Pale yellow silk underkimono with designs of maple leaves

Description

Layering has long been an important principle of stylish dress in Japanese traditional fashion. Court ladies in the Heian period (794–1185) wore multiple layers of colored robes (possible because the sleeves were much wider than on later kimono) and sumptuous woven-patterned jackets. At the collar, sleeves, and hem, the layers created waterfalls of elegant fabrics and colors. The ensemble, called jûni hitoe (meaning twelve layers), typically would have weighed about 40 pounds.
The jûni hitoe tradition is echoed in the modern style of wearing underkimono (or nagajuban) so that part of the collar, sleeves, and hem peek out from under the top layer of kimono. While most collars are white in twentieth-century fashion, the fabric of women’s underkimono is often a patterned red design. The color red was especially favored for underkimono in the Edo period (1615–1868),
as tradition held that it had protective power.
Some underkimono, such as the white one with maple leaves displayed in this section, were intended for wear during a particular season. In this case, autumn would have been subtly suggested through the glimpse of under-kimono through the kimono’s sleeves and at the hem.
(Wrapped in Silk & Gold Exhibition, Summer 2010)