顧愷之 | Gu Kaizhi | 364 - 406 | Bijin #16

Gu Kaizhi (active 364-406 CE) was Chinese Imperial Court painter of the Six Dynasties Period ( 220-589 CE ). Kaizhi first began painting or brushwork more accurately in the court of Emperor Fei of Jin   ( 342-383 CE ) in Eastern Jin ( 220-420 CE ), later promoted into the court as an Officer. He was also known for his poetry, calligraphy and writings on painting theory such as Introduction of Famous Paintings of Wei and Jin Dynasties (魏晉勝流畫贊) so when you find a 52 word title assignment you cant find in a Library search tool, we have this tool to blame.[1]

                                     Wise and Benevolent Women (c.400[1200]CE, PD) Gu Kaizhi

 

Kaizhi entered the Imperial system as the son of an Imperial Bureaucrat aged 20.[1] He worked under numbers of different feudal lords as part of their courts, which served porimnent roles in Confucianist philosophy in spreading correct morals and ethics to the illiterate masses by art. Only a few of Kaizhi's handscrolls survive today, as they were made on silk lengths and often are handed down to us in copies made centuries later and in another artists hand.[1] Of the surviving works most are illustrative of the mindsets at the time. 

The Admonitions of the Court Instructress 

Court Instructor pours over her Instructions (400[900]CE, PD) Gu Kaizhi

The Admonitions scrolls is a Satirical scroll depicting 9 tales about Empress Jia Nanfeng ( 257 - 300 CE ) to warn women about the evils of being a woman. Essentially, Jia comes to power as a 'dark skinned' woman and who to retain her life often has to fight against a system bent on destroying her. Her ascent is marked by power struggles (3-4 'coups') for having the 'gall' to assist her disabled husband and also to take numerous lovers at a time men had entire harems of wives, set against a backdrop of instability due to infighting by Male military leaders for her throne. The court scroll was supposed to 'take her down a peg' and to 'behave virtuously'. Essentially an early Wu Zetian figure.[2]

The whole saga: Her father refused to take a job on, so instead decided to marry his daughter Jia to marry the then Crown Prince who had some kind of developmental disorder. Indeed, she was nearly rejected becuase her baby factory womb was thought to be cursed to only make undesirables girls, and becuase she was of colour. Yep. When she was 14, she married a 12 year old, whom it seems admired her. Allegedly, she killed members of the imperial harem when they became pregnant, but curiously was spared by the reigning Empress. When assisting her disabled husband with writing, the court took this to mean he was disabled and that she was emasculating 'controlling' him. Eventually, no desirables sons were born and she became Empress in 290 CE. She is then said to have 'denied' another concubine access to their son, and in a fit of rage fear for her life started a coup against herself conspirators. Squabbling infighting began amongst the men, prompting another coup which seems to have been blamed on Jia who then took on full control behind the silk curtain, assisted by 'honest men'. Ignoring the fact that men can apparently have a bloody harem and kill anyone at will and that Jia being polyamorous is apparently a problem, the squabblers then decided to have a third coup, this time of Jia, only to not do so. Jia also at this time was more active in marriage matching, putting presumably 'uglier' women in positions of some authority. Apparently she then decided to have a Crown Prince intoxicated he got drunk and write a treasonous letter in 299. She only had him made a commoner, she instead had her political rivals (other women) executed. She was then 'advised' by a male 'lover' to get the now Commoner assassinated so that the 'lover' could depose Jia and take the throne. Eventually she was forced to abdicate and commit S in 300 CE in a coup by the same 'lover' who conveniently went on to write the historical record of his triumph.

A woman's virtue values gentleness; she conceals beauty within, and is pure and perfect.

Gentle and meek, virtuous and careful, her proper place is in the chamber.

When she gets married the girl arranges her robes and ties up her apron; respectfully she prepares the household meals.

Solemn and dignified in bearing, with pure virtue she gazes up reverently.[3]

The Nymph of the Luo River

The River Nymph looks back at the mortal (c.400[1200] CE, PD) Gu Kaizhi

A story retelling a princes wet dream about an incarnation of a river. The Nymph is a heavenly beauty, really the only acceptable kind of beauty at this time. They exchange gemstones and the nymph seems to consult with Nuwa, the mother goddess who seems to be like, no he's just a clay creation come on you have better gemstones at home Luo. So Luo travels on her whale and returns to Nuwa atop a jade phoenix.[4]

Wise and Benevolent Women

The Duchess of Wey, Lady Nanzi (c.400[1200], PD) Gu Kaizhi

Benevolent is a biographical scroll derived from Ancient Chinese imperial Court Records which culminating in the Song Dynasty ode 'Wise and Benevolent Women' by the reigning Empress of the time. In the image above, you see the more particular intended effect of this work, which was meant to show intelligent and literate women of high society which the literati of the time wanted the general hocus pocus masses to follow their example. Ms Nanzi ( active 534 - 480 BCE ) was an established scholar in her own right and ardent philosopher who was known down the Weys of History for her friendship with Confucius (551-479 BCE).

Included in these ranks were the beautiful and savvy, one of these examples being the Han Empress Zhao Feiyan ( c.45 BCE - 17 CE ) known as a great beauty of Han China who was plucked from obscurity to live in the Palace. We shall remember her for her ability to work the damn ploppy court politick she and her sister Hede found themselves in to their favour. Feiyan had a very slender build and was often compared later on with Yang Guifei due to her voluptuous Tang beauty. As for Kaizhi's version, its locked behind  'Open Access' gates so I have no clue.

During his later career, he served under the great patron Huan Xuan ( 369-404 CE) who kept all his art on his art-boat, stole Kaizhi's own collections to add to the eponymous art-boat.[1]

Metaphorical Beauty

The types of Beauties that Kaizhi drew from mostly were delved from  the historical annals of Imperial China in the court system of concubinage. The beauty standard drew thus from black hair with precious stones, slim build and small features. These were what drew court artists to their subjects, with commissioners more concerned over the subjective morals and ethics implicit to the text. Artists in a sense supplemented rather than subverted at this time to make a career for themselves. Women subjects in particular were deemed as more suitable for submissiveness, and often did not take leading roles other than as beauties in this way. This does not mean women did not have roles, just that they were more of an anomaly generally in their discipline.

Considering the types of Beauty that were societally acceptable in Kaizhi's time, we find a mostly patriarchal response to feminine efforts. Admonitions for example was the chastisement of an Empress, even though it in some ways tried to flatter the same Empress. Benevolent was a total whitewash of these figures in many ways, portraying figures centuries after their death based on social memory and the Nymphs of heaven often really being the only acceptable kind of heteronormative desirable beauty, in that it did not exist on Earth and heralded from the Peach Gardens of Eternity. Mr. Ling for instance was one for encouraging the biting of the peach. He was gay.[5]

When considering figure painting Kaizhi regarded not dress or posture as important, but how the expressiveness, particularly of the face as being done as most important.[1] When we consider all of the above and that humility came before beauty as a social gain, we must use the Luo Nymph as the standard for Kaizhi's prototype-Bijin as we understand beauty today. The Nymphs stand alone in their narrative scenes, they engage with their environment and their body language expresses their emotion. When we think therefore of the Kaizhi Bijin ideal, it is one of the otherworld, a metaphoric beauty that cannot be attained or desired socially by women, it instead speaks more to vanity and lust of the male desire than to a social interest to be visually appealling or socially desirable.

In context therefore, we see that the Kaizhi Bijin reveals much of the thinking and court politick of the Sixy Dynasties period, a turbulent time in which China was undergoing one of its many civil wars, power struggles and lethal men squabbles. The Bijin figure is represented as one of almost vice, lust and desire but only for the deserving few. Mortal women are certainly not meant to attain this level of control, and were repirmanded for thinking they could attain this level of desire in their own heteronormative relationships themselves. The Kaizhi Bijin therefore, is more a projection of male fantasy and the male gaze which asks almost impossible standards for earth women, and rather unreponsive and dismissivemiss glances for heavenly ones.

Bibliography

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gu_Kaizhi

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jia_Nanfeng

[3] From The Admonitions Scroll on Womens 'place in society'

[4] https://eclecticlight.co/2017/05/02/chinese-narrative-painting-the-nymph-of-the-luo-river/

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Ling_of_Wey

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Nanzi

 Bijin Series Timeline

11th century BCE

- The Ruqun becomes a formal garment in China (1000 BCE) [Coming Soon]

8th century BCE

- Chinese clothing becomes highly hierarchical (771 BCE) [Coming Soon]

2cnd century BCE

        - The Han Dynasty

0000 Current Era

Xi Shi (flourished c76); [Coming Soon]

1st century

        - Han Tomb portraiture begins as an extension of Confucian Ancestor Worship; first Han aesthetic                                scholars dictate how East Asian composition and art ethics begin

                       - Isometric becomes the standard for East Asian Composition (c.100); Dahuting Tomb Murals

                       - Ban Zhao introduces Imperial Court to her Lessons for Women (c106);                                      Women play major roles in the powerplay of running of China consistently                                until 1000 CE, influencing Beauty standards

                       - Qiyun Shengdong begins to make figures more plump and Bijin-like (c.150) but still pious

4th century

Gu Kaizhi (active 364-406); Metaphorical Beauty

        - Chinese Artists begin to make aesthetic beauties in ethereal religious roles of heavenly Nymphs

                       - Luo River Nymph Tale (c.400)

          - Womens clothing emphasized the waist as the Guiyi (Swallow-Tail Flying Ribbons) style (c.400)

                       - Wise and Benevolent Women (c.400)

5th century

          - Chinese Art becomes decadent; Imperial Culture begins to see more expression in religious statues (c450)

                       - Longmen Grotto Boddhisattvas (471)

6th century

           - Women begin writing Pining Love poetry inspiring many artists

Xu Ling; (active 537-583); Gongti or Palace Bijin [Coming Soon] https://www.jstor.org/stable/495525?seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents

7th century

            - Tang Dynasty Art (618-908)

           - Rouged Bijin (600-699 CE) [Coming Soon] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Paintings_of_the_Tang_Dynasty

Yan Liben (active 642-673); Bodhisattva Bijin [Coming Soon] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A1.jpg Guan Yin 

Wu Zetian (active 665-705); The Great Tang Art Patron [Coming Soon]

Asuka Bijin (c.699); The Wa Bijin

8th century

            - Princess Yongtai's Veneration Murals (701) [Coming Soon]

- Introduction of Chinese Tang Dynasty clothing (710)

- Sumizuri-e (710)

Yang Yuhuan Guifei (719-756); [Coming Soon] East Asian Supermodel Bijin https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/275768522.pdf https://factsanddetails.com/china/cat2/4sub9/entry-5437.html#chapter-5

Zhang Xuan (active 720-755); [Coming Soon]

- What is now Classical Chinese Art forms

                    - An Lushun Rebellion (757) 

 Zhou Fang (active 766-805) ; Qiyun Bijin

- Emakimono Golden Age (799-1400)

9th century

                       - Buddhist Bijin [Coming Soon] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Paintings_of_the_Tang_Dynasty#/media/File:Noble_Ladies_Worshiping_Buddha.jpg + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mogao_Caves#/media/File:Anonymous-Bodhisattva_Leading_the_Way.jpg

10th century

                       -End of Tang Art (907)

13th century

                     - Heimin painters; 1200-1850; Town Beauty

15th century 

- Fuzokuga Painting schools; Kano (1450-1868) and Tosa (1330-1690) 

Tang Yin (active 1490-1524); Chinese Beauties [Coming Soon] https://www.comuseum.com/painting/masters/tang-yin/ 

16 century 

- Nanbanjin Art (1550-1630) 

- Wamono style begins under Chanoyu teachings (c1550-1580)

- Byobu Screens (1580-1670)

 - End of Sengoku Jidai brings Stabilisation policy (1590-1615)  

17th century  

- Land to Currency based Economy Shift (1601-1655)

- Early Kabuki Culture (1603-1673) ; Yakusha-e or Actor Prints

- Machi-Eshi Art ( 1610 - 1710) ; The Town Beauty

- Sumptuary legislation in reaction to the wealth of the merchant classes (1604-1685) 

- Regulation of export and imports of foreign trade in silk and cotton (1615-1685)  

Iwasa Matabei (active 1617-1650) ; Yamato-e Bijin  

The Hikone Screen (c.1624-1644) [Coming Soon]

- Sankin-Kotai (1635-1642) creates mass Urbanisation  

- Popular culture and print media production moves from Kyoto to Edo (1635-1650); Kiyohara Yukinobu (1650-1682) ; Manji Classical Beauty

- Shikomi-e (1650-1670) and Kakemono-e which promote Androgynous Beauties;

 Iwasa Katsushige (active 1650-1673) ; Kojin Bijin

- Mass Urbanisation instigates the rise of Chonin Cottage Industry Printing (1660-1690) ; rise of the Kabunakama Guilds and decline of the Samurai

- Kanazoshi Books (1660-1700); Koshokubon Genre (1659?-1661)

- Shunga (1660-1722); Abuna-e

Kanbun Master/School (active during 1661-1673) ; Maiko Bijin 

- Hinagata Bon (1666 - 1850) 

- Ukiyo Monogatari is published by Asai Ryoi (1666) 

Yoshida Hanbei (active 1664-1689) ; Toned-Down Bijin

- Asobi/Suijin Dress Manuals (1660-1700)

- Ukiyo-e Art (1670-1900)

Hishikawa Moronobu (active 1672-1694) ; Wakashu Bijin

- Early Bijin-ga begin to appear as Kakemono (c.1672)  

- Rise of the Komin-Chonin Relationship (1675-1725)

- The transit point from Kosode to modern Kimono (1680); Furisode, Wider Obi 

- The Genroku Osaka Bijin (1680 - 1700) ; Yuezen Hiinakata

Sugimura Jihei (active 1681-1703) ; Technicolour Bijin 

- The Amorous Tales are published by Ihara Saikaku (1682-1687)

Hishikawa Morofusa (active 1684-1704) [Coming Soon]

- The Beginning of the Genroku Era (1688-1704)

- The rise of the Komin and Yuujo as mainstream popular culture (1688-1880) 

- The consolidation of the Bijinga genre as mainstream pop culture 

- The rise of the Torii school (1688-1799) 

- Tan-E (1688-1710)   

Miyazaki Yuzen (active 1688-1736) ; Genroku Komin and Wamono Bijin 

Torii Kiyonobu (active 1688 - 1729) : Commercial Bijin

Furuyama Moromasa (active 1695-1748)

18th century

Nishikawa Sukenobu (active 1700-1750) [Coming Soon]

Kaigetsudo Ando (active 1700-1736) ; Broadstroke Bijin

Okumura Masanobu (active 1701-1764)

Kaigetsudo Doshin (active 1704-1716) [Coming Soon]

Baioken Eishun (active 1710-1755) [Coming Soon]

Kaigetsudo Anchi (active 1714-1716) [Coming Soon]

Yamazaki Joryu (active 1716-1744) [Coming Soon]

1717 Kyoho Reforms

Miyagawa Choshun (active 1718-1753) [Coming Soon]

Miyagawa Issho (active 1718-1780) [Coming Soon]

Nishimura Shigenaga (active 1719-1756) [Coming Soon]

Matsuno Chikanobu (active 1720-1729) [Coming Soon]

- Beni-E (1720-1743)

Torii Kiyonobu II (active 1725-1760) [Coming Soon]

- Uki-E (1735-1760)

Kawamata Tsuneyuki (active 1736-1744) [Coming Soon]

Kitao Shigemasa (1739-1820)

Miyagawa Shunsui (active from 1740-1769) [Coming Soon]

Benizuri-E (1744-1760)

Ishikawa Toyonobu (active 1745-1785) [Coming Soon]

Tsukioka Settei (active 1753-1787) [Coming Soon]

Torii Kiyonaga (active 1756-1787) [Coming Soon]

Shunsho Katsukawa (active 1760-1793) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Toyoharu (active 1763-1814) [Coming Soon]

Suzuki Harunobu (active 1764-1770) [Coming Soon]

- Nishiki-E (1765-1850)

Torii Kiyonaga (active 1765-1815) [Coming Soon]

Kitao Shigemasa (active 1765-1820) [Coming Soon]

Maruyama Okyo (active 1766-1795) [Coming Soon]

Kitagawa Utamaro (active 1770-1806) [Coming Soon]

Kubo Shunman (active 1774-1820) [Coming Soon]

Tsutaya Juzaburo (active 1774-1797) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Kunimasa (active from 1780-1810) [Coming Soon]

Tanehiko Takitei (active 1783-1842) [Coming Soon]

Katsukawa Shuncho (active 1783-1795) [Coming Soon]

Choubunsai Eishi (active 1784-1829) [Coming Soon]

Eishosai Choki (active 1786-1808) [Coming Soon]

Rekisentei Eiri (active 1789-1801) [Coming Soon] [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ukiyo-e_paintings#/media/File:Rekisentei_Eiri_-_'800),_Beauty_in_a_White_Kimono',_c._1800.jpg]

Chokosai Eisho (active 1792-1799) [Coming Soon]

Kunimaru Utagawa (active 1794-1829) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Toyokuni II (active 1794 - 1835) [Coming Soon]

Ryūryūkyo Shinsai (active 1799-1823) [Coming Soon]

19th century

Teisai Hokuba (active 1800-1844) [Coming Soon]

Totoya Hokkei (active 1800-1850) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Kunisada Toyokuni III (active 1800-1865) [Coming Soon]

Urakusai Nagahide (active from 1804) [Coming Soon]

Kitagawa Tsukimaro (active 1804 - 1836)

Kikukawa Eizan (active 1806-1867) [Coming Soon]

Keisai Eisen (active 1808-1848) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (active 1810-1861) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Hiroshige (active 1811-1858) [Coming Soon]

Yanagawa Shigenobu (active 1818-1832) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Kunisada II (active 1844-1880) [Coming Soon]

Toyohara Kunichika (active 1847-1900) [Coming Soon]

Kano Hogai (active 1848-1888) [Coming Soon]

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (active 1850-1892) [Coming Soon]

Toyohara Chikanobu (active 1875-1912) [Coming Soon]

Kiyokata Kaburaki (active 1891-1972) [Coming Soon]

Goyo Hashiguchi (active 1899-1921) [Coming Soon]

20th century

Yumeji Takehisa (active 1905-1934) [Coming Soon]

Torii Kotondo (active 1915-1976) [Coming Soon]

Yamakawa Shūhō (active 1927-1944) [Coming Soon]

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女絵 | Onna E | 710 - 1333 | Essay #17

Onna-E ( 女絵 | Womens pictures ) refers to the Nara, Heian and early Kamakura ( 710-1333CE ) practice of drawing women in elongated Hand scrolls, which today are regarded as feminine gender coded Art. Some of these narratives depict the lives of women, their extra diaries, or the literature they wrote. The Onna-E style derives from how mostly Heian women represented themselves and others as a performed self in these scrolls, drawing from their lives indoors at their and the imperial abodes. Whilst a limited number of women could read Kanji, they also used their knowledge of Chinese culture to create and inspire their own culture; the first truly Wamono aesthetics; and it was with these preconditions that Onna-E became established in the Japanese art scene alongside Yamato-E and Oshi-E.

Onna E

Murasaki in Onna E (c1200 CE, PD)  Fujiwara Nobuzane, Gotoh Museum

Han Dynasty

The Chinese influences of the Yamato-E style cover the vast tropes and stylistic motifs which run through a lot of Japanese Emakimono. This began in the Han Dynasty when artists began to depict the life around them, a sort of feudal golden age for mankind at the time, not just China. As Han society rulers deemed it useful to have visuals for many different functions, they began to commission more of this thing the kids in those days were calling 'Art'. This resulted in a broad acceptance and discussion of what art was, how it should be done and who should do it. In the end a shocking result was reached. Rich people could do it! (Well I NEVER!) The aristocracy got together and decided it was a pursuit of the Han Scholar, due to its percieved role in Confucian philosophy as a tool for ancestor worship. Hence all the wonderful tomb murals left over.

Dahuting Tomb Mural (c.60-150CE, PD) Anonymous

With all these new societal changes, Art began to become 'Chinese Art'. Han Art distinctly began to change around the 1st century CE from flat or 2D perspective, to reflect a more Qiyun Shendong (spirit resonated) type of art. 

 

Early Han Tomb Brick (25-220CE, PD) " | Luoyang Fresco (25-220CE, PD) Gary Todd

This took Han Art from painting Horses like the ones above, which enabled a more true to life realism in Art. These Isometric developments extended to include all perspective and were developed between 60CE-100CE to reflect a philosophical bent about how realistic perspective could and should be in Art. It was decided to go with Isometric, after it was deemed that it was better to allow the imagination to be engaged and tested about depth, light and height, something which is not as easy to do in Euclidian perspective drawing. This is where the Fukunuki Yatai device comes from.[4]

Six Dynasties

Longmen Grottoes Boddhisattvas (c471CE, PD) Anonymous

These turn of the figure came to a head in during the late Six Dynasty (220-589) period in Eastern China. These fancy painters drew on earlier cues from women's poetry and foreign cultures such as Uzbekistan, Persia and India (Horses and Religion). This great melting pot of culture, war and writing milieu adopted more expressive movement from dance, seen in their Bodhisattva statues which are bloody hilarious. Beauty began to espouse these new forms of beauty based on depicting the 'aesthetic elegance' of Six Dynasty love poetry written by Pining court ladies.

Acceptable figures to portray as beautiful, were the immortal nymphs of Chinese legends, over this period (300-550AD) the clothes of these figures began to become more fitted and showed off the wearers body. Women of the era were seen through a form of the patriarchal lense in a Confucian prism however, and whilst admired, their agency was subjective at best in this worldview.[3]

Luo River Nymph Tale (c400[1700]CE, PD) Gu Kaizhi, Taipei Musuem

Tang Dynasty 

Lady with Servants (c.799) Zhou Fang

In other words, the scholars wanted an excuse to let their libidos loose. Think Victorian (1837-1901) men drawing nudes and saying it was 'In Gods Image'. This loosening of public morals, created the way for the expressing of previously hidden sexual desire and openness about the whole charade down the centuries. The Tang Dynasty (618-907CE) was a golden period for the arts in China which enjoyed cleavage, fancy hairdoes money, birds, painting and birds. Their supermodels of the day therefore were imperial consorts such as Yang Guifei ( 楊玉環 | 719-756CE) who was murdered after the Emperors Guards blamed her for having too much power in the imperial system around the time squabbling men such An Lushan (703-757) were starting rebellions (very Lucretia c.490-510CE). These squabbles saw an end to the reign of the Tang Dynasty in the 900s.

Yang Guifei (1922, PD) Uemura Shoen

The style we refer to as Onna E originates in the Heian appreciation of the Imperial Chinese Tang Arts which were considered by much of Eastern Asia as the height of Artistic expression. Much like their later Qiyun Shengdong (spirit resonance) artist friend Iwasa Matabei, Tang Art (618-907 CE) was highly regarded as the penultimate art of its day. These:-

'diagonal parallel lines of recession, figures that are large in scale and provide the focus of the attention, themes based on human relationships and activities, [...] static [...] realism, broadly painted and brightly coloured. [With an] oblique downward looking vantage point so characteristic of Emaki [... having] become well established in Chinese painting by the Tang period.'[1]

Onna Emakimono originated in the Heian Period when the distinction between Wamono and Kara-mono (Japanese and Chinese things) was still very fresh. These distinctions and tales were what inspired Japanese court ladies to go out and make their own cultures. Women like Ise no Miyasudokoro ( 875-938CE ), Sei Shonagon ( 966-1017CE ), Akazome Emon ( 954-1947CE ) and Murasaki Shikibu    ( fl.1000-1012 ) wrote Waka, Nikkei (Diaries) and the first novel.

Their aesthetic lives inspired by Six Dynasty women writers such as the bisexual Shangguan Wan'er (664-710) and instruction by Ban Zhao ( 25-117CE ) also show how they greatly admired and understood these social and cultural conventions from foreign countries, mostly China. This also comes from a time when the Chinese imperial court was de facto ruled by women, from Wu Zetian in 665 until Empress Zhang in 762. Onna-E was a culmination of Imperial court noblewomen who based on their penchant for writing literature, reading Classical Chinese and Wamono texts, created the basis for Wamono culture, pulling away from Chinese sources as was the Manly Sumi-E thing to do, and to create work tempered by Yamato-jin sensibilities. Thus Yamato-E, Otogizoshi and the Japanese school of art was born. They created aesthetic when:

Heian court ladies layered their Hitoe (single layer Kimono) into 12 and this process known as Kasane-no-irome (襲の色目|coloured layering) which adhered to the Chinese calendar of 72 seasons became fashionable as indoor wear for women, like Teagowns in the Victorian age [...]. By [1000 CE], these [domestic decorative] issues were overcome and new application techniques, embroidery and so on were used to decorate and strengthen fabrics, such as Sashiko stitches. Hakame were also first worn by women as an undivided base layer of their kimono, becoming a culotte divided type by the 10th century worn.[2]

These aesthetic sensibilities still harkened back to Chinese women and cultures as examples, but these distinctly Wamono versus Karamono sensibilities expressed a uniquely Wa-feeling to them, as they were created not for 300-400 year old concubines, but their own polyamorous society of dreamlike, ritualistic sensibilities. Devices like the Hikimie Kagabana ( Heian faces ) essentially are the origin of the Faceless trope to allow readers to paste their own emotions and feelings onto the character to better relate. In this sense, Heian women basically came up with self inserts and the manga of their day. Would you like to be judged by someone in 3070 who thinks all the character in Bridget Jones Diary were too visually appealing? During the Kamakura period, their Wamono was co-opted to mean the expressive Onna-E. During the 17th century, male art historians did a patriarchy and this is how we have the term 'Woman pictures', a bit like 'Lady Doctor/Cyclist'.

Conclusion

Isometric perspective was kept as Fukinuki Yatai, folklore was implemented to some degree in their tales and the figures represented in these Emakimono were made to suit their audiences. Female artists and writers based their pursuits of aesthetic sensibility on their female Chinese predecessors and created the basis for Japanese picture scrolls and a previously nonexistent Japanese cultural aesthetic sensibility, refining the expression of character and composition development during their time in provincial and bureaucratic seclusion or religious isolation, creating the basis for Japanese Art, something their male counterparts who used China as a foil for masculinity, did not endeavour to pursue.

[1] Narrative Picture Scrolls, Elizabeth Ten-Grotenhuis, 1973, pp.16

[2] See Patterns #3

[3] See Bijin #7

[4] https://deheunit17.wordpress.com/2016/10/25/perspective-in-chinese-painting-research-against-western-styles/

Essay Abstracts 

#1 Renee Vivien (1877 - 1909) --- Born Pauline Tarn, was an English lesbian poet. She wrote in French and perhaps English. She took up the style of the Symbolists and Parnassinism and was well known during the era of the Belle Epoque (the Beautiful Age) for producing Sapphic verse and living as an open quasi butch lesbian poet; her verse derived from the ancient poet Sapphos, also famed for her love of women.

# 2 Birth of the Kimonope --- Here I shall introduce the notion of the Kimonope, that is as a garment attached to the social construct of the 'Geisha' in North America. Kimonopes being Orientalized clothing, or 'negatively affiliated or exoticized ethnic dress' which lead to the perceived notion of the Kimono and Geiko as simultaneously both high and low culture to American culture makers, such as film, television, media, writers and some academics. An example of Kimonope are the tacky Halloween costumes you may find at the Dollar store.

#3 The Legacy of the MacArthur Dynasty on KTC & The Problem with the 'Traditional Garment' Argument --- The problem with arguing that the Kimono is a 'Traditional ethnic Garment' is that that assertion is in itself, arguably  Ethnocentrism, which to clarify is the imposition of, in this case, American values onto Japanese cultural values, belaying the 3 pronged pitchfork of idiocy. 

#4 Divine --- Government name Harris Glenn Milstead (1945-1988) was the infamous North American Queen & Drag artist. Specifically, Divine was known for being a character actor, part of her act is well-known for its eccentricity. My personal exposure to Drag lite was Pantomine Grand Dames as a kid, and later when my friends made me watch RuPaul in art classes, so to me this is nothing new, the over the top, the glitter, the upstaging is all part and parcel.

#5 Dori-Style or 21st century Kimono Fashion --- The Dori-Kimono style. Something which I just made up because in going over notes for the first 20 years of 21st century section of Kimono history, I noticed a lack of a clear catchall term for what was happening in Japan at the time, at least in English descriptions of the time. I use the term Dori as I do not want to coin an unrelated term to the topic, but I also am reticent to claim all of Street style as 'Tori' either, whilst a large number of streets upon which the subculture originates in all use the suffix 'dori' (the bottom of Takeshita-dori for example), thence Dori-style.

#6  The Tea Gown --- This essay will cover the aspects of how 19th century Japanese import textiles to Western countries were used and repurposed, as well what their desirability tells us about how Japanese design was regarded and the image which these people held of Japan through the Western lense and consciousness. This follows the progression of how Kimono can be used in the West from the undress of the 1860s, adapting silk bolts in the 1870s to high fashion western daywear, to the 1880s aesthetic movement and 1890 wholesale adoption in the Victorian age to being used prominently by society hostesses as tea gowns by the Edwardian period, and the subsequent change in Japanese export culture which we see in extant textile collections of Japanese textile in Western dresses of the periods.

#7 Kimono and the Pre-Raphaelite Painters --- This essay will cover the aspects of Kimono in the Portraiture of the Pre-Raphaelites. The Pre-Raphaelites were a group of British artists and writers active during the late Victorian period. Unlike the Royal Academy artists, this circle of painters operated outside of the established comfortable boundaries of the expected white, cisgender middle class audience of the Victorian age. The movement is notable for its inclusion and encouragement of women, and in portraying and engaging non-conventional beauty and beauties as figures from the Classical World alongside Religious, Mythological and Folklore Heroines into Victorian 'Femme Fatales'.

#8 Jokyo/Genroku Kimono Textile Culture and the new role of the Komin ---  This essay will return back to GKTC (Genroku Kimono Textile Culture ; 1688-1704) and JoKTC (Jokyo K.T.C. 1684-1688) and the new role of the Komin (Artist caste) in GKTC. JoKTC is notable for being the lead up to GKTC, JoKTC being characterised by its transitory nature in comparison to GKTC, which was far more bold in its relations to what Kosode could and should be. Komin entered the picture at this juncture, and I shall elaborate a little more here than in other posts about why that was. GKTC is notable for its elaborate, perhaps gaudy and innovative Kosode design features, whilst JoKTC more so for the enabling factors of the time, as a sort of incubatory GKTC.

#9 Tagasode Byobu - This essay will explore the art motif known in Japanese art as Tagasode Byobu ( Whose sleeves Screen) This motif is a recurring art form which was particularly popular during the Azuchi-Momoyama era ( 1568-1600 ) as a representation of the ways in which Buddhist sensibilities met with the fast changing events of the end of the Sengoku Jidai (1467-1615) and as an extension of the habit of wealthy women from military families came to own and store a large number of Kimono. Prior to this, Kin Byobu ( Golden Screens) for the most part depicted nature like Sesshuu Touyou (1420-1506) after Chinese Cha'an painter Muxi ( c.1210-1269 ) or 'flower-and-bird' scenes like those of Kano Eitoku (1543-1590), rather than humans or human paraphernalia as an extension of the Zen painting school of thought about materialism.

#10 Cultural Acculturation --- The topic of our essay is on the nature of Cultural Exchange in KTC which will be an ongoing mini-series throughout 2022. This covers the 1000CE - 1500 period in Japanese History.

#11 Cultural Appropriation --- The topic of our essay is on the nature of Cultural Appropriation which will be an ongoing mini-series throughout 2022. 

#12 Cultural Acculturation --- The topic of our essay is on the nature of Cultural Acculturation which will be an ongoing mini-series throughout 2022. This covers the Asuka (Hakuho), Nara (Tempyo), and Heian periods (500CE-1000CE) in Japanese History.

#13 Asai Ryoi --- This essay will explore the legacy of Asai Ryoi on KTC. Who was Asai Ryoi you may ask? Only one of the most important writers for the Ukiyo genre. Asai Ryoi ( act. 1661-1691 ) was a prolific Ukiyo-zoshi ( Books of the floating world )  or Kana-zoshi  ( Heimin Japanese Books ) writer. His leading 1661 publication, lambasted and satirized Buddhism and Samurai culture of restraint in favour of the Chonin lifestyle of worldy excess.

#14 Edith Craig --- This is a post regarding the early adoption and promulgation of the Kimono and Japanese aesthetics in the life of the wonderful Edith Craig (1869-1947), daughter of the famous actress Ellen Terry (1847-1928) and Edward William Godwin (1833-1886). Edith was also known as 'Edy'.

#15 European Banyans --- This essay will explore the European garment known as a Banyan, which originated as a European reaction to Kimono in the 17th century, popular until the end of the 18th century. The word Banyan originates from Arabic ( Banyaan), Portuguese (Banian), Tamil ( Vaaniyan ) and Gujarati ( Vaaniyo ) loanwords meaning 'Merchant'. Alternative versions saw the item fitted with buttons and ribbons to attach the two front sides together. 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).

#16 Miss Universe and Kimonope --- This essay will explore how Beauty Pageants, principally Miss Universe, has engaged with KTC. While there may be real Kimono worn by Japanese and Japanese adjacent contestants in the 'National Costume' category, I will be focusing on the Kimonope worn by contestants. The idea of Kimono as a 'national costume' sparks interesting conversations on what 'national costumes' are, their target audiences, and how we form ideas about these things to begin with.

#17 Onna-E --- Womens pictures refers to the Nara, Heian and early Kamakura ( 710-1333CE ) practice of drawing women in elongated Hand scrolls, which today are regarded as feminine gender coded Art. Some of these narratives depict the lives of women, their extra diaries, or the literature they wrote. The Onna-E style derives from how mostly Heian women represented themselves and others as a performed self in these scrolls, drawing from their lives indoors at their and the imperial abodes. Whilst a limited number of women could read Kanji, they also used their knowledge of Chinese culture to create and inspire their own culture; the first truly Wamono aesthetics; and it was with these preconditions that Onna-E became established in the Japanese art scene alongside Yamato-E and Oshi-E.

菊 | Kiku | Chrysanthemum | Pattern #15

We all know its that time of the year, Happy Samhainn! Chrysanthemum appear as a motif in many formats, stretched, repeat and realistic in Kimono, with the plant derived from strains created in Japan known as the Wagiku.[4] Claimed to represent longevity from drinking dewdrops that fell from the plant according to legend, the plant was first cultivated in Chinese gardens around 1500 BCE (3500 years ago).[2] Today they come in pink, purple, red, yellow, bronze, orange or white and represent the colour of autumn in Japan.[3] These patterns are the Kiku-bishi (square Kiku), Kiku-no-maru (floral circles), Kiku-zukushi (spider Kiku floral arrangements) and Kiku Sui (Kiku in water) motif first used circa 1330.[3] All Chrysanthemum originate from the Daisy genus.

Kiku Houmongi (c1998, PD) Andrew Bolton, Mr Koda

The history begins with the Nara period when the plant was imported from China around 600 CE. Around the time of the Heian period, it began to appear as a heavily important symbol among the aristocrats. The Heian court would hold Sechie parties where it was customary to drink Kiku-Sake (Chrysanthemum infused wine) for example.[3] The first emperor of the Minamoto Shogunates' rule, Emperor Gotoba adopted the flower to bolster his claim to the throne which otherwise belonged to the previous child emperor, Antoku, in 1183. This happened again in 1333 when in an attempt to differentiate the North and South imperial courts, Go-Daigo adopted a 17 petal version in opposition to that of Kougun.[1] During the Edo period, Kimono began to incorporate Kiku onto textiles.[3] 

In the Edo period, it began became popular along with cherry blossom, to cultivate Kiku to admire them in groups. The fruits of this labour are known as the Kotengiku (Classic type) crop of which are the Atsumono (Broad blooms), Kudamono (Spider Kiku), and Ichimonji varieties (Overlapping flat Blooms) which the contemporary Imperial crest is based on. The Bloom reaches a peak of 9-18cm diameters when in full blossom.[4] This is the time when Kiku were first depicted heavily on Samurai and likely Chonin textiles in reflecting the Kotengiku category. At the end of the Edo period and beginning of the Meiji, these categories were standardised. 

Kiku and Shibori Fragment (c1700, PD) LACMA

There is a long history of Chrysanthemum representing sex workers, just as there is in the West with the Rose. Another historical aspect of the Chrysanthemum is its adoption by the Males-on-Males. It was an inside joke by the Genroku period (1688-1704) that the flower was said to resemble the quivering intersection of the rear which bloomed a deep pink, and thus was a symbol for Homosexuality. By the early 18th century this was reflected in the Shunga of Miyagawa Choshun.[6]

'Yesterdays Abyss is Today's Rapids' (c1683, PD) Hishikawa Moronobu

Courtesan in Full Kiku Kimono (1704, PD) British Museum

Courtesan in Kiku Florals (1716, PD) British Museum

Courtesan in Kudamono Obi (c.1844, PD) Toshidama, British Museum

After 1870, these types of Kiku became part of public works such as parks which popularised the Edo Giku (Firework Kiku), Higo Giku (Limited Bloom) and Choji-Giku (Round Top Flat Base Kiku) with the public.[5] Thus they became popular once again in late Meiji, representing the might of the Co Prosperity Centre until the 1930s. 

Ms Ruth Nomura (c1930, CC1.0) Flickr, osu Archive

For the community activist and Japanese-American above, the Chrysanthemum certainly represented a spirit of homeliness and cultural touchpoint for her relationship with other Japanese diaspora people in the US when she assisted in their evacuation to avoid Roosevelts 'internment' camps. After this point, I am uncertain when they make a return, perhaps the 1965 area, but would most likely only be viably popular after the 1980s in the age of excess and revival of the 90s.

Bibliography 

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Seal_of_Japan

[2] https://www.mitchellparkdomes.com/articles/mums-basics#:~:text=%22The%20chrysanthemum%20was%20first%20cultivated,have%20the%20power%20of%20life.

[3] https://int.kateigaho.com/articles/tradition/patterns-30/

[4] https://www.nippon.com/en/guide-to-japan/b08104/

[5] https://www.rekihaku.ac.jp/english/exhibitions/plant/project/old/181030/index.html

[6] https://www.historyisgaypodcast.com/notes/2019/10/14/episode-25-chrysanthemums-and-goldenbums

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結城紬 | Yuki-Tsumugi | Yuki Silk | Fabric #16

Yuki-Tsumugi is a type of traditional Ibaraki silk. Traditionally, Yuki silk is made by taking the silk from boiled Cocoons, and spun by hand into Yarn. The yarns are placed appropriately with Ikat (resist dying) being applied to the yarns in the pattern desired and then using the Jibata hand loom, passing these warp and weft yarns through to create the Tanmono bolt.[1] Yuki Tsumugi is often today used for wearing in the winter as it is a very thick, heavy fabric when made up with linings, which does not chime with the Western idea about what 'silk' should feel like. To make one Kimono takes a weaver 15 days.[3]

Yuki Tsumugi Yarns (2017, CC4.0) タバコはマーダー

Yuki was brought into Japan according to legend around the time of the infamous Carpenter of Nazareth, but more likely somewhere between the introduction of silk around 500 CE or during the tailend of the Heian period, around 1200 CE.[2] It historically accurate to begin Yuki history proper around 1602 when it was presented as a gift to Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616). As a fabric, it is rather plain and has historically been used to siginify an 'earthy' fabric. In 1873, it was used at the Vienna World Exposition to identify a 'Japanese textile', and is currently practiced by 130 known craftspeople. These are backed up by the fact that Yuki has been an IICPJ (Important Intangible Cultural Properties of Japan) since 1956.

[1] See Fabrics #2

[2] See Fabrics #3 under TLDR

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%ABki-tsumugi

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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

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ミス・ユニバースとキモノペ | Miss Universe and Kimonope | 1959-2021 | Essay #16

This essay will explore how Beauty Pageants, principally Miss Universe, has engaged with KTC. While there may be real Kimono worn by Japanese and Japanese adjacent contestants in the 'National Costume' category, I will be focusing on the Kimonope worn by contestants. The idea of Kimono as a 'national costume' sparks interesting conversations on what 'national costumes' are, their target audiences, and how we form ideas about these things to begin with.

Akiko Kojima with Linda Watamaru in 'Oriental Dress' (1959, PD) Associated Press

Background on Miss Universe

Miss Universe began in 1952 as a marketing ploy by a California company Catalina to sell swimsuits and has continually run for 71 years now as an international arm of the Beauty Pageant Industry. Beauty Pageants such as Miss Universe have gone through many scandals, mostly regarding their lack of diversity, criticism from feminist groups, problems regarding eating disorders, ownership by the fart himself and denying full dignity (in the legal sense) to the incredibly intelligent and hard working women who take part in them.

Contestants today are judged on their looks, personality, aesthetics, knowledge, volunteer work and community based work as well. The Modern Miss Universe often provides opportunities such as modelling contracts, material goods and educational scholarships to winners.

Catalina Advertisement (1955, PD) Photoplay Magazine

Of Nations

Whilst it is rather semantic, a country it must be noted, is not a nation. Just as England is a country, the United Kingdom is the Nation. This I bring up to make note of why the first half of 'national costume' comes into play. The term 'Nation' as we understand it, derives from 18th century German philosophy (a very nasty headspace indeed; see Scientific Racism and Benjamin Rush for our Statesians friends) when the Holy Roman Empire was split up, creating Germany in its wake by 1815 (when your degree is actually useful XD). The idea of nation differs from country in that nation does not require the ownership of land to exist. A country does. It is in this fire and brimstone of the European republics phase that the term 'Nation' or 'Nation-state' came to be defined a group of people with shared attributes. 

The National Costume Narrative

Firstly when we are talking about National Costumes, we must remember that in English we are talking about the historically European tradition of giving 'National Costumes' to certain groups. This began in the 18th century as a way to define what a country was and took off in the 19th in the advent of European Colonization which saw a desire to pseudo-classify and catalogue everything in existence.[5] This saw series of illustrated books drawn by many European and later American and Asian artists depicting the 'National Dresses' of certain groups to quell the thirst of the public appetite for 'rational' 'native' outfits which continues as National Costume Colouring books today. Albeit the focus is more on folklore, shared cultures and mainstream ethnicities today, an example being the controversial Han-fu for China, when instead more people are familiar with the Qipao of the Manchu.

Spanish Beauty [of Havana] (1796, PD) James Gillray, Hannah Humphrey, British Musuem

Whilst the image depicts a Theatre Socialite in Western Europe in 'Roman' dress no less, it is notable that the background highlights Havana, a trope used to denote which part of the world she would have been considered to have her 'heritage' from. This is typical of especially British 18th century ideas about 'nationality', which somewhat remain in Britain today and highlights the uptick in interest of this nature.

The Kimono as a National Costume brings up a series of interesting debates about national identity. That is how to define National Costume. For some countries, it is their traditional dress in a postcolonial world, others their folklore or mythological dress, some unofficial ceremonial garb, particular silhouettes, some particular colours and others types of lavishly decorated fabrics. These things are all subjective though when we consider that Nationality like money and gender, is a social construct; one that at times gatekeeps other ethnic identities from exerting any kind of power and suppresses more diverse national stories.

In Britain for example, there is no such definitive thing as a Kimono to call a National Costume. Instead we are often represented by tacky costumes only fit for Halloween which riff on the idea of what it means to be 'British', which axiomatically is a million and one things. British contestants for example since Kim Carlton (the English semifinalist) dressed up as a Beefeater (Yeomans Warder) in 1962.[1] Other examples include the 1968, 1971, 2010 and 2015 Beefeater costumes.[1][2][3] Other editions draw on the more vague Britannia, Monarchy-adjacent, Union Jack attire, with the latest by Jeaneatte Akua in a bid to the Pearley Kings and Queens of working class London culture.[4]

Pearly King of Upminster in his Skeleton suit (2011, CC2.0) William

In fact Welsh and Scottish (Kilts and Betgwyn) national dress only arose in response in the 19th century as part of the Celtic revival to prevent them from becoming extinct, and to save them for posterity in lieu of the English wool suit. It is in this sense we can see why 'National Costumes' carved out a space for themselves, as a need to make space in a dominant cultural identity which threatened to wipe their own out. Tartan in particular was originally banned by the English in the 1500s, along with the Celtic languages as a way at the time for King Henry VIII; originally Welsh himself; to get England into the Continental European spotlight by pushing a narrative of England first (sound familiar?).[12] It is for this reason I in particular do not refer to Kimono as a National Costume or Dress, as it a patriarchal paternalistic notion of hegemonic cultural/White supremacy that Kimono are distinctly outdated womens attire, only fit for the 'lesser race' (in the words of Leonce Benedite[11]) which I shall hereby Christen : Macarthism.[13]

*C*o*o*l* Japan

When it comes to the Kimono as a National Costume, there are some interesting theories about 'Cool Japan' (japanese conservative soft power push). It is interesting how the 'Dying Kimono' trope works, as it is a principle example of Macarthism at work at pushing the idea that traditional Japanese culture is inferior to the superior Western culture.[13] When we examine Akiko Kojimas original use of Kimono at the Miss Universe pageant for example, whilst she may have done (I cannot exclusively find evidence) she wears Kimono as everyday or at least casual wear, not as a traditional 'Oriental costume'. Kojima wore Kimono to hand accept and handover the 1960 crown, on tour as Miss Universe, to get married and in domestic commericals for example.[14][15] It seems therefore that generally civilian Japanese had not got the message yet about Americas superiority complex. 

This had all changed however by the 1960s when Japan, as it had 100 years before, had to take on another great 'Modernization' period once more to reclaim its own position as great power once more. This internalized Macarthism is reflected in the way Ms. Akiko was represented in American society. In the same year that saw Donyale Luna, she and Akiko entered the pages of the previously all Hwight Harpers Bazaar, a magazine that refused previously to run models of 'color' in its pages. Akiko was presented in Western dress, not Kimono. This is striking as it tells us of the fact that Kimono was not considered fashionable enough to be considered as fashion in its own right, instead Akiko wore *acceptable* white brands such as Sarff-Zumpano Inc.[16]

It is interesting to note though that this comes with the caveat of internalized inferiority dealt with the idea that 'Japan lost the [Pacific] war'. This attitude in Japan commonly refers to the postwar generation of Japanese Teeners (I recently studied the etymology of teenager, never using that one again) who felt the burden of growing up in the shadow of Macarthism, in a world which saw the subjugation of Japanese culture as 'feudal', saw Japanese people as 'savages' for fighting on the wrong side of WWII and the unlawful incarceration of Nissei Americans (1942-1947). When 'Sukiyaki' was released to Western audiences it gave notions of Beef dinner, to a Japanese Teener, Ue o Muite Arukō (I look up as I walk) was reminiscient of the frustration of dealing with American occupation in the Anpo protests (1959-1970) and the Sunagawa Struggle (1955-1956). Its culmination being the murder of Chinese-American Vincent Chin in 1982 at the hands of Statesian men who thought he was Japanese.

Anti-Eisenhower Demonstrations (1960) British Pathe

Anpo Protests (2015) TuCraiN

It is in this cultural hegemony that we see the 'Dying Kimono' trope appear, because casual wear of the Kimono becomes a thing of your mothers generation by 1975, and your grandmothers by 1995. That is, the idiotic idea that Japanese=bad, American=good. When the next winner of Miss Universe wore Kimono, it was as a 'National Costume' in 2007 by Riyo Mori who wore an altered Kimono.[6] Ever since this time it has been commonly accepted that Japanese pageant goers wear Kimono to the National Costume section of the event. It is this internalized effort to become 'global' which has made the Kimono into 'vintage' exclusive fashion, if fashion at all, as Japan has attempted to claw back the image of the Kimono as fashion since the 1990s when it sees a revival amongst young people.

'Cool Japan', a sort of right wing Japanese politicians wet dream of global Japanese hegemony on par with the 1902 Russo-Japanese win in their books, has attempted to adopt the Kimono as a National Costume as well which is a strand of Japanese paternalism which in itself is just a strand of 1690s Iki ideas about the 'correct way' to wear Kimono (all 52 colourways and seasonal motif Houmongi or Komon included) mixed with a dash of inferiority complex, has thankfully yet to make any headway, but is certainly a proponent of the issue of bringing KTC into the global world as global fashion under Macarthism's influence.

It is in this climate that Ayako Hara wore an upcycled (?) Kimono to Universe 2012.[8] Yukimi Matsuo wore a Furisode to Universe 2013.[9] The cringe worthy conservative political version of 'Cool Japan' fosters a disturbingly ethnocentric idea of Kimono, which is also another thorn in the side of KTC. This thankfully saw a divergence when Miss Japan wore a bedazzled Seifuku (Sailor Uniform), influenced by Cosplay and Sailor Moon in 2018.[9] This move into national costumes like the Seifuku is particularly reassuring as it is the Death of the 'Dying Kimono' trope, in saying that Kimono is current and alive, and that culturally Japan has more to its 'national' culture than just reasserting 'Wafuku'. Wamono in this sense has shifted to a more inclusive contemporary understanding of the national, away from the stereotypical Longingism of 'coolies' and 'Geisha-girls'.

Kimonopes

It is in this strand of Kimono as national costume we come to the rather comical if mix of cultural Acculturation and Appropriation. They point thankfully to the more widely accepting side of global fashion which post 2005 began to accept Kimono as a global fashion garment. Post the John Galliano, Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen acceptance of KTC (lets be honest, who remembers half of the shows before the English swooped back in to finish Charles Worth's legacy) we recieve a number of reactions from the Western world which are tantamount to the grey area KTC exists in majority white spaces.

We see the confused 'National Costume' of Emiri Miyasaka who wore a Kimonope to Universe 2009.[7] This particular Kimonope appears to only worn in Summer, as the bottom half of the Susoyoke (Skirt Juban slip) is completely gone with only pink Panty and Stockings left. Designed by a French woman at the Miss Universe offices, a telling piece of Cultural Appropriation.

The absolute corker though that is Juri Watanabe's distinctly Kimo-nope to Universe 2021 is well ... there.[10] The ode to 'Harajuku fashion' (my 15 year old Textile class literally did better) that is that evening dress is stunning in its bid to be fashionable. Certainly more Cultural Acculturation than the mess that was Miyasaka's Kimonope, it still manages to be more Halloween than Ballroom gown. Topped with pink space buns, as you go down, the neckline falls away to reveal the Nihon Kanji etched in Sharpie and a sequined crossover pink cocktail dress with a train (right over left because we are dying of laughter), stretchy yellow polyester belt and 'Kimono' sleeves. Pink go-go boots and two moving beckoning cats complete the Camp.[10] Designed by the Israeli designer Aviad Herman, this Kimonope whilst horrifyingly bad, is a step in the right direction to curb the Dying Kimono trope of Macarthism, in displaying that KTC has made a comeback as global contemporary fashion.

Conclusion

In total we can how the context for many national costumes depends on how we define national culture. Kimono and other 'traditional' garments are often seen as 'national dress' due to the decline of their wear after the introduction of Western power structures, colonization and efforts to 'modernize' under globalisation. After 1955, this evolves from Macarthistic policy, which becomes internalized in Japanese culture by 1970 becoming the 'Dying Kimono' trope, which precipitates that old 'feudal' Japanese culture has been shed off becoming 'modern' Japan. After 1990 though, KTC was revived domestically and has since re-emerged as casual clothing once more both in Japan and globally with the rise of the digital age.

In context therefore, we see how the Kimono has become regarded as a 'National Costume' for Japan, but that when we explore how we get to the notion of certain modes of dress being 'Costumes' we can see how this can be a negative reinforcement of existing power structures through lenses such as Macarthism. The Kimonopes which exist in these spaces are often attempts at cultural appreciation, but more often are regarded as objects of cultural appropriation by many. Thankfully, we can also see post 2005, a resurgence in the pageant and fashion worlds of KTC as influential global fashion (for example the 2016 Furisode for Miss Mexico at Miss Latina USA designed by Sueko Oshimoto).[17] This sees the Kimono as a modern incarnation of fashion, part of its revival in the contemporary world we live in and allows Kimono to be seen as desirable in the current beauty standards we ourselves hold, unravelling the work of hwight supremacists. Thus seeing the reemergence of KTC as living, contemporary fashion, as seen in high fashion, beauty pageants and street fashion.

Bibliography

[1] https://kiddolovesit.wordpress.com/2014/04/03/always-the-bridesmaid-but-never-the-bride-the-curious-case-of-the-united-kingdom-in-miss-universe/

[2] https://metro.co.uk/2010/08/17/tara-vaitiere-hoyos-british-bid-for-miss-universe-dresses-as-beefeater-482213/

[3]  https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/beefeater-a-yellow-tree-and-an-entire-hockey-game-miss-universe-s-bizarre-national-costumes-9999220.html

[4] https://www.insider.com/miss-universe-wildest-national-costumes-from-pageant-2021-5#miss-great-britain-jeanette-akua-channeled-bridgerton-with-her-royal-ensemble-complete-with-a-glittering-tiara-and-extravagant-cape-18

[5] https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=National+costume&year_start=1500&year_end=2019&corpus=en-2019&smoothing=0&case_insensitive=true

[6] https://richardsamuel888.wordpress.com/2021/01/14/riyo-mori-miss-universe-2007-wore-sytlish-kimono-during-the-pageant-beauty-that-year/

[7] https://japantoday.com/category/national/barrage-of-complaints-force-miss-universe-japan-to-change-costume-for-finals

[8] https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/miss-universe-2012-national-costume-show-photos-415485

[9] https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/miss-universe-japan-picks-%27sailor-moon%27-ninja-transformation-dress-as-national-costume-for-2018

[10] https://soranews24.com/2021/12/15/miss-universe-2021-japan-entry-slammed-for-wearing-dead-persons-kimono/

[11] Allegorizing Aryanism: Fernand Cormon's The Human Races, Maria P Gindhart, 2008, Volume 9, Online Edition, The Journal of the History of Art (Aurora), WAPACC Organization

[12] http://www.britainusa.com/sections/articles_show_nt1_d_0_i_41110_L1_41013_L2_41013_a_28485.html

[13] Allied Occupation of Japan, Eiji Takemae, 2003, pp.6-7 | See https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Ba5hXsfeyhMC&pg=PA7&lpg=PA7&dq=Macarthur+boy+of+12+japan&source=bl&ots=zCWRz2JKwM&sig=ACfU3U2yVzbxXPKhsxIIudaoSyEeGqVQRg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjp0b7IhZ_6AhWEnVwKHRmVBVoQ6AF6BAgUEAM#v=onepage&q=Macarthur%20boy%20of%2012%20japan&f=false

[14] https://www.insider.com/most-iconic-miss-universe-looks-of-all-time-2019-12#akiko-kojima-of-japan-wowed-in-a-traditional-outfit-before-winning-the-1959-event-23

[15] https://summerballads.wordpress.com/2020/10/02/akiko-kojima-wanita-asia-pertama-yang-menjadi-miss-universe/

[16] https://www.vintag.es/2022/07/akiko-kojima.html

[17] https://www.facebook.com/Kimono-SK-180754161968429/photos/kimono-dress-for-miss-mexico-at-miss-latino-usa-fashion-show-produced-by-virgeli/1201928273184341

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