unusual and impractical to wear a furisode on a normal basis, though that would really be in the interest of the wearer. Of course, going to hatsumode on New Year's is also a great occasion for wearing a furisode.