Kimono
The kimono is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono is traditionally worn with a broad sash, called an, and is commonly worn with accessories such as zōri sandals and socks.
Kimonos have a set method of construction and are typically made from a long, narrow bolt of cloth known as a, though Western-style fabric bolts are also sometimes used. There are different types of kimono for men, women, and children, varying based on the occasion, the season, the wearer's age, and – less commonly in the modern day – the wearer's marital status. Despite the kimono's reputation as a formal and difficult-to-wear garment, there are types of kimono suitable for both formal and informal occasions. The way a person wears their kimono is known as.
Until the Edo period, garments that resembled modern kimonos, characterized by narrow sleeve openings and hanging sleeves, were collectively referred to as kosode. In the late ninth century of the Heian period, Japanese clothing began to diverge from Chinese styles, giving rise to uniquely Japanese garments such as the jūnihitoe. During this time, members of the court and the warrior class wore white kosode as underwear. In the Sengoku period, which corresponds to the late Muromachi period, the kosode, originally a simple undergarment, developed into a more elaborate outer garment, becoming the direct predecessor of the modern kimono.
Formerly the most common Japanese garment, the kimono has fallen out of favour and is rarely worn as everyday dress now. They are most often seen at summer festivals, where people frequently wear the, the most informal type of kimono. More formal types are worn to funerals, weddings, graduations, and other formal events. Geisha and are required to wear a kimono as part of their profession, and must wear kimonos at all times in public. Despite the small number of people who wear it regularly and its reputation as a complicated garment, the kimono has experienced revivals in previous decades, and is still worn today as fashionable clothing in Japan.
History
Before the Kofun period, reliable sources are scarce, so judgments are mainly based on the shapes of excavated artifacts such as haniwa. From these, we can already see garments of the kosode type, such as tsutsusode and tari-eri, as well as clothing considered to be prototypes of hakama.The Nara period is considered a time when the upper classes were strongly influenced by China's Tang dynasty, and many garments show the influence of Tang hanfu. In addition, under the clothing regulations of the court, formal dress, court dress, and uniforms were prescribed. Meanwhile, the commoner classes wore simple and practical clothing, continuing to use ancient styles of upper garments and hakama even after this period.
In the early Heian period, the missions to Tang China were abolished and the Tang dynasty fell; from the mid to late Heian period onward, the so-called "national style culture" flourished. Among the upper classes, new garments such as the jūnihitoe and sokutai were created. These often consisted of wearing hakama on the lower body and layering multiple garments on the upper body in luxurious fashion. Within this aristocratic class, the kosode was worn simply as an undergarment for the upper body. On the other hand, among the common classes in the Heian and Kamakura periods, the kosode was everyday wear, combined with hakama or worn in a simplified upper garment-and-hakama style. Among the commoners, kosode were further simplified, often worn alone with only a waist sash. This is called kosode no kinagashi. During this time, sleeves changed from cylindrical to narrow-cuffed. Examples include some women in the late Heian scroll painting Ban Dainagon Ekotoba and the women farming rice in Ōyamadera Engi. For the working classes, hakama could be a hindrance. Nevertheless, the kosode eventually became the foundation of the modern kimono.
From the latter half of the Kamakura period and into the Muromachi period, the weakening of the court nobility reached its peak. Moreover, as the samurai—originally a military class close to commoners—rose into the upper classes, the formerly extravagant upper garments disappeared. The kosode, which had been worn as the innermost garment, came to the forefront, merging with the kosode of the common people. Thus, in the Muromachi period, the simplest kosode, the prototype of the modern kimono, was born. The combination of kosode and hakama, called kosode-bakama, was treated as semi-formal attire in this period, later becoming formal wear. For example, the modern men's formal attire haori-hakama consists of kosode and hakama with a haori coat over them. Eventually, even the upper classes dispensed with hakama, and the kosode worn flowing became common informal wear regardless of class.
Entering the Edo period, with the peace of the time, women's kosode became more ornate, with greater variety of patterns and changes in shape according to demand. Sleeve length increased, and the obi grew longer and wider. To prevent the garment from loosening, the obijime cord was adopted, leading to the modern furisode. During the Genroku era, kosode featured large sleeve pouches and flashy, innovative designs, while the hem was often worn long and trailing, with more relaxed dressing. Through these developments, the kosode evolved into what we recognize today as the modern kimono.
Yamato period to Nara period (300–794)
The first instances of kimono-like garments in Japan were traditional Chinese clothing introduced to Japan via Chinese envoys in the Kofun period, through immigration between the two countries and envoys to the Tang dynasty court leading to Chinese styles of dress, appearance, and culture becoming extremely popular in Japanese court society. The Imperial Japanese court quickly adopted Chinese styles of dress and clothing, with evidence of the oldest samples of tie-dyed fabric stored at the Shōsōin Temple being of Chinese origin, due to the limitations of Japan's ability to produce the fabrics at the time. As early as the 4th century CE, images of priestess-queens and tribal chiefs in Japan depicted figures wearing clothing similar to that of Han dynasty China.In 718 CE, the Yoro clothing code was instituted, which stipulated that all robes had to be overlapped at the front with a left-to-right closure, following typical Chinese fashions. This convention of wear is still followed today, with a right-to-left closure worn only by the deceased.
Clothing used by the upper classes was significantly simpler to don and wear than dress from the following Heian period. Sleeves, while narrow, were long enough to cover the fingers, since status was associated with covering more of the body.
Heian period to Azuchi–Momoyama period (794–1600)
During the Heian period, Japan stopped sending envoys to the Chinese dynastic courts. This prevented Chinese-imported goods—including clothing—from entering the Imperial Palace. This also prevented dissemination to the upper classes, who were the main arbiters of traditional Japanese culture at the time, and the only people allowed to wear such clothing. The ensuing cultural vacuum facilitated the development of a Japanese culture independent from Chinese fashions. Elements previously lifted from the Tang Dynastic courts developed independently into what is known literally as "national culture" or ". The term is used to refer to Heian-period Japanese culture, particularly that of the upper classes.Women's clothing in the imperial palace became increasingly stylised in the formal, with some elements being abandoned by both male and female courtiers, such as the round-necked and tube-sleeved jacket worn by both genders in the early 7th century. Others, such as the wrapped front robes also worn by men and women, were kept. Some elements, such as the skirt worn by women, continued to in a reduced capacity, worn only to formal occasions; the grew too narrow to wrap all the way around and became a trapezoidal pleated train. Hakama became longer than the legs and also trailed behind the wearer.
During the later Heian period, various clothing edicts reduced the number of layers a woman could wear, leading to the garment—previously considered underwear—becoming outerwear by the time of the Muromachi period. Originally worn with, the began to be held closed with a small belt known as an instead. The resembled a modern kimono, though at this time the sleeves were sewn shut at the back and were smaller in width than the body of the garment. During the Sengoku period and the Azuchi–Momoyama period, the decoration of the developed further, with bolder designs and flashy colours becoming popular. By this time, separate lower-body garments, such as the and, were almost never worn, allowing full-length patterns to be seen.
Among the aristocratic class, which had been influenced by continental clothing, the abolition of the Kentōshi missions to Tang China in the early Heian period, along with the subsequent development of national style culture, led to a gradual departure from Chinese models. New garments such as the jūnihitoe and sokutai were created, forming what is known as Heian period clothing. Some of these garments, particularly those of the aristocracy, are still worn today in Imperial ceremonies.
The clothing of commoners in the early and middle Heian periods is not well understood, but depictions appear in the Ban Dainagon Ekotoba, believed to have been produced in the late Heian period. Many men are shown wearing suikan, with hakama reaching below the knees. Women are shown wearing wide-sleeved garments or kosode in a flowing style, and some are depicted with a waist cloth wrapped around the body.