Hitatare no Hitoe in Silk

by Ishiyama Gen’tarou Yori’ie

Hitoe are "middle layer" garments for Japanese garb. They are not foundation garments like juban or kosode; nor are they top-layer garments like hitatare or suoh. They are worn between the foundation garments and the overgarments. They can be considered to be a kind of unattached lining.

This hitoe layer, comprising a hitoe upper-body garment and a hitoe no hakama lower-body garment are made entirely of silk and hand sewn. They are the product of several months of part-time work. They are intended to be worn beneath a hitatare sugata, an outfit consisting of a hitatare upper-body garment and a matching pair of hakama.

Hitatare were commonly worn as semi-formal garments in the Kamakura (1185 - 1333) and Muromachi (1334 - 1572) periods. Before that, hitatare were primary worn under armor or as hunting gamrents. After that, hitatare were supplanted by formal kimono- and haori-based outfits.

The hitoe is sized to fit beneath a hitatare. The hakama are extra long, and have bindings at the bottom edge. The bindings are tied at knee-level to allow the extra fabric to blouse out beneath the knee creating a fuller look.

References

Gluckman, Dale and Takeda, Sharon
When Art Became Fashion
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
1992

Kure, Mitsuo
Samurai; Arms, Armor, Costume
Edison, NJ
Chartwell Books, Inc.
2007

Master Hiraizumi Tôrokurô Tadanobu no Ason (Anthony J. Bryant)
Yûsoku Kojitsu Ron; A History of Japanese Clothing and Accessories
http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/garb/garb.html
Retrieved: March 19. 2015
Modified: January 04, 2015

Yohei H. Izutsu
Costume History in Japan; The Kamakura Period
http://www.iz2.or.jp/english/fukusyoku/busou/index.htm
Retrieved: March 19. 2015
Modified: June 26, 2006