View source for Kosode

{{short description|Historic Japanese garment and the predecessor of the kimono}}
{{Italic title}}
[[File:20111023 Jidai 0044.jpg|thumb|upright=1.7|Re-enactors wearing {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} at the [[Jidai Matsuri]] in 2011]]
[[File:Kosode-Kimono.svg|thumb|alt=Two line drawings of a {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} and a kimono. The {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} has a long, wide collar, a wide, stout body, a roughly-triangular overlapping front panel and short, squat sleeves with a rounded edge. The kimono has wider, square-shaped sleeves, a thinner body, a shorter, thinner collar and a rectangular front panel intersected by the collar.|Comparison between a {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} (left) and a modern-day [[kimono]] (right).]]
[[File:kosode-parts.svg|right|thumb|alt=An annotated line drawing of a {{transliteration|ja|kosode}}.|{{ubl|Parts of a {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} (clockwise from top):|The {{nihongo|collar|襟|eri}};|The {{nihongo|sleeve|袖|sode}};|The {{nihongo|body|身頃|migoro}};|The {{nihongo|overlapping front panel|袵|okumi}}.}}]]
[[File:Oichinokata.jpg|thumb|alt=A drawing of a woman sat on a tatami mat wearing a number of layered white and red {{transliteration|ja|kosode}}.|[[Oichi]] wearing a {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} with another {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} stripped off the shoulders.]]

The {{nihongo3|{{lit|small sleeves}}|[[Wiktionary:小袖|小袖]]|'''kosode'''}} was a type of short-sleeved [[Japanese clothing|Japanese garment]], and the direct predecessor of the [[kimono]]. Though its component parts directly parallel those of the kimono, its proportions differed, typically having a wider body, a longer collar and narrower sleeves. The sleeves of the {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} were typically sewn to the body entirely, and often featured heavily rounded outer edges.

The {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} was worn in [[Japan]] as common, everyday dress from roughly the [[Kamakura period]] (1185–1333) until the latter years of the [[Edo period]] (1603–1867), at which a point its proportions had diverged to resemble those of modern-day kimono; it was also at this time that the term ''kimono'', meaning "thing to wear on the shoulders", first came into use when referring to the garment formerly known as the {{transliteration|ja|kosode}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/kimono#:~:text=Meaning%20'the%20thing%20to%20wear,all%20classes%20and%20both%20sexes.|title = V&A · Kimono}}</ref>

==History==
Originating in the [[Heian period]] as an undergarment for both men and women, the {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} was a plain white garment, typically made of [[silk]], worn directly next to the skin. Both men and women wore layered, wrap-fronted, wide-sleeved robes on top of the {{transliteration|ja|kosode}}, with the style of layering worn by women of the Imperial Japanese court{{snd}}known as the {{transliteration|ja|[[jūnihitoe]]}}, literally "twelve layers"{{snd}}featuring a greater number of robes than were seen on men. The {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} would also be worn as sleeping wear alongside a pair of {{transliteration|ja|[[hakama]]}}.

Following dress edicts designed to decrease the number of layered garments worn at court, the {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} gradually became outerwear from roughly the [[Kamakura period]] onwards. Styles of wearing the {{transliteration|ja|kosode}}{{snd}}such as layering two {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} and wearing the uppermost robe stripped off from the shoulders{{snd}}became popular, alongside a number of newly-developed textile decoration techniques, such as [[dye|dyeing]] and [[embroidery]], used to decorate the garment.

Initially undyed, the dyed {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} came in the [[Muromachi period]], peaked in popularity in the [[Momoyama period]], and faded out in the [[Keicho period]] and [[Edo period]]. Methods used for decoration included<!--The following describes a technique that is *not* tsujigahana: {{transliteration|ja|[[tsujigahana]]}}, a dyeing method used in the Muromachi period (a combination of {{transliteration|ja|harihaku}}, "pressing foil", and embroidery, called {{transliteration|ja|nuihaku}}, "sewing foil"), and --> {{transliteration|ja|kara-ori}} ("Chinese textile") silk fabrics, which mimicked embroidery through the use of floating silk yarns and gilt-paper strips,<ref>{{cite book |last=Shaver |first=Ruth M. |title=Kabuki Costume |date=1966 |publisher=Charles E. Tuttle Publishing |location=Vermont}}</ref>{{rp|140}} and the elaborate {{transliteration|ja|[[tsujigahana]]}} technique of combination dyework and embroidery, until both were restrained by [[sumptuary laws]] and the development of {{transliteration|ja|[[yuzen dyework]]}}.<ref name=keichou/>

The {{transliteration|ja|kosode}}'s proportions{{snd}}a wide body and comparatively narrow sleeves{{snd}}gradually evened out over time, before coming to resemble those of a modern kimono around the Edo period. The sleeves on some women's {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} also got longer and began to detach from the body below the shoulder, a style allowing the {{transliteration|ja|[[obi (sash)|obi]]}} to become wider over time.

==Components==
The component parts of a {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} are roughly similar to [[kimono#Construction|those of a kimono]], with the only major differences being the proportions of each aspect in comparison to those of a modern kimono. The width of the loom, and hence the {{transliteration|ja|[[tanmono]]}} (fabric bolt) used for {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} was significantly larger than that for {{transliteration|ja|kimono}}, and the sleeves and collar were also cut and hemmed to different widths.<ref name="simple">{{cite web |last1=Joseph |first1=Lisa A. |title=Kosode: a Japanese garment for the SCA period |url=http://www.wodefordhall.com/page4.html |website=www.wodefordhall.com |access-date=10 June 2021}}</ref>

In the [[Keichō]] period (1596–1615, just before the [[Edo period]]), the width of the fabric bolt used for a {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} was about {{convert|45|cm}}, and the sleeves were made of one-half {{transliteration|ja|tanmono}} width. The {{transliteration|ja|sode-guchi}} (cuff opening) was narrow, the {{transliteration|ja|erikatāki}} (width of the neck opening) was narrow, the {{transliteration|ja|eritake}} (collar length) was long, and the {{transliteration|ja|tate-zuma}}{{clarify|date=August 2021}} was short.<ref name=keichou>{{cite web |title=Woman of the upper class in kosode (=short-sleeved kimono) of Keicho period |url=https://www.iz2.or.jp/english/fukusyoku/kosode/2new.htm |website=Costume Museum}} See "Woman of the upper class in kosode (=short-sleeved kimono) of Keicho period" under the [https://www.iz2.or.jp/english/fukusyoku/kosode/ "Edo" section] for associated picture</ref>

*{{nihongo3|{{lit|sleeve}}|袖|Sode}}{{snd}}the sleeves of a {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} were comparatively short in both length and width, being for the most part attached to the body down the entire length, with a somewhat rounded edge below the wrist opening of each sleeve.
*{{nihongo3|{{lit|body}}|身頃|Migoro}}{{snd}}the body panels for the {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} were much wider in proportion, creating a distinctive dropped-shoulder appearance.
*{{nihongo3|{{lit|collar}}|襟|Eri}}{{snd}}the collar of the {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} was much wider than is seen on modern kimono, and was also relatively longer, forming a longer, shallower angle along the {{transliteration|ja|okumi}}.
*{{nihongo||袵|Okumi}}{{snd}} the overlapping front panels. The {{transliteration|ja|okumi}}, due to the length and low placement of the collar, had a far more triangular appearance than the irregular quadrilateral {{transliteration|ja|okumi}} on modern kimono; this gave the {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} a sloping, low-waisted appearance.

== Gallery ==
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
File:Sleeve stylized kosode edo wide shoulder short sleeve.png|alt=A diagram of a person wearing a wrapped-front robe with a wide body and narrow (in horizontal width) sleeves entirely sewn to the body.|The short sleeve and wide shoulder popular in the [[Muromachi period]] and early [[Edo period]]
File:Sleeve stylized kosode 1.png|alt=A diagram of a person wearing a wrapped-front robe with a wide body and comparatively wider sleeves than the previous diagram, also entirely sewn to the body.|A wider {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} sleeve.
File:染分紗綾地蜘蛛海松貝模様小袖-Robe (Kosode) with Shells and Sea Grasses MET DP247810.jpg|The unfolded width of this {{transliteration|ja|kosode}}'s collar is similar to the length of its sleeves.
File:Kosode with yuzen dyeing inside fan and snowflake shapes, 1 of 2, Edo period, 1700s AD, chirimen crepe - Tokyo National Museum - Tokyo, Japan - DSC09592.jpg|{{transliteration|ja|Kosode}} with {{transliteration|ja|[[yūzen]]}} dyework inside fan and snowflake shapes, 1700s, [[Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Traditional Arts and Crafts]]
File:Kosode, late 18th century, Honolulu Museum of Art.JPG|{{transliteration|ja|Kosode}} for a woman, late 18th century, [[Honolulu Museum of Art]]
File:白縮緬地橘文字模様小袖-Robe_(Kosode)_with_Mandarin_Orange_Tree_and_Auspicious_Characters_MET_2002.325.jpg|{{transliteration|ja|Kosode}} with Mandarin orange tree design and auspicious characters, late 18th century, [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]
File:Khalili Collection of Kimono KX142.jpg|{{transliteration|ja|Kosode}} for a woman with design inspired by the ''[[Eight Views of Ōmi]]'', 1780–1820, [[Khalili Collection of Kimono]]
File:Khalili_Collection_of_Kimono_KX158.jpg|{{transliteration|ja|Kosode}} for a woman showing flowers on rafts, late 19th century, Khalili Collection of Kimono
File:Historiallisia kimonotyylejä.jpg|Ways of wearing {{transliteration|ja|kosode}}. Top left: worn as a wrap-front robe; top right: stripped off the shoulders in the {{transliteration|ja|koshimaki}} style; bottom left: worn as an unbelted robe over another {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} in the {{transliteration|ja|uchikake}} style; bottom right: worn over the head in the {{transliteration|ja|katsugi}} style.
File:Matsuura-Byobu-by-Iwasa-Matabei.png|The {{transliteration|ja|kosode}} worn as outerwear. Note, compared to modern kimono, the wider cut of the body, unisex narrow {{transliteration|ja|obi}} and shorter sleeves. Matsuura {{transliteration|ja|[[byōbu]]}}, {{circa|1650}}, Azuchi-Momoyama period.
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[List of items traditionally worn in Japan]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Gluckman, Dale Carolyn, and Sharon Sadako Takeda, eds. ''When Art Became Fashion: Kosode in Edo-Period Japan''. New York: Weatherhill, 1992.
* Kennedy, Alan. ''Japanese Costume: History and Tradition''. New York: Rizzoli, 1990.
* ''Kosode: 16th–19th Century Textiles from the Nomura Collection''. New York: Kodansha International, 1985.

==External links==
* [http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/84980/rec/1 Momoyama, Japanese Art in the Age of Grandeur], an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on {{transliteration|ja|kosode}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080404090906/http://www.tnm.go.jp/en/servlet/Con?pageId=E10&processId=00&ref=2&start=1&Q4=________65___ Tokyo National Museum] – an example of period clothing, including {{transliteration|ja|kosode}}.
* [http://www.iz2.or.jp/english/fukusyoku/busou/index.htm The Tale of Genji Costume Museum] – includes period clothing, including {{transliteration|ja|kosode}}
* [http://www.wodefordhall.com/page4.html {{transliteration|ja|Kosode}} Made Simple]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090127061408/http://www3.kyohaku.go.jp/cgi-bin/liste.cgi?gazo_no=1&mz_synm=2000005224&name1=kosode&limit_no=20 Kyoto National Museum]

{{Japanese clothing}}

[[Category:Japanese full-body garments]]
[[Category:Folk costumes]]
[[Category:Japanese words and phrases]]