History of Asia

The clothes in the Edo period were actually that! !!

The Edo period began under the thorough management and rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate, but it slowly began to change with the fifth shogun, Tsunayoshi Tokugawa.

Due to the chronic financial difficulties of the Shogunate, the Tokugawa Shogunate is steadily declining little by little.

Even so, the Edo Shogunate, which lasted about 260 years, can be divided into the first half, the middle half, and the second half.

  • First term ⇒ 1st Ieyasu to 5th Shogun Tsunayoshi
  • Mid-term ⇒ 6th Shogun / Ienobu to 10th Shogun / Ieharu
  • Late ⇒ 11th Shogun Ienari to 15th Shogun Yoshinobu

During the last 260 years, the 15-year-old shogun changed and implemented various policies, but at the same time, the appearance of the town, food culture, and lifestyle changed with the times.

Today, I would like to write about the changes in clothing.

Edo period clothing and features

Practical landing in the early Edo period

Speaking of the Edo period, kimono However, dyeing and weaving technology Has also developed significantly, indigo dyeing technology It was also during this period that I was able to do it. The color of the kimono that the common people were only allowed to wear was also indigo.

Modern fashion leaders are often models, but fashion leaders of this era are Kabuki actors and high-class prostitutes . was. The common people took in their clothes and it became fashionable.

One of the characteristics of clothing in the early Edo period was that even townspeople wore hakama when going out, but women were dressed for both samurai and townspeople. was.

Kimono is a style that you don't wear a hakama, don't wear a long hakama, or just wear a kimono I say that.

When I was actually living in a kimono, I naturally preferred clothes with a loose collar, and the ones with large and flashy patterns were used. The obi also emphasized practicality rather than design.

Early Edo period Is an era where practicality is more important than fashion. It seems that it was.

Komon is popular in the middle of the Edo period

Komon developed in the samurai family in the middle of the Edo period Is a Kabuki actor Komon with a common sense, triggered by the fact that he liked to wear it. Has come to be favored by the townspeople.

Komon kimono is a kimono in which the same pattern is repeatedly drawn on the entire kimono as shown below, and the pattern is repeated in one direction.

In addition, haori and taiko knots, which are similar to the current kimono style, will be introduced.

In the latter half of Edo, enjoy the invisible fashion that is prohibited from luxury ...

In the late Edo period, the shogunate banned flashy kimonos Because it is done, the pattern itself is often plain and plain. However, you will be able to enjoy fashion with accessories, back hem, hairstyle and dressing.

Although the pattern was plain, I tried to dress it in shades of color . It seems that he was devising. Also, even if it looks sober at first glance, it actually looks elaborate ( Edo Komon, etc. ) Was devised, and I enjoyed fashion within the scope of regulations.

Various haori have also appeared, and as shown in the photo below, there seems to be a cute child who can be used even when walking in modern times.

It was common for tradesman wives to wear an apron on their kimono.

Maedare, Maedare The apron called is to prevent the kimono from getting dirty, and its use was the same as it is now.

The townspeople didn't have many kimonos, so the apron was a necessity to keep it clean.

The common people owned only about 5 kimonos on average in their lifetime, so it seems that they wore one carefully. There are many costume rental shops in Edo, and it seems that it was common to rent and wear costumes at special times.

Kimono is not sold at stores! ??

In this era, the shogunate decided to change clothes . The change of clothes, which was twice a year, has increased to four times, following the tradition of the samurai family. The deadline for changing clothes is institutionalized by the Shogunate Then, the samurai strictly adhered to the deadline for changing clothes.

Every time I change clothes, I have to change the kimono for summer and winter, but the shop sells only fabrics and used clothes, not ready-made ones. Therefore, in the summer, the lining of the awase was removed and re-sewn into a "single" piece, and in the winter, cotton was added and the clothes were remade into winter clothes.

Naturally, the kimono of the whole family was done by hand in the days when there was no sewing machine.

My mother did a night pan and sewed a kimono ~ ♪

Every season, it's tingling ~ ♪

By the way, samurai and wealthy people even hired women dedicated to needlework.

If you were wealthy, you would have bought something from that luxury kimono store.

Speaking of kimono dealers in Edo ...

  • Mitsui Echigoya in Surugamachi
  • Daimaruya in Daidenmacho
  • Shirokiya in Tsumachi
  • Izuzo / Daikokuya in Honmachi

Etc. were famous.

It was very cold during the Edo period, which was the Little Ice Age.

In the Edo period, winter was so cold that it was called the Little Ice Age, and the Sumida River was frozen. In such a cold city of Edo, what kind of clothes did the common people wear to survive the cold?

I used to use it as footwear on a snowy day, which is more expensive than ordinary geta. There was something like that. It seems that it was also used on rainy days.

Also, [Dotera] [Hanten] [Chanchanko] Etc. are winter loungewear classics It was. [ Dotera ] Is one size larger than a kimono and contains cotton throughout, and is characterized by many flashy items. I put cotton in my kimono to protect against the cold [ hanten ] Then, put on a sleeveless cotton haori [ chanchanko ] Is called.

When I went out, I didn't have a muffler like I do today, so I used a towel instead. Of course, there were no socks, and most people went barefoot and went out.

Even though it's a common era, it's likely to be chilblains.