Hitatare questions...

[bovil]

We're thinking of going to Westmark 12th Night/West Coronation and, of course, need garb, because the wafuku that Saionji has seen us in is definitely post-period, and none of our period (Euro) garb fits.

Since the other event that we need more Japanese clothes for is only two weeks later (and we're going to have to invest a ton more energy into), putting together SCA-period wafuku for that event ensures that at least one thing isn't running ragged against the next deadline.

I'm thinking hitatare. The basic construction techniques and pattern pieces aren't that different from modern kimono, so it should be easy enough to draft up.

I've got some pictures and some questions. These pictures may look familiar; they're both costumes from the Kyoto Costume Museum that are being modeled by real human beings for Mitsuo Kure's Samurai: Arms, Armor, Costume.


In the museum pics, this shows very gray, but it's obviously the same garment. Kure says this is a mid-Kamakura hitatare. It's pretty obviously unlined, and the print/pleat layout is very clever.

How long, though, should the hitatare top be? That's not something I can see from the pictures in the book. Also, I seem to remember that there are no side seams, and the sides are left open, but the pictures don't show that detail.



Kure says this is a late-Kamakura to early-Muromachi daimon no hitatare. Again, the color correction is a smidge different from the Costume Museum shots on the mannequins.

It's still got the figure-8 musubi-kikutoji, but the sleeve cord has disappeared and there's just a tassel at the sleeve tip. It's also unlined, and the cloth is somewhat translucent.

Looking at the Costume Museum info, these are both made of "retsu" (hemp cloth, yes?). The descriptions also refer to white "munahimo" which I'm guessing refers to the hakama belts, but does this say anything about the cloth used to make the himo?

Now here's the really cool part. Kure had the underwear for the daimon shot too. They're not comprehensive, but they show more that I've seen in other books.



Saionji had already mentioned elsewhere that she believes the hitoe in the first shot should be ankle-length, but is folded up under the obi holding it closed.

On second glance (particularly after Effingham's response to my last questions), I realized that the back-view included white shitabakama, and I'm trying to figure out how big they should really be. I'm guessing 2-panel hakama, but am I even close to right? The pictures also don't show the tie. Side-tie, or front tie?

Any help will be appreciated.

[Please Delete]

I should say I'm somewhat biased against the Mitsuo Kure book so far--I picked it up and there are a ton of issues with the Romaji (like 'Ohoyoroi' and "Kartasane'). There also appear to be some issues that are 'costume' related, such as what Hiraizumi-gimi mentioned--the kikutoji, etc., should properly be on the seams, but since, from what I gathered from the intro, these are on-hand to be loaned out, I'm guessing that they are put off-center to make it easier to fold.

All that said, for what you are planning, those pictures are decent from what I've seen. A man's hitoe doesn't go down beyond the knees, really, and I doubt it would have gotten much longer over time. What you are seeing, from the description, is the kosode below, and the formal hitoe above that--the hitoe would have been worn under the suikan and by the elite in the Heian period, so I imagine you are seeing it here as the hitatare (a lower class garment) is becoming formal.

For safety's sake, I would probably make the hitatare longer than the hitoe, although not much longer than the kosode. The main thing is that you don't want it to come out of the hakama.

As for the sides--they aren't sewn at all. There is a small part on either side where the sleeves attach, but otherwise it is open. Notice in the back shot, just above the obi, you can see the white of the hitoe showing.

The ties on the shitabakama are going to be four ties--two in front, two in back. You will probably tie one set under the back panel, and then the other set will tie in front, just like on the top. If done properly, it should look like one line.

As for the number of panels, I'd think 2 and a half panels per leg, approximately. Just my immediate reaction.


-Ii

[bovil]

ii said:

I should say I'm somewhat biased against the Mitsuo Kure book so far--I picked it up and there are a ton of issues with the Romaji (like 'Ohoyoroi' and "Kartasane').

Yeah, the Romaji and general translation are pretty clumsy. Other reviewers have commented on that too. It's never Engrish, but it's not good English. I mostly bought it for the pictures.

ii said:

There also appear to be some issues that are 'costume' related, such as what Hiraizumi-gimi mentioned--the kikutoji, etc., should properly be on the seams, but since, from what I gathered from the intro, these are on-hand to be loaned out, I'm guessing that they are put off-center to make it easier to fold.

The musubi-kikutoji on these two look like they're placed on seams, unlike the picture I posted last week (which wasn't shown in the Costume Museum gallery of clothing on mannequins).

ii said:

All that said, for what you are planning, those pictures are decent from what I've seen. A man's hitoe doesn't go down beyond the knees, really, and I doubt it would have gotten much longer over time. What you are seeing, from the description, is the kosode below, and the formal hitoe above that--the hitoe would have been worn under the suikan and by the elite in the Heian period, so I imagine you are seeing it here as the hitatare (a lower class garment) is becoming formal.

Is the first undershirt a kosode? I can't tell from the picture. Both undershirts clearly have open sleeves at the inside edge, but I could understand that at the "cuff" end they could be sewed up if they're only one panel long instead of being a 1 1/2 panels long like the second undershirt and the hitatare.

ii said:

For safety's sake, I would probably make the hitatare longer than the hitoe, although not much longer than the kosode. The main thing is that you don't want it to come out of the hakama.

Makes sense to me.

ii said:

As for the sides--they aren't sewn at all. There is a small part on either side where the sleeves attach, but otherwise it is open. Notice in the back shot, just above the obi, you can see the white of the hitoe showing.

Thank you for the confirmation.

ii said:

The ties on the shitabakama are going to be four ties--two in front, two in back. You will probably tie one set under the back panel, and then the other set will tie in front, just like on the top. If done properly, it should look like one line.

So we're talking pretty much the standard arrangement. Are both himo on the shitabakama of the same (short) length, rather than the front himo being really long and going around twice before they tie in back?

ii said:

As for the number of panels, I'd think 2 and a half panels per leg, approximately. Just my immediate reaction.

Any idea about the pleating on the shitabakama? I was just looking at Effingham's pages, and he said that shitabakama are often unpleated, but the shitabakama in the picture clearly are.

I appreciate all the input. This is really helping me get this straight in my mind (and better now than on the cutting table).

[solveig]

Noble Cousin!

Greetings from Solveig! I suspect that the white garment shown in the two shots are actually the same garment, but worn differently. Although you may be correct in your belief that the second image shows shita-bakama. As for the appearance of pleating, that can easily be simply an effect of putting the garment on and securing the obi/himo.

[bovil]

solveig said:

Greetings from Solveig! I suspect that the white garment shown in the two shots are actually the same garment, but worn differently. Although you may be correct in your belief that the second image shows shita-bakama. As for the appearance of pleating, that can easily be simply an effect of putting the garment on and securing the obi/himo.

It's hard to see in the scan (because it's hard to see in the original, because photographing and printing something all-white without losing details is as hard as scanning something all-white without losing the details) but the himo of the shitabakama are visible.

The drape of the pleats in back also supports Ii's suggestion that there's a knot in the back under them from the front himo of the shitabakama.

[Please Delete]

Looking at the original photo, and the accompanying description, it is clear that the second shows shitabakama.

As for the question of the pleats--I'd guess that Hiraizumi-gimi's comments are directed at shitabakama for the Heian era, though I could be wrong. This could be something for Kamakura period, or it could be that it is just an interpretation--I don't know how much evidence we really have one way or the other, since they are undergarments and not often seen.


-Ii