Takase: Fine Japanese Calligraphy

II. HISTORY OF THE KIMONO

The pure fragrance of several yellow and white chrysanthemums thrown together in a celadon bowl on the mantelpiece called up faintly thoughts of autumn in the Orient. It was the twenty-third of October, in the middle of autumn, and Monsieur B, enjoying in the penetrating chill of morning the fire burning brightly in the fireplace, was eagerly telling me about the “Period Festival” of the Heian Shrine in Kyoto he had seen just the day before. Doubtless the procession showing in chronological order the styles of the different periods in Japanese history was still passing vividly before his eyes. He had talked of nothing but the kimono all morning.

“I felt that I was seeing race culture in miniature and an epitome of the history of the kimono.

“The kimono, too, has a most interesting history, hasn’t it?

“As I watched the procession, my mind was full of the question, ‘Over what course has come the Japanese costume of today, the garment of special form known to the world as the kimono?’

“The kimono began to have a special interest for me as I considered it from the point of view of the forms of clothing,” he said.

To this appeal, I gave the following simple explanation.

“If we divide the ancient and modern clothing of East and West according to form, it falls roughly into

[p. 16]

Black-and-white photograph of a procession walking across bare ground in front of tall trees. Figures in plated body coverings and helmets, with patterned lower garments, walk toward the viewer. At the left two carry tall dark rectangular boards on their backs and carry long poles. At the center a large round disc painted with a three-part swirl hangs from a long pole carried between two shoulders. At the right edge, people in light robes and head coverings kneel or sit on the ground and look on, with a crowd behind them. — Samurai’s historical kimono and armour at “Period Festival,” Kyoto

the following four classes:

“A. The kasaya form.
“B. The sack form.
“1. Loose sacks.
“2. Tight sacks.
“C. The poncho form.
“Mantles.
“D. The kimono form.
“A. The kasaya form was the robe of the priest in India some two thousand years ago (the so-called kasaya), a single piece of cloth about 6 feet wide and 10 feet long; the material was calico with the colour of kuchiba or dead leaves; and it was wrapped around the body. The same form of garment was worn in Europe, too, in ancient times.

[p. 17]

Black-and-white photograph of a procession on a paved way in front of a large gateway with two posts, two crossbars and a curved top beam. Behind the gateway stands a tall boxlike structure hung with a thick mass of drooping pale flower clusters, with a large spoked wheel at its right. In front, people in pale robes and in darker robes, several in pointed dark caps, walk beside a large dark animal and hold ropes. A small figure in a dark robe runs at the center, and another strides at the left holding a long pole. — Facsimile of 6th century costumes at “Aoi Festival,” Kyoto

“The himation of Greece and the toga of Rome belonged to this class.

“They were all aristocratic garments that originated in hot countries and never made any advance. They were garments possessed of no element linking them with the future, and were not suited to modern life. Today they are only materials for the so-called archaeological study of dress.

“B. Under the sack form, the loose sacks were the chiton worn under the Greek himation and the tunica worn under the Roman toga and were slipped on over the body and fastened at the shoulder with a safety-pin, tied with a cord across the breast, skilfully gathered into folds because of their looseness and were garments rich in beauty and allowing great freedom of movement.

[p. 18]

“Monsieur B, to tell you such things is, in the Oriental expression, like preaching to the Buddha, isn’t it?”

“Preaching to the Buddha? No, it’s fine of course. I’ve understood you perfectly. We call the Greek costume the art of folds. The beauty of the lines in one of the fleeing maidens in the Niobe group, the Nike of Samothrace, is really wonderful.”

Monsieur B, while deeply affirming this correspondence with his own opinion, went on eagerly inquiring:

“Then this loose sack form is classical like the kasaya form, isn’t it?”

“Yes. But it has a rather close connection with present-day life. For instance, the woman’s one-piece dress of Europe may be thought of as a development with the changing times of this ancient loose sack form, and we may recognize in the skirt a development of the lower half of the loose sack form.”

“Yes. In male attire, the academic gown, the priest’s robe and the ordinary nightgown are reminiscent of it, aren’t they? And what about the next category, the tight sacks?”

“I think the best example of tight sacks is the man’s suit in Europe today. As for Japanese examples, the workman’s livery coat, vest and drawers belong to this class. Comparing the two, we find the kasaya and loose sack forms to be of the old purely classical type unsuited to an active life, whereas the tight sacks are appropriate modern garments of workers. Next we turn to (C) the poncho and mantle forms.”

[p. 19]

Black-and-white studio photograph of a person seated cross-legged on a plain floor, turned three-quarters to the left and looking toward the viewer. The hair is parted in the middle and bound into a loop at each side of the head. The person wears a pale loose jacket with wide sleeves, tied at the chest with a bow with hanging cords, and a belt at the waist, with a long dark sheath-like object along the hip. At the left stands a stand of three crossed poles holding a small dish with a flame. — Man’s dress in Archaic Age (prior to 552 A.D.)

[p. 20]

How men and women appeared in Nara Period (646-794)

“Poncho? Oh, yes, I’ve heard of it. It’s a thing like a mantle made of a rectangular or elliptical piece of cloth with a slit cut in it for the head, used by the people of Mexico and Central and South America, isn’t it? Is there anything of that sort in Japan?”

“The priest’s dress of the middle ages and the long overdress called uchikake used in ancient pantomimic dances belong to this class, and besides there are mantles and raincoats of the mantle class.

“Last we come to (D) the kimono form. It should probably be called a sort of tight sack form, having characteristic long sleeves hanging straight down from the arms, plus a sash.

“Putting it in the concrete, from the so-called Prehistoric Age (prior to 660 B.C.) through the Nara Period

[p. 21]

Black-and-white photograph of four figures in a row on a low floor in front of a wall of tall pale panels patterned with rows of dark diamond-shaped marks, separated by dark upright posts. At the left a person in a very tall dark cap and a dark garment kneels, with one hand on the floor. Next to this a very small figure, with wings like a butterfly's at the shoulders and a patterned skirt, stands on tall footwear. Next a person with long dark hair sits in layered robes, holding up a large pale sheet in both hands. At the right a person in a tall dark cap and a long pale robe with wide sleeves stands holding a rolled object in one hand. A post with a stand shows at the right edge. — How the aristocrats dressed in Heian Period (794-1185)

(646–794 A.D.), the male attire in Japan was in general like the frock-coat outfit of today, only looser, consisting of a narrow-sleeved upper garment called kinu reaching to about the knees and loose-legged trousers called hakama; and the female attire was like a European blouse and skirt, the garment corresponding to the blouse being called the kinu and that corresponding to the skirt the mo.

“In the Fujiwara Period (897–1185), as the country was at peace, life was secure and the upper classes no longer had to do manual work, so an easy aristocratic life began.

“Thus the frock-coat style of clothes gradually became looser, and the sokutai (the ceremonial court robe), the ikan (informal court dress) and nōshi (a

[p. 22]

Black-and-white photograph of a courtyard in front of large wooden buildings with layered roofs and rows of small hanging lanterns along a veranda, with a wooden railing along a grassy slope and stone steps at the left and right. Several people in pale upper garments with very wide sleeves and dark lower garments stand and turn on the paved ground; some hold a wide sleeve up high and some wear a sword at the hip, and long pale trains trail on the ground behind several of them. Trees show at the top. — Men’s ceremonial court robes in Heian Period (794-1185)

single-breasted wide-sleeved short coat), the kariginu (a double-breasted, wide-sleeved garment with a standing collar) and the suikan (similar to the kariginu) came into existence.

“Then in the twelfth century, the military caste rose to power, bringing about another change in clothing, and the hitatare (a ceremonial robe), the daimon (a hitatare with five crests on it), and the suō (a crested coat) appeared, these changed to the kamishimo (wide-shouldered court dress), then to the haori and hakama (coat and wide trousers), and the man’s costume of today had taken form.

“The woman’s costume followed the same course. The Nara costume of kinu and mo became in the Fujiwara Period (897–1185) the dazzling twelve-fold dress

[after-22-face]

Colour plate, upright as turned from the sideways leaf, of two seated figures with long black hair, in layers of red, orange, pink, pale yellow and white robes that spread out around them on a floor of pale green mats edged in dark bands. Between them stands a square board marked with fine lines, with a small dark tray beside it. At the lower left of the mats lies a small pink fan, and a small round dark object stands on the pale yellow-brown floor at the right. The floor beyond the mats is marked with long thin lines. — COURT LADIES OF THE HEIAN PERIOD (794-1185) PLAYING GO. THEY ARE DRESSED IN KIMONO OF TWELVE FOLDS

[p. 23]

Black-and-white photograph of four people on a low dark floor in front of a wall of tall pale panels patterned with rows of dark diamond-shaped marks, separated by dark upright posts. All wear tall dark caps. At the left one stands in a long pale robe and wide trousers with one arm stretched out to the side holding a small object. The other three sit cross-legged in a row to the right: one in a dark garment with wide pale bands at the sleeve, and two in pale robes, one with a beard. — Male attire in Kamakura Period (1185-1392)

called uchibakama. The dress and belongings of both men and women being elaborate in this period, it was called the golden age of dress and ornament; this was probably because the Chinese characteristics of the preceding age were cast off, and things original and purely Japanese in form, colour and design were made.”

“It would seem so to anybody. And in what order do they put on the twelve-fold dress? They say they still wear it in Japan at court ceremonials.”

“Yes, the twelve-fold dress is a ceremonial costume corresponding to the man’s sokutai. The order of the layers is as follows:

“1. A naii, or inner garment of white glossed silk.

“2. A long, red, silk skirt called uchibakama.

[p. 24]

Black-and-white studio photograph of three people standing apart on a dark floor against a plain backdrop. At the left a person in a long garment marked with round marks wears a wide pale covering over the head with a sheer veil hanging all around it and knotted cords at its edge, and holds a dark object at the side. In the middle a person with the head and lower face wrapped in pale cloth wears a dark short coat with pale cuffs and tall wooden-soled footwear, with a long sword at the hip. At the right a person in a loose pale robe and a dark cap carries a long pole across the shoulder, with a square box and a patterned bag hanging from it, and wears tall boots. — Three characteristic class costumes of Muromachi Period (1392–1573)

“3. An unlined garment called hitoe.

“4. Itsutsuginu, five long silk garments one on top of the other.

“5. A glossy red uchiginu.

“6. The uwagi, shorter than the uchiginu.

“7. The karaginu, made of brilliant figured brocade.

“8. The skirt called mo.

“As a symbol of the leisurely aristocratic life described in the verse, “The high officials are idle and, with cherry blossoms held aloft, they pass another day,” this compares well with the crinoline of the Rococo Period.

“A simplified form of the twelve-fold dress, called kouchigi, is (1) naii, (2) uchibakama, (3) hitoe, (4)

[p. 25]

Black-and-white photograph of two people kneeling on a mat in front of a hanging cloth with large flower patterns, between two dark upright shapes. At the left a person with the hair tied in a high knot with locks at the sides wears a dark garment with a round mark on the sleeve and a striped hem, and holds a folded fan against the knee. At the right a person with the hair pinned up, in a pale garment with a sash at the waist, kneels turned toward the left. In front of them stand dark boxes with round flower shapes on their sides, and small round and square objects lie on the mat. — Tokugawa Period costumes (17th and 18th centuries)

uchigi, (5) uchiginu, (6) uwagi, (7) kouchigi. The kouchigi closely resembles the uwagi.

“Down through the Tokugawa Period (1615–1867), this costume continued without change as the ceremonial dress at court and among the noblewomen, and even today it is used just as formerly at court ceremonials.

“When the life of the warrior class formed the centre of culture after the Kamakura Period (1185–1392), even women’s dress became very simple and plain, the outer garment tied at the waist with an obi (sash) under a light coat called an uchikake. This outer garment called aigi may be thought of as having had its origin in the naii, the first layer of the twelve worn by the women of the old nobility and the uchikake as being a simplification to one coat of the kouchigi.

[p. 26]

Black-and-white photograph of two people facing each other and bowing, on a stone-flagged floor in a wooden hall with thick posts, pale wall panels under a band of small eaves, and slatted shutters at the right edge. At the left one person in a dark jacket with stiff wide shoulders and a round mark on the chest and sleeve, and long wide trousers that trail on the floor, holds a sword at the hip with both hands, the hair in a topknot. At the right the other, in a paler jacket with stiff wide shoulders and long trousers, also wears a sword at the hip, the hair in a knot with a round ornament, and sandals. — Typical samurai’s costume in Tokugawa Period (1615-1867)

In the Tokugawa Period (1615–1867), the aigi became the uwagi (which came to have a ceremonial meaning whether the uchikake was worn or not), a wide obi was worn, and the ornamental beauty of woman’s attire was centred in the kosode (wadded silk garment), worn on all occasions, and the great obi. This became the so-called kimono of today.”

“Has there been virtually no change in shape ever since?”

“Virtually none. This ends the history of the change from the tight sack form of garment, having in it many of the essential continental elements of North China, Manchoukuo and Chōsen (Korea), to the characteristic kimono form of today.”

[p. 27]

Black-and-white photograph of a garment laid flat on a dark ground with its sleeves stretched out to both sides in a T shape, a small notch at the top center, and the lower part widening toward the hem. The pale cloth carries large flower and leaf shapes, some dark and some pale. Circled numerals are printed on it: 1 at the notch at the top center; 3 at the upper outer corner of each sleeve; 2 at the lower outer corner of each sleeve; 4 at each lower corner of the hem and at the bottom center. — NAMES OF KIMONO PARTS
1. Eri or collar
2. Sode or sleeve
3. Sodeguchi or cuff
4. Suso or hem