During the Edo era, the kosode was a unisex clothing, worn by every Japanese, regardless of age or socio-economic position. The quality of the fabric, the choice of pattern, yarn, dye, print and colour were essential criteria for the presentation of the rank, age, gender and sophistication of the person wearing it. Women of the lower classes wore their kimonos until they became rags, while the high-class people could preserve theirs, and commission new ones. Until Meiji women’s wafuku was layered in sets o-tsui of two or three garments. The outermost, the uwagi, corresponded to today’s kimono. Underneath the uwagi were one to three underlayers shitagi, showing slightly at bosom, sleeve, and hem. Trailing kimono had been common for women, holding it up with one hand when outside the house.
But the way in which women wore kimono changed drastically. The original obi which were narrow and tied in the front, grew in size and became an important part. Meiji-period obi became both longer and wider and were also worn lower on the body tied up into a hip fold ohashori, which created a more “voluptuous” silhouette. The design of the kosode was affected as it was divided into parts above and below the obi.
With the Meiji Restoration traditional class distinctions and mandates of dress eradicated. They had been largely replaced by the societal concepts of ryakugi and reisō, a system of organizing types of kimono based on occasion of wear.
During this time, the term “kimono” was officially coined in order to distinguish it from the Western garments that were now being introduced. “Kimono” became an umbrella term in which many different types of Japanese garments as yukata, kosode, uchikake, etc. fell under. A single, distilled term was also easier to market to foreigners.
Modern-day kimono retains little of its former qualities as a loose-fitting garment. On the contrary, ever since the obi became a rigid affair, it has been regarded as one of the most uncomfortable forms of female dress. As early as 1887, the empress condemned the wide obi as “unsuitable for the human body”.
01 Artist: Kunisada Utagawa Seiki (1786-1865) Artwork: 1830-1843 – Courtesan within the story of the village of Odori, Megoro Hiyoku-zuka
02 Artist: Shunshō Katsukawa (1726-1793) Artwork: 1786 – This print depicts a merchant showing fabrics and kimono patterns to two women. The merchant’s box to the left bears the crest of the Echigoya, the most famous kimono store in Edo. Since 1666 pattern books hinagata bon served to illustrate the latest styles and instructed people on how to select garments appropriate to their status.
03 Artist: Keisai Eisen (1790–1848) Artwork: ca 1830 – Courtesan wearing uchikake with dragon design. Colour woodcut on Japanese paper. This print was reproduced on the cover of Paris Illustre le Japon in 1886, and then famously copied in oil twice by Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) the following year.
04 Artist: Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) Artwork: 1887 – The Courtesan. Oil on canvas, after Keisai Eisen.
05 Artist: Kuniyoshi Utagawa (1798-1861) Artwork: 1847 – Enya’s Wife, the Lady Kazuyo, from the series: Loyal and Righteous Samurai. Kazuyo Gozen, the wife of Enya Hangan (the historical Asano Naganori), bending over slightly to gather her dress, rabbit figurines in her hair.
06 Artist: Yoshitora Utagawa (1836-1880) Artwork: 1861 – Night Rain at Gankirō, from the series Eight Views of Yokohama. With the Treaty of Kanagawa in 1854, Japan opened to Western trade at Yokohama. The Yokohama-e prints present Japan’s early impression of the Westerners arriving in this port city.