P2+Moore+Dress+and+Appearance

By: Samuel C. and Leah R.
 * Dress and Appearance **
 * Introduction **

Art is part of Japanese culture which includes adorning the body. Clothing was a large part of the Japanese culture. However the clothing differed depending on class. In the next few paragraphs will describe the art of Japanese dress.


 * Samurai **

Samurai appearance is very important to their culture. The traditional clothing for samurai is the kimono, made of silk. In formal occasions, samurai would not wear their kimono, but would wear the kamishimo, which is made from fabric, and is made to keep the shoulder form. In combat, samurai would wear their armor. The first Japanese armor was the //tanko//, which is very heavy and difficult to put on. It is made by metal, and woven together with deer hide. The next armor was called the //keiko//, made from overlapping plate of metal. Samurai would wear a helmet along with their armor, which is called the //kabuto//.


 * Farmers **

Farmers are extremely important to Japan, because they would grow the crops for people to eat. Their working clothes were a jacket and trousers. They would wear //geta//, which was a type of shoe to keep their feet dry from mud, water, or snow. They would also wear paddle shoes in rice fields, so they wouldn’t sink. The farmers would also wear straw hats to keep off the sun. When the farmers were not working, they would wear a kimono, which was made from cotton or hemp. The color of a farmer’s kimono was usually red (to keep off the demons), or dark blue. Straw boots were worn with the kimono, but the farmers wouldn’t wear it while they were working.


 * Women **

Women cared a lot about their appearance, however not as much as the imperial court. Women wore elaborate bright, colored kimonos tied with an obi (a sash that holds a kimono together). The younger the woman was, the brighter her kimono was.The length of the kimono sleeve depended on if the woman was married or not, also upon their age. On the wedding day a woman would wear a plain white kimono with a tsunokakushi (a decorative headdress). In the summer women would wear a lighter kimono called a Yukata. Women had to sew their and their families kimonos.


 * Royals**

In Japan, royalty would live in the imperial court. The women there cared obsessively about their appearance, and had many clothing items to change into every day. They would paint their faces white, and would also paint their lips so that it would be smaller. The shogun was supposed to wear simple clothing, like a kimono, but would wear something very fancy and expensive instead. People in the imperial court wore silk kimonos, like the samurai, which were expensive. In the imperial court, the people would wear tabi, which were traditional Japanese socks. The women in the imperial court would wear miyabi, and spread to the rest of Japan later on.


 * Townspeople **

Townspeople made up the bulk of the people in Japan, so their clothing was most common. Their kimonos were made of hemp, linen, and cotton. They would wear kimono almost every day, commonly worn with sandals. They would also wear traditional straw hats, which were made into different shapes.  People who were young would wear shorter sleeve kimonos than the older people. The young people would wear bright color kimonos, while the older had darker colors.


 * Conclusion **

Japanese people have worn many clothing throughout history, with many different styles. In modern Japan, the clothing has changed a lot; nothing similar to a kimono. Japanese have always cared about appearance, and is still a big part of Japan.

media type="custom" key="13416352"

Dunn, Charles James. //Everyday Life in Traditional Japan [by] C.J. Dunn. Drawings by Laurence Broderick.// Boston: C E Tuttle Co, 2000. Print.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Citations **

"A Woman's Kimono - Sleeve Design." //JP NET Kimono Hypertext://. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 12 Oct. 1999. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. <http://web.mit.edu/jpnet/kimono/woman-sleeve.html>.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Samuel, Robert T. //The Samurai: The Philosophy of Victory.// New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 2005. Print.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Louis, Thomas. //Samurai: Code of the Warrior.// New York: Metro Books, 2006. Print.

Bryant, Anthony J. "Nihon YÃ»soku Kojitsu Ron Â A History of Japanese Clothing and Accessories." //Nihon YÃ»soku Kojitsu Ron Â A History of Japanese Clothing and Accessories//. 24 Mar. 2004. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. <http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/garb/garb.html>.