Monday, October 12, 2015

Hitoe Kimono Sewing Terminology

Hitoe Sewing Terminology Diagram
(Female hitoe shown. Descriptions below.)

1. 袖口 sodeguchi sleeve hole
2. 袖幅 sodehaba sleeve width
3. 袖丈 sodetake sleeve length
4. 袖口下 sodeguchishita lower sleeve edge
5. 丸み marumi rounded edge
6. 袖下 sodeshita sleeve bottom
7. 振り furi "Swing", sleeve edge (Not on male kimono)
8. 肩幅 katahaba shoulder width
9. 袖つけ sodetsuke sleeve seam
10. おくみ下がり okumisagari buried okumi length
11. 剣先 kensaki "Point of the Sword"
12. 身八つ口 miyatsuguchi underarm hole
13. 抱き幅 idakihaba "hugged" width
14. 掛衿 kakeeri collar guard
15. 衿中心 erichuushin collar center
16. 上衿幅 uwaerihaba upper collar width
17.ゆき yuki center to edge length
18.肩山 katayama highest part of the shoulder
19. 袖山 sodeyama highest part of the sleeve
20. 前袖 maesode sleeve front
21. 衿山 eriyama top collar edge
22. 衿 eri collar
23. 前身頃 maemigoro front panel, (下前 shitamae the panel tucked under when tied)
24. 合いつま幅 aizumahaba width were collar meets okumi
25. 下前幅 shitaerihaba bottom collar width
26. 後ろ身頃 ushiromigoro back body panel
27. おくみ okumi extension panels
28. 衿先 erisaki collar origin
29.衿下 erishita length between collar and skirt hem
30. おくみ okumi (表面 hyoumen outside surface)
31. おくみつけ okumitsuke okumi seam
32. 前幅 maehaba front width
33. 裾 suso skirt hem
34. おくみ幅okumihaba okumi width
35. 後ろ幅 ushirohaba back width
36. 脇縫い wakinui under arm seam
37. 前身頃 maemigoro front panel (上前 uwamae the outward panel when tied)
38. 前幅 maehaba front width
39. おくみ幅 okumihaba okumi width
40. つま先 tsumasaki hem "toe"


Hitoe Sewing Terminology Diagram - Inside Out Back View
(Female hitoe shown. Descriptions below.)
1. 後ろ袖 ushirosode sleeve back
2. 掛け衿 kakeeri collar guard
3.肩当て kataate shoulder guard
4. くりこしあげ kurikoshiage tuck created for the collar gap (Not on male hitoe)
5. 背縫い senui back seam
6. いしき当て ishikiate kimono seat guard
7. 後ろ身頃 ushiromigoro back body panel (裏面 rimen underside surface)
8. 前身頃 meamigoro front body panel
9. おくみ okumi
10. 裾 suso skirt hem
11. 後ろ幅 ushirohaba back width
12. 前幅 maehaba front width
13. おくみ幅 okumihaba okumi width


Images scanned from 新きもの作り方全書. Translated by me (I tried my best but I am no expert. They may be inaccurate.)

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Concerning the name of geta

Being that I did some research for that geta post I previously did, I uncovered an interesting phenomenon; Oiran geta appear to have been incorrectly labeled in English and the error has spread everywhere.

In English, they are referred to as Koma geta. It's mentioned on the English Wikipedia page and repeated on several websites. However, when I translated the name into Japanese 駒下駄 (Koma Geta); only the smaller, classical two teeth geta come up in searches. On the Japanese Wikipedia page for 下駄 (geta), Oiran geta are referred to as 吉原下駄 (Yoshiwara Geta).

In fact, so far I haven't found any Japanese references to Oiran Geta as "Koma geta".

Below is a description on koma geta (from here):
"17世紀後期,貞享のころにできた下駄で,台も歯も1枚の板からくりぬいて作ったもの。歯は低い。駒(馬)のひづめの形に似ているのでこの名がある."
During the late 17th centery, around the Joukyou era, the platform and teeth were carved from one plank. The teeth were low, thus it's name resembles the word for horse (for the hooves) [Please note I translated this myself and my Japanese isn't all that great]. 
The diagram below (from the page cited above) shows the low, two-teethed geta as koma geta.

 

In this next diagram, the large geta are called "Three-teeth Geta"





When I search for 駒下駄 (Koma geta), the following type of geta comes up.


Image from getaya.jp

Now I'm curious as to how and why that name got used for Oiran Geta in English in the first place. Not surprisingly, my attempts to follow citations on the internet have either sent me in circles or to dead ends, at least so far. 

Japanese Womens Folk Costumes

Ie no Hikari Association (1960)


郷土の風俗
きょうどのふうぞく - [Native Customs]
林唯一
家の光協会 

Found this amazing book at the library! Wish I could sign it out but I couldn't, so I resorted to taking photos. 
















Saturday, July 25, 2015

Geta 下駄

Now let's take a quick break to talk about geta for your yukata! Nothing completes the yukata outfit than a cute pair of geta.

Let's start with the most common types.



ピドヒール下駄 
(Pidohiiru geta)

ピドヒール下駄

Woman's Pidohiiru Geta

【男下駄】-geta950-b
Men's Pidohiiru Geta

These are a more modern style of geta that have become really popular. Generally, woman's have a rounder toe and use bright colours, while men's have a more squared toe with subdued colours. Generally. These are also sometimes referred to as Ukon Geta 右近 下駄.



二枚歯下駄 
 (Mimai-ha geta - Two teeth geta)




These are the classic style geta. The teeth come in varying heights. They are also referred to as komageta 駒下駄.

Now onto the less common ones...


一本歯下駄
(Ipponba geta - Single tooth geta)




I would like to find out why these are a thing in all honesty. :P They look like trouble, but, apparently, they are not as difficult to walk in as they look they say (it's just standing still that's the tough part). These are sometimes called "tengu geta"(天狗の下駄).

おこぼ下駄 
(Okobo geta )

(Koppori Geta

These are "maiko/geisha" style geta. They are also versions worn by small girls with full kimono garb during children's festivals. There are a couple of names for them, based on the sounds they make when walking; pokkuri ぽっくり and koppori こっぽり. I'm not sure how often these are worn causally but I have no problem finding these for sale (see link above for example). I have seen pictures of girls with yukata and furisode wearing them. I reeeeeally want to get a pair for myself.


And now for something really crazy...



These are oiran geta 花魁下駄, They're also referred to as Yoshiwara Geta 吉原下駄. 
They're just nuts. 

But .... if you type in oiran geta into Rakuten global market, you get some pretty rad stuff for sale.




I wants them.
 

Friday, July 24, 2015

Update-y-ness

I realized now why I neglected my blog for so long; I'm rather displeased with the photos I took to demonstrate the next part in my yukata tutorial. I said to myself "man, I should just draw some diagrams or something" and then BAM!!, a year passed.

But anyways, I plan to make another yukuta this summer so I'll make sure to get better sewing photos.

I really want to make it out of purple lace, with a teal obi.

And then I had this crazy idea.

I reeeealy like those white translucent "over kimonos" that are commonly seen on dancers (and similarly kimono dolls), like the ones seen below (I figured out it's called a karakoromo 唐衣) .

Tsuneyu, a geiko of Gion Higashi, dancing as a Shinto priestess for a plentiful harvest of rice in early spring.  Japan. Photography by mboogiedown on Flickr



I wanna make something similar to wear over my purple and teal yukata.

But I dunno, maybe that might be bad? I don't know a lot about it, maybe it has quite a bit of religious significance. Maybe it's too formal to wear with a yukara. But damn, that would look cool.