A Traditional Japanese Kimono

The Kimono. A very elaborate, brightly colored dress that first appeared during the Heian period in Japan. It is known worldwide as the traditional clothing of the Japanese, it is seen in almost every kind of Japanese media, and, even though it is from another time period, it is still widely worn today. The Kimono is by far the best known staple of Japan and its culture and yet very few people know the background of this piece of clothing.

Before the late 1100s, when the first straight cut Kimono was created, Japanese men and women wore a simple outfit made of two layers: a baggy yet practical top and a simple pair of pants or a skirt. These articles of clothing had to be carefully tailored to fit the wearer exactly; because of this, seamstresses and tailors could spend days working on and carefully fitting even once piece of clothing. This would often back up a clothing maker's productivity. But the invention of the Kimono changed all that.

The straight line Kimono, as it came to be called, was completely different from the clothes that came before it. Basically a large, single-piece garment that could fit men or women, the Kimono did not need to be meticulously fitted and resized for the wearer. After its debut, the high demand for this new style of clothes was easily tackled by clothing makers because it was much simpler to sew and took up less time. It was so easy to fit anyone into a Kimono that people began keeping their old garments even after they outgrew them so that they could someday pass them on to their children. As centuries passed, Kimono makers began to get more creative with their designs, trying new color combinations, layering fabrics, and even creating specialty Kimonos for higher-ranking classes.

The Kimono remained the unchanging style of Japanese clothing until the Meiji period (1868 - 1912), when the Japanese government became obsessed with western culture and modernization. During this period, the Japanese people were ordered to wear western-style clothing instead of Japanese. A law was even passed to this effect. While the law has since been reversed, Kimonos are no longer worn for daily use. They are still wildly popular and show up in Japanese media and during weddings or summer festivals, but they are hardly practical for daily use anymore. That being said, the Japanese still love their one-piece outfits and use every opportunity to don them.


Photo Credit: Pinterest
Sources Cited: Kids Web Japan