Getting re-Oriented:

From Modern Kimono to Historic Kosode

Introduction:

With the relative ease of purchasing used kimono from Japan it is not uncommon to see a vast array of these modern traditional garments at SCA events; fortunately it is relatively simple to transform the kimono to its historic equivalent; the kosode.

The word ‘kimono’ is itself modern. It first appears in the 19th century to fill a linguistic need to separate Japanese-clothing from western clothing. Initially kimono just meant ‘Clothes.’ By the turn of the century it came to mean a specific garment. Modern kimono are surprisingly inexpensive and easy to come by second hand. (Due, likely, to the Japanese cultural distaste for clothing that has been worn by someone else.) Mistress Marixsa of Crowfordmere, for example, frequently brings kimono from Japan to sell whenever business brings her back to the United States

Pictured below are a man’s modern kimono (left from a Japanese antique dealer’s website) and right is a beautiful 15th century Muromachi period man's kosode from the Tokyo National Museum.

Note: as I do not own these images I am just linking to the images on the websites I found them on, thus they may be slow to load.

They do look very similar on first glance, however notice how the modern Kimono is considerably narrower in the body, with more of the width taken up in the sleeves, the much sharper corner of the outter, lower edge of the sleeve and a considerably narrower lapel than the Muromachi kosode. What you cannot see from these pictures, but is obvious in other images is how the sleeves are not attached to the body at the bottom on the modern kimono, but are on the historic kosode.

Buying your Kimono

Things to look for when purchasing a modern kimono for SCA use:

• A large size – you want the fabric to drape properly. The modern kimono aesthetic is to end just above the floor and achieve as much as possible a perfect cylinder, the historic kosode was a looser, more draped garment.
• Avoid a single large over-all design in favor of a solid color, repeating pattern or three-part Momoyama style design. Men’s kimono modernly tend to have more subdued all-over patterns. For this and the size many women may want to buy male kimono for reenactment!
• Fiber content – many kimono are silk, however modern kimono may use modern fabrics. For most of the SCA time period Japanese clothing was either silk or linen.
• Shorter sleeves - The sleeves should reach your wrist, but the bottom of the sleeve should not go past the waist, avoid the long hanging furisode sleeve

Altering a Kimono to be a Kosode

Sew the open seams between the sleeve and body closed. Shorten the hanging length of the sleeves if necessary Round the edge of the sleeve; modern men’s kimono have a very sharp square cut Alter decorative motifs if possible. Obviously you can’t remove dyed or woven in elements, but you can obscure them by adding more of the same to create more of an over-all design rather than the big eye-catching overall patterns of modern kimono. Note in the Momoyama period there was a vogue for three part patterns (a decorative motif across the shoulders and hem). Use a thin belt and tie it in the front (The large obi tied in the back we see modernly became standard in the 1920s) Ladies wear hakama pants with it Wear layers – always have an under-kosode usually white though other colors were worn at different time periods. Ladies, wear your hair down straight or looped up in a loose bun. The large, elaborate geisha coiffures we know and love are sadly Victorian in origin.

A man's Momoyama period Kosode from the Kyoto National Museum showing the three-part decorative motif.

Some notes and sources for your information:

Note: this handout is not intended to be a complete account of Japanese historic costume and there are large generalizations. There were wide variations throughout the time period covered, from region to region and for all the various levels of society.

Bibliography

Dalby, Liza Crihfield Kimono: fashioning culture New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1993

Minnich, Helen Benton Japanese Costume and the Makers of Its elegant Tradition Charles E. Tuttle co. Tokyo, second printing 1986.

Mondadori, Arnoldo ed. Great Museums of the World: National Museum Tokyo Milan Italy Newsweek Inc. 1968.

Web-ography

The Costume Museum, Japan: http://www.iz2.or.jp/english/index.htm (unfortunately groups Kamakura, Muromachi and Momoyama together and the English notation makes it difficult to differentiate exactly what period you are looking at. Also all pictures are of reproduction costumes, not originals.)

The Kyoto National Museum: http://www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/index_top.html

The Tokyo National Museum: http://www.tnm.go.jp/en/servlet/Con?pageId=X00&processId=00

The Virtual Museum of Japanese Arts: http://web-japan.org/museum/menu.html

Cynthia Shaver Website: http://www.asianart.com/cshaver/ (This is a web page for a dealer in Japanese antiquitites. She does sell Kimono as well, I know not where or how much as I just used a google image search looking for a picture of a modern kimono.)