Thekosode (小袖,lit. 'small sleeves') was a type of short-sleevedJapanese garment, and the direct predecessor of thekimono. Though its component parts directly parallel those of the kimono, its proportions differed, typically having a wider body, a longer collar and narrower sleeves. The sleeves of thekosode were typically sewn to the body entirely, and often featured heavily rounded outer edges.
Thekosode was worn inJapan as common, everyday dress from roughly theKamakura period (1185–1333) until the latter years of theEdo period (1603–1867), at which a point its proportions had diverged to resemble those of modern-day kimono; it was also at this time that the termkimono, meaning "thing to wear on the shoulders", first came into use when referring to the garment formerly known as thekosode.[1]
Originating in theHeian period as an undergarment for both men and women, thekosode was a plain white garment, typically made ofsilk, worn directly next to the skin. Both men and women wore layered, wrap-fronted, wide-sleeved robes on top of thekosode, with the style of layering worn by women of the Imperial Japanese court – known as thejūnihitoe, literally "twelve layers" – featuring a greater number of robes than were seen on men. Thekosode would also be worn as sleeping wear alongside a pair ofhakama.
Following dress edicts designed to decrease the number of layered garments worn at court, thekosode gradually became outerwear from roughly theKamakura period onwards. Styles of wearing thekosode – such as layering twokosode and wearing the uppermost robe stripped off from the shoulders – became popular, alongside a number of newly-developed textile decoration techniques, such asdyeing andembroidery, used to decorate the garment.
Initially undyed, the dyedkosode came in theMuromachi period, peaked in popularity in theMomoyama period, and faded out in theKeicho period andEdo period. Methods used for decoration includedkara-ori ("Chinese textile") silk fabrics, which mimicked embroidery through the use of floating silk yarns and gilt-paper strips,[2]: 140 and the elaboratetsujigahana technique of combination dyework and embroidery, until both were restrained bysumptuary laws and the development ofyuzen dyework.[3]
Thekosode's proportions – a wide body and comparatively narrow sleeves – gradually evened out over time, before coming to resemble those of a modern kimono around the Edo period. The sleeves on some women'skosode also got longer and began to detach from the body below the shoulder, a style allowing theobi to become wider over time.
The component parts of akosode are roughly similar tothose of a kimono, with the only major differences being the proportions of each aspect in comparison to those of a modern kimono. The width of the loom, and hence thetanmono (fabric bolt) used forkosode was significantly larger than that forkimono, and the sleeves and collar were also cut and hemmed to different widths.[4]
In theKeichō period (1596–1615, just before theEdo period), the width of the fabric bolt used for akosode was about 45 centimetres (18 in), and the sleeves were made of one-halftanmono width. Thesode-guchi (cuff opening) was narrow, theerikatāki (width of the neck opening) was narrow, theeritake (collar length) was long, and thetate-zuma[clarification needed] was short.[3]
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