Transcript Document

Japanese clothing
By Melissa Torres,
Rubi Verastegui,
George Ramirez
Yukata
A yukata is a cooling garment to wear.
Like other forms of clothing based on
traditional Japanese garments, it is made
with straight seams and wide sleeves.
Unlike formal kimono, yukata are typically
made of cotton rather than silk or
synthetic fabric, and they are unlined.
Traditionally yukata were mostly made of
indigo-dyed cotton but today a wide
variety of colors and designs is available.
Like the more formal kimono, the general
rule is the younger the person, the
brighter the color and bolder the pattern.
A child might wear a multicolored print
and a young woman, a floral print, while
an older woman would confine herself to a
traditional dark blue with geometric
patterns. Since the late 1990s, yukata have
experienced a bit of a revival, and many
young women now wear them in summer
in personally distinctive ways not limited
by tradition. This garment is very
traditional The proper way to wear a
yukata is not necessarily obvious. The left
side of the yukata is wrapped over the
right side (the reverse is to be avoided as
only the dead at a funeral wears the right
over the left), and an obi (belt) is used to
keep the yukata from falling open when
worn in public. In private, as after a bath,
the yukata is usually simply belted. Also, a
type of thonged wooden sandal called
geta is usually worn with the yukata.
Jinbei
The jinbei is a kind of
traditional Japanese clothing
worn by men and boys during
the summer. Jinbei sets consist
of a top and matching shorts.
Traditional jinbei are made from
hemp or cotton and dyed a
uniform color, often blue or
green, though modern jinbei
frequently have prints ranging
from simple textures or lines to
complicated and colorful floral
patterns. The top resembles
short-sleeved or sleeveless
jacket that falls to the hips. It
ties closed both inside and
outside the jacket. Traditional
jinbei are often worn as a
substitute for yukata when
attending summer festivals,
typically by men and boys but
also frequently by young
women. Ladies' jinbei tend to
be more brightly colored and
often feature prints of popular
culture characters.
Samue
Made from cotton or linen and traditionally
dyed brown or indigo to distinguish them
from formal vestments, samue are worn by
monks performing labour duty such as
temple maintenance and field work. In
modern times they have become popular
as general casual or work wear.
Shakuhachi players today, because of the
instrument's historical association with Zen
Buddhism, sometimes wear samue
kimono
Kimonos are T-shaped, straight-lined robes that
fall to the ankle, with collars and wide, full-length
sleeves. Traditionally, unmarried women wore a
style of kimono called furisode which have floorlength sleeves, on special occasions.
Kimonos are wrapped around the body, always
with the left side over the right (except when
dressing the dead for burial and secured by a wide
belt called an obi, which is tied at the back.
Kimonos are generally worn with traditional
footwear (especially geta, thonged wood-platform
footwear; and zori, a type of thong-like footwear)
and split-toe socks (tabi).
Today, kimonos are most often worn by women,
and on special occasions. A few older women and
even fewer men still wear kimonos on a daily basis.
Men wear kimonos most often at wedding, tea
ceremonies, and other very special or very formal
occasions. Kimonos are also worn by both men
and women in certain sports, such as kendo.
Professional sumo wrestlers are often seen in
kimonos because they are required to wear
traditional Japanese dress whenever appearing in
public citation needed].
Kimono hobbyists in Japan can take courses on
how to put on and wear kimonos. Classes cover
selecting seasonally and event-appropriate
patterns and fabrics, matching the kimono
undergarments and accessories to the kimono,
layering the undergarments according to subtle
meanings, selecting and tying obi, and other
topics. There are also clubs devoted to kimono
culture, such as Kimono de Ginza.
History
During the Jomon Period (13000 BC to 300 BC), the
inhabitants of the Japanese islands were gatherers, fishers
and hunters. Jomon is the name of the era's pottery.
During the Yayoi Period (300 BC to 300 AD), the rice culture
was imported into Japan around 100 BC. With the
introduction of agriculture, social classes started to evolve,
and parts of the country began to unite under powerful land
owners. Chinese travellers during the Han and Wei
dynasties reported that a queen called Himiko (or Pimiku)
reigned over Japan at that time. The Yayoi period brought
also the introduction of iron and other modern ideas from
Korea into Japan. Again, its pottery gave the period its name.