Post by Sakakibara Daitarou Akitou on Aug 21, 2013 1:09:46 GMT -5
Ok, so I am starting to piece things together for my first real kit. Some of you may have seen my post on the SCA Japanese Facebook group. Didn't get the kind of reply I wanted, so I am posting here. Mostly because I've gotten awesome responses to my questions from you guys. I know I have not been around in a while, things got really hectic on the home front and I am finally making my return to the game. I want to do this thing right, so I'm really going to dig in to it. =D
To try to boil down the mess I posted on Facebook... This is a garb / fencing armor kit. Something I can walk around in as well as fight. This kit will be fairly simple as opposed to most heavy kits as it will not contain any pieces of hard armor. The kind of look I am going for could be most easily described as something akin to Toshiro Mifune's character, Sanjūrō. I would like help solidifying my kit and trying to make sure it is as period as possible, which for me is Azuchi-Momoyama jidai. So, I'm going to lay down some ground work and I hope you guys can help me hammer out my plans before I start shelling out money for it.
-For the torso, I have seen it done a couple of ways: just a kimono and a kimono with a white under-layer. I am not sure if the under-layer has any significance other than style. For this piece, regardless of the style, I would like to get in touch with someone who can make this for me. The one alteration I would need to make would be the addition of ties on the inside so that the kimono is held tightly shut and so that I can close the neck. Examples of this can be seen in modern uwagi. An alternative to ties would be to sew the fold so that the kimono has to be slipped on like a t-shirt. If someone can tell me of someone I can commission to do this, I would be grateful. Also, would a red outer layer be period?
-For the hands, I plan to order some tekko (something of this design) to keep the sleeves of the kimono bound, since a tasuki would expose skin (a no-no on the fencing side). Since I can modify the tekko I buy to be tied, I can bind my sleeves tighter without worry of them slipping out of my gloves and getting caught on a sword.
-For the waist, I was looking at a kaku obi (this one in particular) since it has a nice design on it. Unfortunately, I know absolutely nothing about the symbolic nature of the obi, so I am not entirely sure if this one would be correct to wear or even period. I am open to suggestions if this one doesn't work.
-The legs are the easiest part for me. So that I have something sturdy and with nice, crisp pleating and durable enough to withstand the rigors of combat, I will be purchasing a kendo hakama. To be honest, I am not certain I could have one made that looks as good or be as sturdy for under $58. The only issue I foresee with this is that it is solid black. Just about every period hakama I have seen in films, pictures and books have been patterned in some way and generally navy or a lighter color. Would a black hakama be period?
-For the feet, I just plan to purchase or have made a couple of pairs of long, thick tabi socks and a pair of waraji. A couple of folks suggested steel-toed jikatabi, but due to some excessive swelling in my leg due to cellulitis, I am not sure I could even fit in to a pair and honestly not keen on taking a risk on trying. So, the tabi/waraji combo are the best option for me until I get the swelling in my leg taken care of.
And lastly, I have seen various trinkets and things that are often tied to the obi or around the neck and things of that nature. What kinds of trinkets could I add to add some flair to my kit and really make it look authentic? I also thought about a haori or kataginu. Do either of these hold any particular meanings to them? Would one be more common in the late 1600's than the other?
As an aside, I did talk about an idea to move my kit into resembling kendo armor in my Facebook post, but my research turned up with kendo bogu being 50-100 years after the cut-off. Now, I know the SCA does a little bending for the time limits for fencing due to most of it occurring during the mid-to-late Renaissance or something to that effect. Could this possibly be finagled in a way to make kendo bogu period? If so, I would make my persona match, but I digress. I am not terribly familiar with the period constraints and such. If a way exists to make it work, cool. If not, I won't get too hung up on it. It's just an idea I thought would look cool if nothing else.
よろしくお願いします
To try to boil down the mess I posted on Facebook... This is a garb / fencing armor kit. Something I can walk around in as well as fight. This kit will be fairly simple as opposed to most heavy kits as it will not contain any pieces of hard armor. The kind of look I am going for could be most easily described as something akin to Toshiro Mifune's character, Sanjūrō. I would like help solidifying my kit and trying to make sure it is as period as possible, which for me is Azuchi-Momoyama jidai. So, I'm going to lay down some ground work and I hope you guys can help me hammer out my plans before I start shelling out money for it.
-For the torso, I have seen it done a couple of ways: just a kimono and a kimono with a white under-layer. I am not sure if the under-layer has any significance other than style. For this piece, regardless of the style, I would like to get in touch with someone who can make this for me. The one alteration I would need to make would be the addition of ties on the inside so that the kimono is held tightly shut and so that I can close the neck. Examples of this can be seen in modern uwagi. An alternative to ties would be to sew the fold so that the kimono has to be slipped on like a t-shirt. If someone can tell me of someone I can commission to do this, I would be grateful. Also, would a red outer layer be period?
-For the hands, I plan to order some tekko (something of this design) to keep the sleeves of the kimono bound, since a tasuki would expose skin (a no-no on the fencing side). Since I can modify the tekko I buy to be tied, I can bind my sleeves tighter without worry of them slipping out of my gloves and getting caught on a sword.
-For the waist, I was looking at a kaku obi (this one in particular) since it has a nice design on it. Unfortunately, I know absolutely nothing about the symbolic nature of the obi, so I am not entirely sure if this one would be correct to wear or even period. I am open to suggestions if this one doesn't work.
-The legs are the easiest part for me. So that I have something sturdy and with nice, crisp pleating and durable enough to withstand the rigors of combat, I will be purchasing a kendo hakama. To be honest, I am not certain I could have one made that looks as good or be as sturdy for under $58. The only issue I foresee with this is that it is solid black. Just about every period hakama I have seen in films, pictures and books have been patterned in some way and generally navy or a lighter color. Would a black hakama be period?
-For the feet, I just plan to purchase or have made a couple of pairs of long, thick tabi socks and a pair of waraji. A couple of folks suggested steel-toed jikatabi, but due to some excessive swelling in my leg due to cellulitis, I am not sure I could even fit in to a pair and honestly not keen on taking a risk on trying. So, the tabi/waraji combo are the best option for me until I get the swelling in my leg taken care of.
And lastly, I have seen various trinkets and things that are often tied to the obi or around the neck and things of that nature. What kinds of trinkets could I add to add some flair to my kit and really make it look authentic? I also thought about a haori or kataginu. Do either of these hold any particular meanings to them? Would one be more common in the late 1600's than the other?
As an aside, I did talk about an idea to move my kit into resembling kendo armor in my Facebook post, but my research turned up with kendo bogu being 50-100 years after the cut-off. Now, I know the SCA does a little bending for the time limits for fencing due to most of it occurring during the mid-to-late Renaissance or something to that effect. Could this possibly be finagled in a way to make kendo bogu period? If so, I would make my persona match, but I digress. I am not terribly familiar with the period constraints and such. If a way exists to make it work, cool. If not, I won't get too hung up on it. It's just an idea I thought would look cool if nothing else.
よろしくお願いします
