Class, People, and Fashion of Edo

Jose A., Ruby B., Ashley B., Yen C., Sonal G., Esme O., Eva-Grace P. 

This digital art exhibition aims to highlight different aspects of fashion during the Edo Period. It will put fashion, class, and the individuals of Edo in conversation with each other through laws, textiles, men’s and women’s garments, and fashion in the pleasure district. This exhibit will explore how fashion served as a reminder of the social structure of the time. Not only will this exhibit focus on actual garments and artistic renditions of garments, but also how fashion influenced other forms of self expression during the time.

During the Edo Period, fashion was a way to engage in self expression and visual culture. However, expression was not without limitations, which appeared in the form of Sumptuary Laws. The effects of these laws are clearly visible in the prints, paintings, and garments that have been curated for this exhibition, and were originally invoked to maintain and track social order in Edo society, while acting as a limiting aspect of self expression (Stanley 46). Sumptuary Laws came to pass originally to keep merchants, the lowest class, from parading around like surrogate members of the royal family, but eventually permeated every level of Edo’s social ladder (Shively 123). Restrictions posed in the Sumptuary Laws covered everything from garment material to color, and comprehensively separated the classes through their designated attire (Nagasaki 19). Thus, fashion became more than a simple question of personal expression, but a true indication of class.

Fabric material and designs were heavily indicative of class during the Edo period. Despite the wide range of techniques and patterns utilized to create unique pieces of clothing, most of the garments within a certain class tended to be manufactured in a very similar fashion. Material means of manufacturing, such as safflower red dye or gold thread, and patterns were restricted by class and cost, and cost became a significant prohibitive factor when class and wealth were considered (Nagasaki 20). For example, colorful prints with famous or complicated motifs were reserved for higher classes because of their costly and labor intensive nature and the influence of Sumptuary Laws. The fact that these prints and quality fabrics had to be made to order added to the exclusivity of garments (Iwao 19). Given the restrictions placed upon self expression via materials, style, and design, some citizens found ways to work around laws surrounding fashion.

The Yoshiwara Pleasure District in Edo was one such place where Sumptuary Laws were challenged. The Yoshiwara served as a place where “[many different classes] could meet and interact,” and it brought forth a mixing of classes that manifested in courtesan fashion (Matsuba 53). The rule breaking that was normalized in the Yoshiwara, with the help of the publishing industry and wood block prints, made courtesans the face of class jumping. Their provocative clothes and hairstyles flew in the face of Sumptuary Laws. Instead of wearing their hair or clothes simply in a manner adhering to sumptuary laws, courtesans dawned gold hair pieces and bright red kimonos that challenged the laws regulating dress.

The courtesans’ ability to challenge and transcend the sumptuary laws influenced society beyond the Yoshiwara. Townspeople followed suit, hiding forbidden luxury on the inner layers of their Kimonos. Elite colors and imagery appeared in everyday life, walking the line between classes (Dalby 64). Courtesans, especially Oirans, set the precedent for bending the Sumptuary Laws. They were viewed as beautiful, educated and entertaining, and their appearances were meant to reflect that (Ōta Memorial Museum of Art). Courtesans dressed in a fashion that appealed to their clients, and stepping over class lines allowed them to become more alluring in their perceived exclusivity. Even men found new ways to flaunt their status or affluence through clothing or  inrō and netsuke, popular men’s accessories (Milhaupt 1). Mens’ accessories became provocative symbols of wealth for the wealthy merchant class without directly violating sumptuary laws.

Today’s society focuses heavily on the freedom of expression that comes with engaging in fashion, and for the most part that expression was still felt during the Edo period (Cliffe 10). The prints, paintings, and physical examples of kimonos in this exhibit outline a simplified summary of how class, fashion, and people interacted during the Edo period. For the most part, people interacted with fashion under the umbrella of their class, but often classes would explore visual and textile culture outside of their designated wheel house.Our exhibit will discuss the ways in which the people of Edo allowed fashion to become a symbol of class rebellion while upholding the Edo period ideals of order.

Works Cited Introduction

Cliffe, Sheila. “Think Fashion or Tradition?” The Social Life of Kimono: Japanese Fashion Past and Present, Bloomsbury, London, 2017, pp. 3–12.

De Sabato Swinton, Elizabeth, et al. “Courtesan and Geisha: the Real Women of the Pleasure Quarter .” The Women of the Pleasure Quarter: Japanese Paintings and Prints of the Floating World, Hudson Hills Press, New York, 1996, pp. 47–65.

“Fashion in the Yoshiwara Pleasure Quarter.” Fashion in the Yoshiwara Pleasure Quarter | 太田記念美術館 Ota Memorial Museum of Art, www.ukiyoe-ota-muse.jp/exhibition-eng/oiran-fashion-eng.

Iwao, Nagasaki “Pattern books and fashion in Edo period japan”. The Kimono in print, 300 years of Japanese Design, edited by Vivian Li, Hotei Publishing, Page 19- 31.

Matsuba, Ryoko. “Fashion Influencers in the Edo Period, The Yoshiwara and the Kabuki Theater.” The Kimono in Print, 300 Years of Japanese Design, edited by Vivian Li, Hotei Publishing, pp. 49-63.

Satsuki Milhaupt, Terry. “Netsuke: From Fashion Fob to Coveted Collectible.” The Met, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, November 2009, https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/nets/hd_nets.htm.  

Shively, Donald H. “Sumptuary Regulation and Status in Early Tokugawa Japan.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, vol. 25, Harvard-Yenching Institute, 1964, pp. 123–64, https://doi.org/10.2307/2718340.

Stanley, Amy. “Creating Prostitutes.” Selling Women: Prostitution, Markets, and the Household in Early Modern Japan, University of California Press, Berkeley, 2012, pp. 45–71.

Works Cited Paintings

Chōbunsai, Eishi. Two Oiran with Two Female Attendants in the Yoshiwara. Edo Period, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Met, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/56801 

Eizan, Kikugawa. Courtisane Oi uit het Ebiya huis. 1811-1814, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.      Rijksstudio, https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/my/collections/2864706--yunolin/japanese-women-edo-period/objecten#/RP-P-OB-20.321,16 

Harunobu, Suzuki. Sympathy. 1768, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Met, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45078?when=A.D.+1600-1800&where=Japan&what=Prints&ft=edo+empress&offset=0&rpp=40&pos=1

Inrō with the Characters for Longevity and Good Fortune and the “Seven Lucky Characters” on Checkerboard Ground. Second half of the 18th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. The Met, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/54243.

Isoda, Koryūsai. Tagasode of Daimonjiya with Katsuru, Tomeki and Attendants. 1778-80, National Museum of Asian Art, Washington D.C. Smithsonian, https://asia.si.edu/object/S2004.3.28/ 

Jinbaori (Surcoat). Edo period, c. 1750, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Art Institute of Chicago, https://www.artic.edu/artworks/153776/jinbaori-surcoat.  

Jôryû, Mihata. High Ranking Courtesan. 1820-1853, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Art Institute Chicago, https://www.artic.edu/artworks/17841/high-ranking-courtesan.

Karaori (Nô Costume). 1789-1868, The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois. Art Institute Chicago, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45387?when=A.D.+1600-1800&ft=kimono&offset=40&rpp=40&pos=75 

Kiyonaga, Torii. Two Women on Matsuchi Hill Edo. 1784, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Met,   https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/54665?ft=Edo+period+prints&offset=40&rpp=40&pos=54 

Kiyonaga, Torii. Ushi-no-gozen, from the series "Famous Places of Edo (Edo meisho)". 1778-1789, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Art Institute Chicago, https://www.artic.edu/artworks/36378/ushi-no-gozen-from-the-series-famous-places-of-edo-edo-meisho.

Kosode Pattern Book (On-Hiinagata), vol. 2. 1667, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Met, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/42670?ft=edo+period+pattern+books&offset=0&rpp=40&pos=23 

Kubo, Shunman. Courtesan with Branch of Seri. 19th Century, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Met, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/54980?ft=courtesans+edo&offset=40&rpp=40&pos=65 

Over Robe (Uchikake) with Long-Tailed Birds in a Landscape. 18th Century, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Met, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45387?when=A.D.+1600-1800&ft=kimono&offset=40&rpp=40&pos=75 

Piece from a Kosode with Pattern of Scattered Snow Roundels (Yukiwa) Filled with Small Flowers. 17th century, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Met. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/61787?when=A.D.+1600-1800&ft=Japanese+fabrics&offset=0&rpp=40&pos=25 

Piece from a Summer Kosode (Katabira) with Kerria Roses (Yamabuki), Flowing Water, and Partial Characters. 17th century, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Met. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/61795?when=A.D.+1600-1800&ft=Japanese+fabrics&offset=0&rpp=40&pos=36 

Red-and-blue-laced Suit of Armor from the Kii Tokugawa Family. Mid 17th century, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis. Minneapolis Institute of Art, https://collections.artsmia.org/art/108860/red-and-blue-laced-suit-of-armor-from-the-kii-tokugawa-family-suit-by-unknown-japanese.

Robe (Kosode) with Pines and Interlocking Squares. 18th century, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Met. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45399?when=A.D.+1600-1800&ft=Japanese+fabrics&offset=0&rpp=40&pos=20   

Robe (Kosode) with Shells and Sea Grasses. 17th Century, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Met, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/50688?ft=kimono&offset=120&rpp=40&pos=124 

Shunchō, Katsukawa. Fair Visitors in the Compound of a Buddhist Temple. 1789, The                 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Met, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/56840?deptids=6&when=A.D.+1600-1800&where=Japan&ft=edo+japan+prints&offset=160&rpp=40&pos=198.

Toyohiro, Utagawa. Pilgrimage to Myōhōji in Horinouchi, Edo. 1804, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Met, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/54882?ft=edo+period&offset=200&rpp=40&pos=209