Japanese clothing during the Meiji period

Japanese clothing during the Meiji period (1867–1912) saw a marked change from the preceding Edo period (1603–1867), following the final years of the Tokugawa shogunate between 1853 and 1867, the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854 – which, led by Matthew C. Perry, forcibly opened Japanese ports to American vessels, thus ending Japan's centuries-long policy of isolation – and the Meiji Restoration in 1868, which saw the feudal shogunate dismantled in favour of a Western-style modern empire.

During the Meiji period, Western-style fashion (yōfuku) was first adopted most widely by Japanese men in uniformed, governmental or otherwise official roles, as part of a drive towards industrialisation and a perception of modernity.

During the Rokumeikan period, Western culture grew in popularity, and a number of clothing reforms including a Westernised system of dress.

Two decades into the Meiji period, it became increasingly hard to find men with uncropped, chonmage-style hair and women with blackened teeth, styles mostly relegated to rural areas.

[2]: 83 Following the Rokumeikan period, due to a proliferation of Western dress over two decades, a single piece of yōfuku no longer served the purpose of distinguishing someone as modern and progressive.

Shappos (based on the French chapeau, 'hat'), along with a Western-style umbrella, were accessories commonly worn; for those with more money, leather shoes and watches were stylish contributions too.

Saigō "peasant dress" became popular in Tokyo, and an olive brown colour previously known as uguisu-cha was renamed saigō-brown in his memory.

[2]: 86 In the 1890s, nativism grew stronger in Japan, and Western clothing likewise became less popular, with rules for Western-style dress growing lax for public events.

[2] There were new coats known as tombi, sleeveless cloaks with an attached cape, to be worn over the baggy kimono sleeves; niuimawashi; and azumakoto, all made of wool.

Also around 1872, local governments reinforced their efforts and announced that direct exposure to the head was harmful, so they started advocating for hats to protect oneself.

Many women simply left their sizes in Paris to order a new wardrobe each year, while others might purchase their clothing in their travels to America or Europe, as early adopters were typically rich.

Now, as Japan transitioned into its Rokumeikan era, women adopting Western fashion at a greater pace, wearing corsets and leather shoes.

[2]: 80  During the early parties of the Rokumeikan, many royal ladies wore scarlet hakama and hakki (kimono-shaped over robes) they used for courtly functions.

The natural shape of a woman's body grew to be more important (compared to earlier corset-shaped silhouette), and women started to cut their hair short without fear of being outcast.

In the early Meiji period, these former distinctions had been largely replaced by the societal concepts of ryakugi and reisō, a system of organising types of kimono based on occasion of wear.

Ryakugi was a category of everyday wear, consisting of study, durable woven silk, hemp, cotton, linen and wool kimono, often dyed and decorated in plain, muted colours and designs.

In contrast, reisō was a category of formal clothing, where one's best, finest silk kimono, adorned with the correct number of crests (mon), were worn, typically layered.

By the end of the Meiji period, a new category of kimono bridging the gap between everyday clothing and ceremonial wear had come into existence, known as hōmongi (lit.

Edo doki was a style of small floral and grass patterns accentuated with gold embroidery on a plain, monochrome background.

Even haori linings, collars, and children's kimono began sporting more patriotic motifs, such as cherry blossoms, the traditional flower of the samurai classes.

[2]: 99 However, by the late 1890s, komon began to fade in popularity, a combination of social circumstance – as women now had more opportunity to be seen at, and attend, fashionable social gatherings – and changing styles, as the small, repeating patterns of komon were hard to discern under the gas lamp lighting of Meiji-period streets, particularly if the pattern was shown only along the hem of the wearer's outfit.

Traditional designs, such as oversized checkerboard patterns with nature motifs depicted in minute, dappled tie-dye, also experienced popularity.

[2]: 100 In February 1868, the System Research Department (seido torishirabegakari) was established, and in June of that year, sent out letters to various high-ranking members of society, such as the aristocracy, daimyō and feudal retainers in Kyoto for opinions on national dress reform.

The following year, the department designed a clothing reform system with the assistance of Saga Sanenaru (1820–1909), a government official in the Office of Administration.

[1]: 28 In 1872, the Emperor Meiji decided to cut off his topknot and move to Western-style clothing, establishing a modern era of Japan through way of example.

For instance, Shimazu Hisamitsu (1817–1887), samurai and virtual ruler of the Satsuma Domain, arrived at court with 250 vassals, all sporting topknots and swords; Hisamitsu argued that traditional dress was important to separate the lowest and highest classes in Japan, but also to separate Japan from other countries, and that if the traditional clothing system was abolished, idea of social status would need to be continued in any future clothing system.

In 1889, journalist Ishikawa Yasuhiro (1872–1925) coined the term haikara (wasei eigo for English "high collar") to derogatorily reference men who cared for Western fashion.

The arrival of the bankara, a masculine ideal constructed in response to the high-collar gentleman, and the soshi, a fashion reformist group, also heralded the further introduction of resistance to dress reform.

The bankara rejected the notion of the high-collar gentleman as a masculine ideal, and expressed a "return to barbarism and celebration of male primitivism.

The bankara was popular with young students for the belief in "action over speech, romantic notions of adventure and daring, and the simplicity of rustic tastes.

A woodblock print by Yōshū Chikanobu showing Japanese women in Western-style clothes, hats, and shoes ( yōfuku )
A woman wearing an elaborate headdress in Japan during the late 19th century.
Nobility in the Evening Cool ( Koki nōryō no zu ), Yōshū (Hashimoto) Chikanobu, 1887
Court Ladies Sewing Western Clothing ( Jokan yōfuku saihō no zu ), Yōshū (Hashimoto) Chikanobu, 1887
The back view of a scarlet red kimono with medium-length sleeves. The kimono has a warm red lining and a padded hem, and is decorated with three white crests and a hand-painted design of hazy mist, hanging scroll motifs and flowers.
Outer kimono for a high-class young woman ( uchikake ) with hanging scroll motifs, 1880–1890
Photographic portrait of a young woman wearing a layered long-sleeved kimono and a trailing darari obi.
Hand-colored silver albumen photograph depicting a Meiji-period woman wearing a kimono with an underkimono patterned with chrysanthemums
Concert of European Music ( Ōshū kangengaku gassō no zu ) ), Yōshū (Hashimoto) Chikanobu, 1889