Japanese Kimono

Archive for the ‘Kimono History’ Category

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.

For less formal wear the Heian court nobles dressed in the Japanese kimono style referred to as noshi. 

 

Although the sleeves were long and full like those of the sokutai kimono, various ornaments of rank of the noshi kimono were eliminated to facilitate freer movement. 

Japanese Hunting Kimono - Kariginu

The Heian Period hunting kimono was called kariginu. With horseback riding and the drawing of a bow in mind, particular attention was given to the sleeves of these Japanese kimono. These were narrow and were attached by sewing under the arm, but not at the top of the shoulder, and had strings at the cuffs with which they could be closed.