帯 - The OBI, the Incredibly Expensive Cloth around Your Waist

Readings & Meanings:

おび

タイ

a belt; a region

お（びる）

to wear

Common Usage:

帯

黒帯

危険地帯

Examples:

着物の帯は非常に高価だ。

ついに黒帯に昇段した。

帯に短し、たすきに長し。

危険地帯への旅行は控えた方が良い。

Translations:

A belt for a kimono is exceedingly expensive.

At last, I was promoted to black belt.

Too much will spoil, too little is nothing. (idiom)

You might want to refrain from going to a dangerous region.

Radical:

巾 is the radical here, also referred to as "Haba." It's a pictogram of hanging cloth. Appropriate for 帯.

巾 joins with more pictograms that look like objects run through with a string.

帯 is a cloth belt wrapped tightly around your waist.

Bonus:

If you think tying a tie is difficult, perhaps you should give up hope of learning how to tie an obi.

(Yes, men wear kimono--just a different style. Also, maybe I'm talking to the ladies in the audience who wear ties?)

The below video shows how to tie an obi. It's 9 minutes long, which is a fraction of the time it would take you, alone.

Actually, you need a certificate to be an obi-tying instructor. They are called 着付師, and they are professionals at preparing kimonos.

An obi is the "life" of a kimono. Geisha were judged by the price of their obi. It's not just a belt. I mean, obi cost as much as the whole kimono! And yes, you buy them separately.

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/o.htm