Nara period (710–794)
Clothing in the Nara-period was influenced by Tang-dynasty China. Women adopted overlapping tarikubi (垂領, “drape-necked”) robes with very long sleeves, and a wrapped skirt (mo 裳) that was draped over the waist. Men continued wearing round agekubi (上領, “high-necked”) mandarin robes, which were associated with scholasticism.
Heian Period (794 – 1185)
During the Heian-period a new making technique, the “straight-line cut method was developed, so the kimono could adjust to any body-shape. The nobility began to wear 5 up to 40 layers that covered their hands and feet .The clothes served as protection from the evil spirits and as manifestation of a social rank. Commoners wore kosode 小袖 made of linen with cylindrical sleeve for manual labor. It was also used as undergarment by the nobles.
Kamakura Period (1185–1333)
With the shift in power from the aristocracy to the samurai, a new style of dress should allow freedom of movement but also remain elegant. The kosode developed to become the outer robe of the elite and hakama began to be worn by upper-class women and the court. Lower-class women wore half-skirts to be sure their kosode remained in place.
Muromachi Period (1336– 1573)
The biggest change in this period was the abandonment of hakama pants for women. To keep their kosode tight, they invented a narrow, decorated obi. This shift allowed the kosode to become visible from top to bottom, perfect for the display of decorative patterning. Until Edo period, both men’s and women’s garments were decorated with bright patterns, and the differences between the sexes in that respect were not so clear.
The Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1568–1603)
By this time the kosode became common throughout society, and was not merely the exclusive garment of the nobility. With smaller sleeves, more practicable for physical movement, the shape had evolved into a style similar to the modern kimono. The word ‘kimono’ had become synonymous with kosode, as it was also used in a report by the Portuguese missionary Joao Rodrigues, who came to Japan in around 1577.
01 Clothing modelled on the Nara Period (710 to 794). From the Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum, 2021
02 Clothing modelled on the Muromachi Period (1336 to 1573). From the Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum, 2021
03 Artist: Torii Kiyonaga (1752-1815) Artwork: Ono no Komachi, the Heian poetess, depicted in formal jūni-hitoe, or twelve-layer court costume.
04 Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) Artwork: 1850 – Portrait of Sugawara no Michizane, who was a renowned poet and calligrapher in the Heian Court.
05 Clothing for a court lady of the Kamakura Period (1185-1333) , Japan. Recreation accomplished in Kyoto during the 1930s. From the book “The History of Women’s Costume in Japan.”, 2003