P2+Kimono


 * Dress and Appearance: Kimono**

By: Abby Staker and Daniel Schulz


 * Introduction**

Dress and Appearance was very important to Ancient Japan. It represented the ranking and position that people had in the society.


 * The Kimono**

The main dress throughout much of the history of Japan revolved around the kimono. The word kimono means “to wear”. The kimono is a long robe that falls at the ankles. A kimono has a collar and long, wide sleeves. When a kimono is worn the robe is wrapped with the left side going over the right. The kimono is secured by a sash called an “obi”. In the earliest times in Japan, the kimono robes were worn in many layers and had large sleeves to show all the colors of the kimono. However, when the samurai took over the leadership of Japan, the need for the elaborate kimono changed. The kimono became simpler and had smaller sleeves consistent with the samurai belief of a simpler life. The kimono was typically worn with sandals or clogs called “getas”. Getas were wooden shoes with high pegs that allowed for easy walking in snowy or rainy conditions.


 * Samurai Clothing**

In the time period of the samurai, the everyday clothing of the samurai included a hakama which was like a skirt and baggy pants. A wing vest over a robe was sometimes worn. However, when a samurai entered battle this traditional dress was discarded and the samurai armor was put on. The armor was supposed to make the samurai look fiercer. To protect themselves from arrows and swords, the samurai wore iron helmets, a neck defense, and large rectangular shoulder guards. They also wore a hanging skirt which separated to make it easier to ride a horse. To make the samurai's armor more flexible, it was made out of small scales called “lamellae”. These scales were made of shiny, lacquered iron, copper, and other metals. Helmets of samurai were usually very elaborate. They also allowed for the samurai to wear their hair in a short ponytail on top of their heads. The helmets often had a hole on top that the ponytail could be worn through. Attached to the brow were crests of creatures. The crests were supposed to symbolize a samurai’s bravery and scare his enemies. The samurai would also wear a mask to help keep the helmet in place. Some masks covered the entire face, and some covered only the lower part of the face. Samurai’s would also wear two swords. On their feet samurai would sometimes wear fur shoes to make it look they had bear’s feet.


 * Common People Clothing**

While the samurai had a unique dress fitting of their elite class in early Japan, the common people’s clothing was typically determined by their class. Farmers, for example, wore clothes made out of rough cotton, banana fiber, or hemp. Farmers did wear kimonos but only at certain times. However, when farmers were working, they wore short jackets and pants that resembled trousers and straw sandals. Women work clothing varied by where they lived in Japan. In some areas, women wore baggy pants that pulled tight at their ankles and in other places they wore tighter pants with an apron. Both men and women wore five inch wide belts. Weather also had an effect on what farmers wore. Straw coats and wooden clogs known as getas would be worn when it was rainy. In hot weather men would go topless and sometimes just wear a loin cloth. Women would wear a short skirt. While farmers had their own dress so did the merchant class. The merchant class and artisan class wore short jackets or shirts known as “happi coats”. Overall, the dress of these classes were very simple and made out of basic textiles. Silk could only be used by the samurai.


 * The Crest**

One defining feature of the clothing of this time was the crest. Crests could be found on the kimono. A crest symbolizes a families ranking in the society. The crest could be a design of many things, but each family had a unique crest that symbolized something to them. The Japanese crests could be a design of a plant, a favored animal, or other natural things. There were many different designs for the families to pick. During the feudal period in Japan, every samurai’s family had a crest and this crest was displayed on their clothing. In the early 1600’s, the wearing of a crest and two swords became a privilege officially restricted to the samurai class, and many rules and formal ceremonies were involved. By the end of the century, the restrictions about crests were relaxed and wealthy merchants also began using crests. In some cases they later became modern corporate symbols. More and more commoners started to wear crest, such as on a formal kimono.


 * Hairstyles and Make-up**

In addition to the actual clothing, this period also was known for its hairstyles and cosmetics. Prior to samurai rule men and women both wore cosmetics. However, when the samurai took over men were forbidden to wear make-up. Women, however, used powder to whiten their face and painted their nails with vegetable dye. Women shaved their eyebrows and painted “moth wing” eyebrows in their place. Women’s hair was very long and was often put and decorated with jewels and hair pins. The poorest of people wore their hair short all over their head. Samurai had the top of their heads shaved with a ponytail on top. As with clothing, hairstyle often reflected the class to which you were born.


 * Conclusion**

Early Japanese dress and appearance was tied to the class into which one was born. The kimono was a big part of the earliest clothing in Japan and seemed to be the one of the main dress to transcend classes and time.

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 * Citations **

__Arms & Armor Around the World Japan. __ The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010, WEB.

 Odijk, Pamela "Clothing". __The Ancient World the Japanese.__ Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Silver Burdett Press, 1889, print

Mann, Horace. __Medieval Japanese Clothes, Make up, & Hair Styles__//.// Horace Mann's Webpage. Web

Bryant, Anthony J. //“//Men’s Garments” __Sengoku Daimyo__. 2004. WEB.

__Kimono, Kimono Fabric & Japanese Clothing. __ Japanese Kimono. WEB.

__A Woman's Kimono - Sleeve Design. __ Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1999, WEB.

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