In nō, ōsode refers to garments with large, open-cuff sleeves that are worn as outer robes by a variety of characters, including aristocrats, samurai, and monks. Also known as “wide sleeves” (hirosode), these garments come in various tailorings and materials.
In this section
Kariginu 狩衣
Description
A kariginu is a broad-sleeved (ōsode) nō costume with a round-collar and open cuffs worn as an outer upper garment by high-ranking male characters. Generally decorated with woven patterns, kariginu are draped over divided skirts. Kariginu can be lined (awase) or unlined (hitoe), the former suited to ministers and supernatural beings, the latter to elegant courtiers.
Roles and Draping
Despite the wide range of characters, both human and supernatural, that wear kariginu there is one basic draping: the body panels are bound at the waist so they hang loosely over the belt and the hem covers the top third of the wide pleated trousers, which may be ōkuchi (ministers, notably ‘waki roles in many first-category plays) or hangiri (supernatural beings, such as the Thunder God in Kamo or the tengu in Kurama Tengu) or as in Unrin’in and Tōru). In addition, an alternative draping involves folding under the round collar so it forms a “V” neck (emon tsuki), which can be used for energetic roles involving rapid movement, such as the vigorous god of Sumiyoshi in Takasago. The “V” neck draping combined with hiking up the sleeves is an alternative costuming for warrior roles, like the revengeful wraith of Taira no Tomomori in Funa Benkei.
Tailoring
This three-quarter length robe is distinguished by the round collar with overlapping narrow front panels and double-width sleeves open at the cuffs. Short seams from the shoulder down a short distance at the back connect the sleeves to the body panels. As a result, the drape over the chest remains independent of the movement of the sleeves. The round collar (sometimes squared off) is a feature shared with actual court costumes (sokutai) that are based on ancient Chinese styles. Cords attached at the edge of the collar on the left overlapping front panel are used to fasten the collar to the right panel. Other cords are laced through narrow cloth strips along the edge of the sleeves.
Textile Features
Most typically lined kariginu use a solid-ground weave such as satin or twill with gold or silver or colored silk thread supplementary patterning. When gold designs are set against a dark ground, it is common to use an extra yellow or red warp in a lampas weave to hold down the pattern threads so as not to dull their impact. Multi-colored supplementary patterning on twill or satin gives a more refined effect. Figured satin, double weave, and embroidery are alternative decorative techniques. Old kariginu are often made from imported fabrics (meibutsu-gire) or imitations thereof.
Unlined kariginu are woven of thin, gossamer material. They are worn by elegant courtiers, young warrior courtiers who die in battle, and aged spirits of plants. The weaves include gold patterning on ribbed gauze weave (rokin), patterning with supplementary colored threads on plain gauze weave (sha), or self-patterned plain gauze weave (monsha). For a more rustic feel, a monotone coarse plain weave with displaced wefts (yore) is also possible.
Designs and Coloring
Lined kariginu worn by strong characters tend to have dark solid-color grounds such as deep red, indigo blue, or green with large geometric patterns in gold or silver. For aristocratic characters, the ground color might be white or light yellow, or it might have multi-colored smaller repeat patterns. These can be geometric, like the Okina kariginu pattern of interlocking hexagons and squares (shokkō monyō), but might also be derived from nature, such as flower scrolls. Unlined kariginu tend to be dyed with a gentler shade of blue, green, cream, or white and have designs reminiscent of court patterns (yūsoku monyō).
Happi 法被
Description
A happi is a broad-sleeved (ōsode 大袖) nō costume worn as an outer garment for strong male roles. Lined awase happi woven with dynamic gold designs are worn by characters of demons, menacing animals, lesser gods and victorious warriors. Happi woven with multicolor patterns serve as a Chinese dress, while unlined hitoe happi woven in a gossamer gauze with gentler patterns may represent the armor worn by warrior courtiers.
Roles and Draping
For demons and lesser deities, the happi is belted over hangiri with the wide sleeves falling free. Warriors might wear the happi with the right sleeve slipped off (nugisage) so they can wield a sword or halberd (as in Yashima) or with both sleeves hiked up (as in Funa Benkei). The Chinese immortal who guards the elixir of long life in the play Kiku-jidō (, also known as Makura-jidō) also has the right sleeve slipped behind the back but carries a round Chinese-style fan (tō uchiwa).
Tailoring
The happi has double-width, open cuffed sleeves attached around the shoulder area to three-quarter length body panels. The front panels have no extra lapels but are edged by a straight collar. The cloth bands at the hem of the body panels connecting front to back at the side are a salient feature.
Textile Features
Lined happi (awase) are woven with a twill or satin foundation and supplementary weft patterning, in gold or silver thread, or with colored pattern threads. The gossamer unlined happi (hitoe) are woven in simple gauze weave (sha) or ribbed gauze (ro) with supplementary patterning in gold, silver, or colored threads. Some happi have stenciled or painted designs.
Designs and Coloring
Lined happi have bold designs that are often geometric or suggestive of Chinese imagery, with larger motifs predominantly used for stronger characters, like demons and bandits. Background colors may be white, blue, green, or purple. Unlined happi can be either plain or patterned with arabesques, insects, flowers, or court motifs (yūsoku monyō) on white, blue, green, or purple grounds.
Sobatsugi 側次
Description
A sobatsugi is a long vest-like nō costume, essentially a sleeveless lined happi (see above) that is patterned in metallic and colored thread and worn by male and female Chinese characters over a kosode robe or bound at the waist to simulate a warrior’s armor. Also known as sode nashi, or “sleeveless”.
Roles and Draping
This costume is used for roles of women from China (Kureha). The sobatsugi is draped so it hangs straight over a kosode. For roles of fierce deities (Kinsatsu) and warriors (Soga brothers in Youchi Soga), the sobatsugi is worn over hakama, either hangiri or ōkuchi and belted at the waist. As such it substitutes for a happi with hiked-up sleeves, providing easier mobility. Kyōgen roles of low-ranking Chinese officials wear a sobatsugi over ankle-bound momo hiki trousers.
Textile Features and Tailoring
The knee-length, sleeveless sobatsugi is always lined. It has a narrow, straight collar that runs almost down to the hem and cloth bands joining the front and back panels at the hem. Like the happi, sobatsugi have designs rendered in a colored thread and/or gold and silver thread on a solid ground, which may be satin, twill, or possibly plain weave. A few have embroidered designs.
Designs and Coloring
Many of the designs have a Chinese flavor, like dragons among clouds, or classic geometric forms. When used to imitate armor, sobatsugi with bold patterns in gold against a navy, green, brown, or white background are favored. For Chinese roles, the designs tend to be denser, possibly smaller, and include multi-colored threads.
Mizugoromo 水衣
Description
A mizugoromo is a broad-sleeved (ōsode) nō costume with single-width open sleeves and flared lapels, that is worn as an outer “travel” or “work” cloak by characters of men and women of all ages and professions, particularly commoners and Buddhist priests. This three-quarter-length, unlined jacket is most commonly made of a plain weave fabric in a single color.
Roles and Draping
The mizugoromo is used mostly for the role of commoner. Characters of traveling women (Sumidagawa), working women (Matsukaze), nuns (Ōhara Gokō) and old women (Sotoba Komachi) wear the mizugoromo loosely draped from the shoulders. Men wear their mizugoromo belted, tucking up the sleeves for work. Traveling monks (tabisō) appear as waki in many dream plays (mugen nō), wear plain brown or blue mizugoromo over a kosode. If they are high-ranking monks, or mountain priests (yamabushi) such as Benkei in Funa Benkei, the mizugoromo is worn over ōkuchi pleated trousers. Commoner old men appearing in the first part of a play (Tadanori) belt the jacket over a checked kosode, either an atsuita or a noshime, while dignified old men in first-category Deity plays (Takasago) hike up the sleeves to work, but drape the garment over ōkuchi. Suffering ghosts in hell, such as Shii no Shōshō in Kayoi Komachi wear their mizugoromo belted over ōkuchi.
Tailoring
The mizugoromo, which was created for stage use, probably sometime in the sixteenth century, is the only open-cuffed ōsode nō costume tailored with only one width of fabric for the sleeves. The sleeves are stitched to the body of the garment from the shoulders down to chest level and then allowed to hang free, facilitating movement. The front and back body panels are stitched together along the side seam so that when the garment is belted, it fits snugly over the hips. Long triangular inserts serve as front lapels. The broad collar edges the lapels almost all the way to the hem.
Textile Features
Mizugoromo can be made with four types of fabric. Most common are single-colored plain weave silk (shike). Striped (shima) mizugoromo are standard for Yamabushi priests, though when there are many Yamabushi on stage at the same time, as in Ataka the supporting roles often do not wear stripes. The sheer, half-transparent effect of gauze-weave (sha) provides a texture alternative. Finally, the loosely-woven yore with spaced wefts that are later displaced gives frayed, ragged transparency that creates a sense of poverty and suffering, as in plays featuring the hundred-year-old poetess Ono-no-Komachi, as well as roles of suffering ghosts, such as the bird hunter in Utō.
Designs and Coloring
Single-color plain weave silk (shike) mizugoromo tend to be brown or dark blue for male roles, but white, pale blue, and lighter colors are common for women. The broad stripes of the shima mizugoromo generally have dark blues, greens, or browns. The gossamer sha mizugoromo can be either dark or light and sometimes include a stenciled pattern. The ragged yore mizugoromo tend to be white, cream, light blue, or dark earth colors.
Chōken 長絹
Description
A chōken is a broad-sleeved (ōsode) nō costume of gossamer weave with open cuffs and loose body panels that is worn as an outer robe primarily by roles of women and children in plays containing a long instrumental dance (maigoto). Bound at the waist it can be used to dress male aristocrats and warrior-courtiers.
Roles and Draping
Female characters performing long instrumental dances wear chōken draped loosely over the shoulders and hanging free so that the whole costume flows with the body movement. The Celestial Maiden in Hagoromo and the Spirit of the iris flower in Kakitsubata wear a chōken over a koshimaki outfit, where a nuihaku is folded down at the waist. Court Women, like Lady Rokujō in Nonomiya wear the chōken falling loosely over ōkuchi pleated trousers. For children, like the boy dancer in Kantan, the body panels of the chōken are bound at the waist, so they rest snug against the ōkuchi. Warrior courtiers, like Atsumori and Tadanori, also wear the chōken bound at the waist over ōkuchi, but the right sleeve of the chōken is also slipped off, rolled up, and tucked into the belt at the back to facilitate wielding a sword.
Tailoring and Textile Features
The gossamer lightness of the chōken derives from its being tailored from very thin fabric. Most common is ribbed gauze (ro), but simple gauze (sha), sometimes with woven structural or gold patterns, and thin plain weave are alternatives. Patterning is usually done on the loom, often by weaving in strips of gold foil or colored threads, but examples of hand painting, stenciled patterns, appliqué, and embroidery can also be found.
The chōken sleeves are made from two weaving widths and have open cuffs. They are sewn to the body panels at the shoulder. The body panels are stitched together along the center back and allowed to hang free at the front. A narrow collar reaches almost to the hem of the 3/4 length body panels. Braided tassels are attached to the outer corner of the sleeves and braided tying cords are sewn to the front panels at chest level.
Designs and Coloring
Ground colors include white, yellow, crimson, purple worn generally by women, and blue, green, and brown favored for male roles. Tying cords hanging from the chest and tassels at the bottom corner of the sleeves are red, yellow, purple, or green. Two styles of designs are common: (1) overall patterns, like scrolling vines or pictorial images and (2) a combination of large crests on the chest and sleeves with lighter, scattered motifs along the hem.
Maiginu 舞衣
Description
A maiginu (literally “dance cloak”) is a broad-sleeved (ōsode) nō costume of gossamer fabric worn by characters of women who perform long instrumental dances. Generally, a maiginu is made of a gauze weave with gold, or other patterning. It differs from the chōken (see above) in having front lapels that are crossed and belted so that while the sleeves sway freely with the dance, the body of the garment adheres to the performer’s torso.
Roles and Draping
This dancing cloak is worn for roles of women in the fourth category nō. The daughter of the dragon king Ama appears in a maiginu bound at the waist and draped over plain pleated trousers ōkuchi, while the wife of the drum player named Fuji wears a maiginu over a nuihaku to dance gaku (Umegae, Fujidaiko).
Tailoring and Textile Features
Like chōken, maiginu are fashioned out of gossamer fabrics that catch in the breeze, such as ribbed gauze (ro) or simple gauze weave (sha) that might be self-patterned. Supplementary patterning is done in gold, silver, or colored threads. In rare instances, designs may be painted, stenciled, or embroidered. The long main panels are sewn together front to back from waist level down and the front panels have extra lapels so they overlap over the chest when the garment is belted. The open cuff, double-width sleeves lack the tassels at the outer corner found on chōken. Maiginu also do not have tying cords at the chest.
Designs and Coloring
Scrolling vines and floral motifs scattered over the entire garment are common, as are geometric patterns like undulating lines, diagonal grids, and roundels. Ground colors include purple, red, gray, white, and occasionally blocks of more than one color.
Suō 素襖
Description
A suō is a broad-sleeved (ōsode) nō costume. It is a matched suit made of unlined hempen fabric with dyed designs and used in nō and kyōgen for roles of commoners and samurai. The matched suits combine an upper jacket with pleated trousers.
Roles and Draping
Samurai wore suō during the Edo period and in performances of nō and kyōgen the costume is used for corresponding roles, like Sano no Tsuneyo in Hachi no Ki. The shite of Matsumushi, a commoner, wears a simpler version combining the suō top with ōkuchi pleated trousers.
Tailoring and Textile Features
Like hitatare, suō are tailored from plain weave hemp fabric that has been dyed with paste-resist designs. The paste may be applied through a stencil to form repetitive patterns, or through a funnel to create free-hand painterly designs. Basically an unlined hitatare (see below), the suō upper garment has open cuffs, double-width sleeves, and short front panels that are tucked into the pleated trousers, which come in two styles: the formal long trailing nagabakama and simplified ankle-length hanbakama. The upper garment can also be worn with unmatched trousers, like ōkuchi. The suō differs from the hitatare in having family crests at the center back and sleeve seams and in lacking the reinforcement cloth strips and tassels on the sleeves.
Designs and Coloring
Family crests are placed high along the center back seam and sleeve seams. Designs may be small motifs in white stenciled repeats on a blue, brown, green, or black background or they may be large painterly hand-drawn designs incorporating four or five colors. Some suō designs make dynamic use of large color blocks, like the jagged “pine-bark” separation of back and tan blocks at Tokyo National Museum.
Hitatare 直垂
Description
A hitatare is a broad-sleeved (ōsode) matching suit. This lined hemp suit has matching designs on its broad-sleeved jacket and pleated trousers and is worn by roles for daimyō and samurai officials in nō and kyōgen. The pleated trousers may be either long (nagabakama) or short.
Roles and Draping
Hitatare suits consist of a jacket and trousers with matching designs. Samurai officials wear hitatare over noshime, presenting an imposing figure in formal long trailing trousers (nagabakama). The kyogen actor taking the role of Sambasō in the Shikisanban ritual (also known as Okina) wears a hitatare with ankle-length hanbakama since his performance includes high jumps, stamps, and vigorous movement.
Tailoring and Textile Features
The upper garment of the hitatare has open cuffs, double-width sleeves, and short front panels that are tucked into the trousers. Flat tying cords are attached at the chest and tucked in under the belt. Cord tassels also dangle from the outer corner of the sleeves. The seams at the center back and sleeves have reinforcement cloth strips where one would expect a family crest. When worn with non-matching trousers, this upper garment is known as a kake hitatare. The pleated trousers come in two styles: the formal long trailing trousers nagabakama and ankle-length hanbakama. Reinforcement cloth strips are placed mid-thigh, where the front and back trouser panels join. the waistband and ties are made from a separate, white, cloth. The plain weave hemp garments are patterned with surface designs typically done with paste-resist, either applied through a stencil (katazome) or hand-drawn using a funnel (tsutsugaki). Extra colors are often brushed on or applied with a stamp.
Designs and Coloring
Designs range from small repeat patterns to bold overall divisions of colors and large painterly designs that use the combined suit as a huge canvas. Colors include indigo, brown, green, and black. The Sambasō hitatare features long-life imagery of cranes, tortoises, and pine twigs, motifs that are incorporated into designs on hitatare used for other roles as well.
Kamishimo, Nagakamishimo 裃, 長裃
Description
A kamishimo is a matched suit with a sleeveless vest and pleated trousers (hakama) made of hemp and worn by lower samurai and commoners in both nō and kyōgen, On formal occasions, kamishimo are also worn by chorus and instrumentalists.
Roles and Draping
The kamishimo is worn over a kosode, typically a noshime. The vest is tucked into the hakama, typically the formal, long, trailing nagabakama. In kyōgen, high-ranking commoners, like the master in Busu, wear a kamishimo with nagabakama. On formal occasions, the nō chorus members and instrumentalists wear kamishimo with ankle-length hanbakama, or for ceremonial rituals with nagabakama.
Tailoring and Textile Features
The top is basically a sleeveless suō, but the front panel has been pleated to form wing-like shoulder panels gathered into thin front bands. The pleated trousers, both long and short, are tailored like the suō hakama. Kamishimo for nō and kyōgen tend to be made of bast-fiber (hemp) and dyed with paste-resist patterns, either stenciled or hand-painted through a funnel.
Designs and Coloring
Family crests are placed high on the center back seam and at chest level in front. Designs include overall repeat patterns, broad stripes, and pictorial motifs in blocks of contrasting colors, typically white, tan, indigo, and green.
Kataginu 肩衣
Description
A kataginu is a sleeveless hemp upper garment worn by servants and commoners in kyōgen. Dyed with paste-resist designs, the kataginu is generally combined with short pleated trousers (hakama) or with pantaloons bound at the calf (kukuribakama).
Roles and Draping
The kataginu is emblematic of kyōgen costumes and worn for a broad spectrum of roles. The servants Tarō Kaja and Jirō Kaja wear kataginu over hakama, as does the ai-kyōgen. Active characters combine the kataginu with kukuri-bakama, while messengers might slip off the right sleeve.
Tailoring and Textile Features
Basically the same as the top of a kamishimo matched suit (see above), the unlined, plain weave, hemp vest has two back panels that are about hip-length and stitched together with a center seam. The front panels are pleated so they form wing shoulders and converge into broad bands that run down each chest and are tucked into the trouser belt. The rectangular back of the kataginu is decorated with stenciled or hand-drawn paste-resist designs or painted designs.
Designs and Coloring
Old kataginu generally have small repeat patterns of white on a solid blue or green or grey ground, while later Edo period and more modern kataginu tend to have large pictorial designs, often homely in content: large insects, oversize flowers, birds soaring over reeds in water, or cherry blossoms falling into waves. Kataginu have dandelion crests at the center back and at chest level on the front pleated panels.
Contributor: Monica Bethe