NIPPON Kichi - 日本吉

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2008/7/10


束帯 Sokutai Sokutai

Jp En


Sokutai is the full official dress worn by emperors, aristocrats and courtiers since the Heian Period (794). It is also called Hino-shouzoku.
The word Sokutai, was originally found in the Analects of Confucius, where it meant layered clothes tied with an obi belt and it indicated a full set of dress.
Sokutai consist of a crown, hitoe clothes worn over underwear followed by akome and shitagasane clothes with a long sash called kyo hanging in the back.  Crimson under pants and baggy outer trousers are then added and finally, an outer robe called hou, which is tied with a leather belt containing stone decorations called sekitai.
Sokutai, based on the court uniforms worn by the government officials under the ritsuryo codes, became the full official dress of the Imperial Court. Those who were among military officers, civil officials in Nakatsukasasho who oversaw imperial affairs and aristocrats who held the sangi position or higher and who were granted Imperial permission were allowed to wear a sword. As time passed, sokutai has become more ceremonial, only being worn in special occasions.
There are two kind of the hou outer robe: houeki which the civil officials wore and ketteki which allowed more free movement and was worn by military officials.
Sokutai is traditional and elegant full official wear for the emperor as well as aristocratic and government officials.  
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2008/1/8


彩絵檜扇 Saiehiougi Saie-Hiogi Fans

Jp En

Saie-Hiogi is a crescent folding fan with blades made of Japanese cypress wood. Hiogi fans were made in the Heian period (794-1192) as the accessory used by the nobility on formal occasions in the Imperial court. The number of blades differed according to the rank of the person who carried the fan. At the present time, there are only seven Hiogi fans remain; one at Atsuta Jingu Shrine, five at Itsukushima Shrine and one at Asuka Shrine in Kumano.
Gofun (powder made from oyster shells) solution is applied as the base coat onto slats of cypress wood threaded with silk. Then after applying mica, pieces of gold and silver leaf and foil are sprinkled on the surface, where colorful pictures are painted with Iwaenogu (mineral pigment).
The motifs of Kachofugetsu (flowers, birds, wind, and moon), noblemen and court ladies are painted in well-mellowed brush strokes. Saie-Hiogi fan was not only an implement but also a work of art that was like a picture scroll. The existing Saie-Hiogi fans are designated as either National Important Cultural Properties or National Treasures.
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2007/9/7


紬織 Tsumugi-ori Tsumugi Silk Textil

Jp En

Tsumugi are silk textiles woven by hand using thread collected from the floss of the cocoons.
The floss is made from debris of the cocoons and spun by hand into thread. Because the thread is called “tetsumugi ito” or “ tsumugi ito”, the textile made from the thread became to be known as tsumugi.
Tsumugi is characterized by its unique texture and dull gloss coming from subtle variations of the tetsumugi threads. It is extremely durable and has been used for everyday clothes and working clothes since ancient times.
Thus, tsumugi, although it is silk, was not used for formal wear. However, during Edo period, many stylish, fashionable people liked tsumugi’s color palate and texture with its muted gloss despite it being silk. They found it expressed an austere elegance and considered it a stylish fabric that expressed their good taste nonchalantly. They generally wore it as outer clothing and dressing up in tsumugi became popular.
Though tsumugi is durable, because the newly woven cloth is hard and quite uncomfortable to wear, it is said that wealthy merchants had their clerks wear them first to break them in.
It could be fun to try a newly woven hard tsumugi and act cool like a rakugo comedian.
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2007/1/12


下駄 Geta Geta

Jp En

Geta are one of Japan's traditional forms of footwear. Their origin dates back to the Nara or Heian periods. Especially after the Genroku period, when komageta were developed, and by the Edo period, they were being widely used.
   In Edo, geta raised on two high struts ('ha'= teeth) were called ashida and those with low struts were geta. In Edo, geta for men were angular and those for women were roundish. In Kyoto or Osaka, high or low geta were called geta and had rounded shapes for either sex. In the Edo period, geta seem to have been tasteful footwear.
   The thong to anchor the feet on geta is made from cloth: informal cloth, not formal.
   For some time after the Meiji Restoration, geta were often worn with Western dress but, following the asphalting of roads, this form of footwear, along with Japanese cloth, lost their popularity.
   In the last 10 years, both kimono and yukata have seen a revival in popularity, and so, too, have geta. Geta are currently changing in form, so that they are more comfortable to wear and do not hurt your feet.
   Up to 60 percent of geta are produced in Matsunaga District, Fukuyama City, in Hiroshima prefecture.
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