英国王室と着物 | The British Royals and Kimono | c.1615 - 2022

In lieu of the usual post, to respect the passing over of HRH Queen Elizabeth and early departure of Diana, this post will be updated as and when in the future. It covers the known history of the British Monarchies brushes with Kimono and KTC which spans many types of materials and forms.

EIC

Whilst it is not certain, it is believed a series of Japanese Kosode could have been sent to King James I as part of the bid to begin trade with a European country such as Britain by as early as 1615.[1] These were originally exported into the country by the EIC between 1613-1620 when England operated a factory in Japan.

Indian Gownes

Banyan were imported into England by around 1665 and are likely to have been used in the courts of Charles II, brought from Amsterdam by the EIC ( East India Company ). During this time, the fashionable wore their Banyans with the sleeves and collars folded back to expose the luxurious silks used underneath.[2]

 Merry Vests

The Banyan often was companion to the 3 piece suit which was invented at the court of Charles II in 1666. To promote English trade over French fashions worn by the aristocratic classes of England, Charles began a new fashion of wearing vests at his English court.

[Charles II] hath yesterday in Council declared his resolution of setting a fashion for clothes, which he will never alter. It will be a vest, I know not well how, but it is to teach the nobility thrift, and will do good. - Samuel Pepys 8/10/1666

The Banyan as a T-shaped garment made from silk for gentlemens loungewear was made in Britain certainly by the 1670s. It was with the advent of the newly fashionable three piece suit that aristocratic men began styling their wardrobes with lavish accents such as gold trim, silk buttons, satire worthy hats and overcoats to match. One of these fashions by 1675 was the Banyan style House coat or even Kimono in rarer instances in which the fashionable late 17th century man of means lounged around in.[2] 

The Glorious Porcelain Revolution

Arita Porcelain Ware Bijin (c1690-1700) Royal Collection Trust

During the Stuart House (1603-1704) Queen Mary (1662-1694) and her consort William were invited to 'invade' England and become the reigning *protestant* monarchs. The incoming Continental born Queen brought the fashion for Porzellan zimmer (Porcelain rooms) which displayed hundreds to thousands of decorative porcelain pieces in their collectors home. Queen Mary was known for collecting Japanese Arita-ware and Dutch Delftware (imitation Guangzhou export porcelain) at the Water Gallery in Hampton Court, and it is thought that this China-collecting habit carried on as a fashionable court hobby for ladies in particular. So much so that collecting porcelain was considered a 'feminine trait' after 1690.

The Bijin porcelain collected in the period where first the Kakiemon-ware by the 1680s, then Arita-ware in the 1690s and most prominently Imari-ware at its height from 1700-1850. Whilst it can be said that the earlier incarnations of collectors of Kakiemon and Arita bought for the 'Indian effect', later British collectors prized Imari-ware for its own beauty. You can distinguish Kakiemon figures by their subdued Ma Ji-Monnyu and sparse use of motif and colour. Arita Bijin use distinctly black Obi in their designs and a limited blue-red-emerald green colourway and Imari-ware are immediately noticable for their use of intricate red-deep blue-gold colourways and red obi. Some of these features by this time will also have catered to European tastes as export-ware.

 

Kakiemon Bijin (c.1675) | Arita Bijin (c.1690) | Imari Bijin (c.1700)

RTC, Dresden Palace (PD/CC3.0,4.0)

This (middle) Bijin figure wears a Genroku period (1688-1704) Ji-Monnyu style, and thus may be either from the collection of Queen Mary or Queen Anne (1665-1714). Due to the lack of interest in women collectors though, we can only go off the appearance clues alone in dating the figure, and whilst the Bijin figure is contemporary to Mary, the fashion for Imari, the colours associated in England with this aesthetic were far more popular in the reign of Queen Anne and thus could be from the collections of either of their majesties, reflecting the fascination with 'Indian Nightgownes' of the 1690s. This late Stuart tradition carried on until the Georgian period, when the fashions changed once more to suit contemporary tailoring.

Georgian Forays 

Japanese export Banyan worn by George VI (c.1800) Musuem of Applied Art and Sciences

This recent archival liberation was worn by King George IV by the 19th century and was most likely acquired through the VOC.

Victorian Escapades

Japanese Tableau Scene Postcard (1891, PD) Royal Collection Trust

A tableau vivant scene performed every year at the Royal Residence around Christmas in 1891 was dedicated to performing a Japanese scene with the many Japanese objects collected in the Royal Collection for the enjoyment of Queen Victoria.

Anglo-Japanese Alliance 1902-1923

The Abdicated One or Edward VIII (c1921, PD) Anonymous

Why we call him the Abdicated One. (1937, Fair Use) BBC

Edward was very friendly with his Japanese counterpart, the Crown Prince of Japan during the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. He visited during the 1920s and dressed in Japanese Wafuku during his time there.

The Elizabethan Epoch

The Queen in Japan (1975) Someone

Princess Diana

Princess Diana on official tour duties (1986) Japan School

When Princess Diana visited Japan in 1986, she was gifted this intricate Furisode.

For more related British-Japanese royal interactions, see the Japan; Courts and Culture Exhibition on until February 2023. Has a great selection of how the royal family has kept certain items related to Japan as well as some of the original reciprocal gifts during the Anglo-Japanese Alliance.

Bibliography

[1] Japanese Export Lacquer: 1580-1850, Oliver R. Impey, ‎C. J. A. Jörg, ‎Christiaan Jorg, 2005, p.600?

[2] ヨーロッパのバンヤン | European Banyans | 1639 - 1750 | Essay #14 

External Links

https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/exhibitions/japan-courts-and-culture/the-queens-gallery-buckingham-palace

Social Links

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ヨーロッパのバンヤン | European Banyans | 1639 - 1750 | Essay #15

This essay will explore the European garment known as a Banyan, which originated as a European reaction to Kimono in the 17th century and was popular until the end of the 18th century. The word Banyan originates from Arabic (بنيان | Banyaan), Portuguese (Banian), Tamil (வாணியன் | Vaaniyan ) and Gujarati (વાણિયો | Vaaniyo) loanwords meaning 'Merchant'. Alternative versions saw the item fitted with buttons and ribbons to attach the two front sides together.[1] The Banyan was worn by all genders and was particularly regarded in its first iterations as a gentlemanly or intellectual garment worn with a cap to cover the lack of a periwig, and later adopted by women and greatly influenced how British womens garments were designed with preference for comfort in removal of panniers whilst maintaining luxurious, modest 18th century fashions (see Robe a la Anglaise).

Japanse Rock

Wafuku were first imported into Europe by 1649 into the Dutch Republic, and their scarcity made them a highly sought after commodity among the wealthy who could afford them, like a Birkin bag today.[2] 17th century Banyan can be recognised by their characteristic cut which resembles those of contemporary articles of Wafuku* which reached Amsterdam in the early trading period with Japan as gifts from contemporary Daimyo and Tokugawa Ietsuna (1641–1680), then Shogun. Taking their cut from Kosode of the time, some were sold and worn in the Dutch Republic (1581-1795) after being assembled in Japan and brought over by the VOC ( Dutch East India Company | Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie). European Banyan were most commonly made from Silk, Cotton or Linen.[1] This style of dress was known by the Dutch as a Japanese dress coat (Japanse Jurk Jas) by 1688.[2]

Indian Gownes

Banyan were imported into England by around 1665 and are likely to have been used in the courts of Charles II, brought from Amsterdam by the EIC ( East India Company ). During this time, the fashionable wore their Banyans with the sleeves and collars folded back to expose the luxurious silks used underneath. Earlier Dutch examples seem to more closely follow the imported Kosode styles which due to their padding required a tight closed hem and thus not as easily folded. Samuel Pepys wrote in 1665 of doing his accounting in his nightgown, and was quite happily portrayed in 1666 in the same 'Indian Gowne' which connoted his vast wealth and status in even having one at this early time, demarcating him as a glamourous society figure and fashionable figure at court.[2]

Samuel Pepys in his 'Indian Gowne' (1666, PD) John Hayls

Indian Gowne and Morning Dress was another name for a Banyan[2]

Dutch Man in Banyan (1671, PD) Michiel van Musscher

Merry Vests

The Banyan often was companion to the 3 piece suit which was invented at the court of Charles II in 1666. To promote English trade over French fashions worn by the aristocratic classes of England, Charles began a new fashion of wearing vests at his English court.[3]

[Charles II] hath yesterday in Council declared his resolution of setting a fashion for clothes, which he will never alter. It will be a vest, I know not well how, but it is to teach the nobility thrift, and will do good. - Samuel Pepys 8/10/1666 [3]

The Banyan as a T-shaped garment made from silk for gentlemens loungewear was made in Britain certainly by the 1670s.[2] It was with the advent of the newly fashionable three piece suit that aristocratic men began styling their wardrobes with lavish accents such as gold trim, silk buttons, satire worthy hats and overcoats to match. One of these fashions by 1675 was the Banyan style House coat or even Kimono in rarer instances in which the fashionable late 17th century man of means lounged around in.

'Lord Cockerell' Display Doll in latest London Fashions (c1690, Copyright the V&A**) V&A

The upper proto-middle classes (if we can say that) of the working professionals in the time period had also begun to wear their nightgownes out in the street, unlike the gentry who simply swanned around their estates in them.[2] Both of these two social groups however would have worn these long androgynous gowns over linen shirts and their breeches or stays and chemises for women of the time. At the end of the day, Men would dress as this elegant doll in their Banyan which took the place of their waistcoats by evening. All a byproduct of the complex Restoration periods realpolitik at the English court as a 'mother country'.

Isaac Newton in a Banyan (c1709, PD) James Newton Thornhill

As this style progressed, buttons became a must and frogging was also a key feature of 18th century first quarter British Banyans to prevent the garment trailing along the floor, a workaround for the lack of Obi it seems. By the 1730s, in London alone there were five general tailor stores or Warehouses which specialised in selling ready-to-wear Banyans made using European and Chinese silks. Other Banyans also had attached waistcoat inserts sewn into Banyans to give the illusion of a waistcoat as well for recieving visitors in the Banyan.[2] 

Thomas Weston (1723, PD) M Dahl

A Rake's Progress (1735, PD) William Hogarth

Figure third from right here wears a Banyan style

Banyan should be regarded as European garment made for European usage, but are distinctly part of European KTC in the sense that they were made, worn and used by Westerners. Banyan were regarded as a sort of unisex loungewear for the well to do about the house, which often co-orded with the furniture.[2] By the 1730's, they were given an intellectual veneer as men of letters often wore them to have their portraits painted in their well endowed libraries. Gentlemen would recieve visitors in them, and as is seen in the Rakes Progress, became the equivalent of a woman in rollers and sweats going to the shop for milk at 11:00PM. Add a fitted collar, and the Rake could be deemed as almost acceptably dressed to go out in public.[2] 

Robe a la Anglaise (English nightgown) Dress (c1785, PD) LACMA

Banyan were also adopted as a form of nightwear by women to worn before dressing in daywear by this time adopting a ribbon or buttons to fasten them.[1] Womens Banyan otherwise were the same shape, a sort of cloak. Womens Banyan often had pleated and broader backs than Mens, and are certainly far scarcer in todays collections. By 1740, the Banyan peaked in popularity and the grammar nazi Samuel Johnson himself noted it in 1755 as a 'Bannian'. Extant examples of the 1760s show the development of a 'Banyan pleat', which consists of 3 inverted box pleats along the spine and sides of the garment to reign in the fabric. These were also made into dresses and were the forerunner of the Robe d'Anglaise fashion which took the pleats from the waist rather than in a backless gown. The 1790 Close bodied (Anglaise) style also revealed the front petticoats, much like the overturned Banyan hems of menswear a century before.

Coromandel Banyan (c1750, PD) Sharon Sadako Takeda

Other countries also assisted in the production and thererby acculturation of these garments, principally China and India.[2] The above garment was a Coromandel (India) Banyan made for the gentleman at home and were popular until the late 18th century when the vogue became more fitted garments once more. This may be due to the popularity of the Banyan as loungewear expanding to wider portions of the Continentals who wanted the look, but didnt want the excess fabric. No, excess fabric ist zur exotisch fur die Kontinentals. Non, they wanted smoking jackets. In this stead, Indian tailoring techniques were also adopted into Banyans and became more fitted and adopted high necklines and tighter sleeves from similar Mughal court dress.

British fitted Banyan (c1780, PD) Andrew Bolton

A merry party (c1850, PD) Dorotheum

Instead by around 1780, the Banyan silhouette became more slimmed down and the back of the garment was still incredibly loose, acting as more of a coat than a robe, though retaining the social function as home loungewear. Due to the power of the Ottoman Empire though, new styles began to come into vogue.  Based on Middle Eastern styles, the smoking jacket became more popular by the 1840s. Banyan were still worn however until 1860 as a robe albeit without the excess trailing fabric in the sleeves or length of the 17th century edition. Rather than radical luxury, the Banyan or dressing gown was now the form we use today.

Conclusion

In context the overall picture we can gather of the Banyan is that as a European component of KTC, the Banyan was actively influenced by Kosode design and tailoring from 1665-1720 as an accompaniment to English fashions. 1720-1780 saw this continue with an emphasis on comfort which in France was the Robe Volante style. 1780-1860 saw the inclination towards East and Central Asians styles dominated the designs of Banyans, particularly those in Silks and Brocades.[2] After 1835 in particular, we clearly see the Banyan vogue fading in favour of the smoking jacket style in menswear, and with a similar pleated consensus in womenswear albeit by 1760, evolving into the Close bodied gown style by 1780.

Banyans began as a European alternative to the ludicrously rare Kosode of the mid 17th century and became known by 1700 as the grandfather of the modern dressing gown. Banyan acted as signifiers of taste, wealth and fashionable attire in England and the Dutch Republic at the height of their popularity, amid a time where the landed gentry sought and bought for the Japanese effect, rather than from primary sources such as Japanese artists, unless we are discussing the items were brought by the VOC at the time. The influence thus of Japanese KTC on  European textiles was in allowing greater freedom of movement, comfort and in providing an early form of androgynous or unisex tailoring in Western European tailoring and silhouettes, altering Western aesthetical conceptions of how the body interacted with cloth and space in acceptably modest forms.[2][4]

Additional Examples:

 - https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1244844/night-gown-unknown/ (1720-1750 Banyan)

Bibliography

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banyan_(clothing)

[2] http://www.fashioningtheearlymodern.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Banyans-21.pdf | Object in focus: Man’s banyan, Moira Thunder, 2012, Victoria and Albert Musuem for the Europeana Project

[3] https://vogue.sg/history-of-the-three-piece-suit/

[4] https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/robe-a-langlaise/ 

*I use 'Wafuku' instead of Kimono, as always, becuase the term 'Kimono' originated among Japanese people in reaction to the need for a word to distinguish Wafuku and Yofuku becuase foreigners asked for one; without which otherwise there would be difference prior to the 1860s, the Kimono as a social construct only entering global culture after 1918. 

**I presume the object is under the public domain down to age, the file itself is purely used to illustrate on educational content of contemporary fashions and is used here specifically in a non-commercial function. I do not intend to represent the views of the V&A, nor claim any affiliation, nor speak nor write on their behalf but am operating under the fair use clause of the 1988 UK copyright legislation, intentionally in an educational, non-commercial function under good faith. Having read the T&C's, I cannot find a specific license for these images, and thus presume the file is copyrighted and do not condone any third party actions usage of this file. All copyright again belongs to the Museum, not myself and if you wish to use the file, please see the Musuems T&C for use.

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