A few questions about clothing.

[safetyturtle]

I've just received some if the fabric for my sengoku era clothing and though I was all set but thought of some questions I would like answered before starting.

Are hakama supposed to sit at the hip or waist? I've always believed it was around the waist (naval) but after watching a few older samurai movies it almost looks like they sit on the hips.

It seems you're supposed to wear a white belt over the armour to thrust your sword through, could this belt be worn without armour or would you just use the ties on the hakama?

In the aforementioned movies I've also seen what appears to be dobuku and it looks like they have a tie at the front, about below the chest to hold I partially closed, is this accurate?

Thanks in advance.

[AJBryant]

Hakama tie in at the waist.

The uwaobi is for armour -- out of armour, the swords just get stuck through your regular obi and hakama ties.

[safetyturtle]

Awsome, just what I needed, thanks.

[Please Delete]

Jun 24, 2013 11:29:51 GMT -5 AJBryant said:

Hakama tie in at the waist.

The uwaobi is for armour -- out of armour, the swords just get stuck through your regular obi and hakama ties.

Unless, of course, you have a proper* sword,  where it is hanging from the sageo by the ashi.


-Ii

*Proper = tachi

[Please Delete]

On a more serious note: Generally speaking, the way I was taught to wear hakama is that you first put on the obi (a flat obi: I recommend a kaku-obi or similar, since most karate/aikido/judo obi just don't seem to work as well) your hip bone should be in the middle of the obi.* The hakama then goes over this, with the top of the koshi-himo either on top of or at least no lower than the top of the obi, and reaching down to your feet (length here varies, but for formal hakama I would want them to be just off of the ground as I walk--so maybe see the tops of the feet, but not really see much ankle. That said, I've seen period examples that seem to be much higher--not sure if that was a fashion of the time or just an indication of people in less tailored dress.


-Ii
*This is for men. Due to the difference in the hip shape, women tend to wear the hakama a bit higher, so that the hakama are higher up on top of the hips.

[AJBryant]

Good (and appropriately snobby samurai!) point!

[safetyturtle]

I found this video on youtube, showing how to tie the Obi you mentioned and was wondering if that was what you were talking about, where I would then wear the hakama over that "arrangement"?

[pallidus]

If you intent to wear an obi under your armor - make sure the obi is made of cotton! I ordered one from Japan and it was made of some weird polyester, and it slides around under the armor and the knot comes apart. When I sweat my cotton one sort of sticks together and "locks up".

[pallidus]

Please Delete - do you know of any web instructions on how to sling the tachi on using the sageo?

[yumehime]

the obi, in a pinch, can be made of heavy cotton denim(including old jeans) with a more attractive fabric overlay.

the modern Japanese style makes it fashionable to bare your ankle bone, so higher hakama are probably tailored to modern standard.

or, unlike me, these are people who are not nearly small enough to dress in a period style with modern Japanese clothing, but are trying to anyway. in my case, i am small enough to layer thrift store kimono like junihito, some sleeve tailoring needed, bur i can also get a good fit from girls size 12 jeans.

[Please Delete]

Sorry, late reply, but as for putting on the tachi:

1) Make sure the sageo is through both loops and tied with a simple knot on each so that the ashi can't slide back and forth too much. You will want more sageo hanging off that back than the front, so it isn't even--this can take some time.
2) Get the sword on your hip the best you are able and keep it there as you pull the sageo around your waist to your right hip (assuming the sword is on the left.
3) "Hook" the sageo to each other and then take it back to your left hip. Basically, the cord that was in front should return across your front and the cord that was in back should return across your back.
4) Snake the sageo through the ashi (front through the front, back through the back) and then bring the whole thing back towards your right hip again. You should now have a semi-pulley system that will allow you to cinch everything tight without loosening too much.
5) Tighten it up as best you can and make a knot where convenient. I like to have the sageo such that the knot is on my right hip, and I usually do a simple bow knot, though I'm certain there is something better out there.

www.touken-katsu.com/knowledge/tachi_musubi/tachi_musubi.html: Steps 1-3 detail attaching the sageo to the ashi (then it ties it to the sword)

Here is a site with pictures:
ikkaiyoroi.com/hakikata.htm: It looks like this person put the knot in the back, but the principle remains the same.

-Ii