Lower Class Japanese Kimono

Kimono for lower class people - the Suikan

The suikan was shorter and less formal Japanese kimono than the kariginu kimono. The suikan was also worn by lower class people as a formal visiting garment, as a uniform by men who served the nobles, and towards the end of the Heian period as the ceremonial dress of warriors.

Such people as merchants wore beautifully designed unlined upper garments with broad sleeves, while common people were required to wear garments of a certain style. For men there was a suikan with a stand-up collar tied on the right and an early type of hakama. Women wore kimono which were shortened by raising and tieing them in place.

Maid Kimono

At the bottom of the social scale, a maid servant would have a very simple kimono consisting of a loose fitting upper garment and a wraparound cloth skirt.