Large-patterned kazuki with the "hanabishi-tori-matsu-hyoretsu" pattern
The kazuki, or katsugi, is one form of dress with which most Japanese are not very familiar. A kazuki is a coat for women that is worn by pulling it over one's head (Figure 1). In terms of its appearance it fits into the type of dress known as the kosode, which includes kosode (literally means " small cuffes" ) and katabira (a hemp garment worn in summer), that is to say it has the shape of a " kimono" . However, it was solely a cloak-type garment, as the sleeves were not used to help cover the body.
The custom of putting on a garment over the head was already in existence during the Heian period. As shown in the Takafusakyou-tsuyakotoba picture scroll produced in the 13th century in the Kamakura period, the " uchiki" was the first similar type of garment that was commonly worn (Figure 2). Then, by the middle of the 15th century during the Muromachi period the kosode-type of garment came into general use. In the " Kumoi no Haru" journal written by Ichijo Kanera in 1453, he writes, " While in the past a small thin garment was worn over the head, recently a kosode kazuki has become a common site. All traces of the past have gone and as a custom that keeps up with the change in times it has quite a few good points." Judging from this description, it would appear that the change occurred rather rapidly. The middle of the 15th century was a time when kosode-type dress had matured and was beginning to earn itself a place in history. Kosode-type dress worn over the head had become dominant, and we may assume that the kazuki was part of this trend. Once the wearing of a kosode-type dress over the head had become general practice, the specialized kazuki finally established itself as a particular form of dress.
A look at pictures from the Muromachi period through to the early part of the Edo period reveals that many kazuki were either white with no patterns, or had bluish patterns printed on a white fabric. Presumably, the former were made of woven silk made using raw silk for the warp and refined thread for the woof, while the latter was a hemp dyed an indigo color. These sort of features became very prominent during the Keicho period (1596-1614), although they are not yet evident in the " Screen Depicting Rakuchu and Rakugai (Kyoto)" produced in the Daiei period (1521-1527) and housed in the Museum's collection. What is interesting, however, are those that appear to be hemp that have been dyed indigo. This is because at further inspection, standardized designs identified as kazuki were made on an indigo dye background. In terms of continuity, we may conclude that there was a standardization in design around the Keicho period.
There are three typical standardized designs.
The first is similar to the " daimon" (large-patterned) kazuki called the " hanabishi-tori-matsu-hyouretsu" shown in Figure 3, and has a large flower pattern such as chrysanthemum or plum on the hood section. This type of kazuki is commonly known as a " daimon" kazuki.
The second design is like the " matsukawabishi-hananomaru" kazuki shown in Figure 4, and is dark blue and light blue around the waist and has horizontal stripes in a " matsukawabishi" (split pine bark diamond) pattern and is scattered with round or diamond shapes containing flowers. A silk gauze was generally used for the fabric. These were commonly called " gosho" (imperial palace) kazuki and were worn by court nobles and those in the warrior class.
The third type is like the " denen-fukei" (rural scene) patterned kazuki shown in Figure 5 and is shaped like a " noshime" , which is a ceremonial robe worn underneath another garment. There are various kinds of patterns on the waist section. This was commonly called a " machi" (town) kazuki and was worn by those in the merchant class.
It is believed that the " daimon" kazuki appeared around the Genroku period (1688-1703). In a kazuki drawn by Sumiyoshi Gukei (1631-1705) the collar band is dyed dark black, while there is an absence of flower patterns. However, in a pattern book of kosode patterns published in 1700 called " Tokiwa Hiinakata" (" Tokiwa Patterns" ), there are kazuki with flower patterns. Also, " daimon" kazuki appear frequently in pictures drawn by Nishikawa Sukenobu (1671-1750). It is interesting to note that though the design comprising large flowers seen in the " Ume-kasumi" (plum and mist) patterned kazuki shown in Figure 6 is similar to those in " Tokiwa Hinagata" , it lacks any round shapes containing flowers. This design is thought to be dated from before the appearance of " daimon" designs and is the oldest of all survivals.
Although the term " gosho" kazuki appears in famous works such as Ihara Sakaku's " Five Women Who Loved Love" , which was published in 1686, detailed designs of that period remain unknown. The kazuki portrayed in Nishikawa Sukenobu's pictures have designs similar to those found in " gosho" kazuki and " machi" kazuki. However, at this stage it is still not possible to detect a relationship between design and the status of the wearer. This is also the case with the fragment with a " shima-mokko" (stripe and Japanese quince) pattern from 1710 shown in Figure 7. It is conjectured that this lining cloth of a uchishiki (cloth used on Buddhist alters) was taken from the kazuki which was owned by the person who appears as " Kanoya Hikobee's wife" in an ink inscription. While this design could be used in a " gosho" kazuki, the women who wore them belonged to the merchant class. In the foreword of Kimuro Bouun's " Tales of Kyoto Sightseeing" published in 1781 he writes, " 'gosho' kazuki have uneven stripes while 'machi' kazuki have patterns" , showing that by the latter part of the 18th century the designs of " gosho" kazuki and " machi" kazuki had developed to a point where they corresponded to the status of the wearer.
The pictures of Nishikawa Sukenobu are invaluable for research into kazuki. He drew a wide range of kazuki, including designs of kazuki that had been left behind by the deceased as well as those dating from an earlier period. As such it provides important information for tracing the development of designs. What is more, there is no other painter who painted as many kazuki as he did. Fellow ukiyo-e artists Hishikawa Moronobu (? -1694) and Suzuki Harunobu (?-1770) who lived around the same period drew hardly any kazuki. This is a largely related to the fact that, unlike these two artists who lived and worked in Edo, Sukenobu was a Kyoto painter.
As illustrated by the description " Compared with 1658-60 there are no kazuki to be seen in Edo" in Shinmi Masatomo's " Hachijuuou mukashibanashi" (" Old Man's Tales of Long Ago" ) dating from the Kyoho period (1716-35), kazuki were starting to disappear from Edo and other regions from the second half of the 17th century. As in the illustrated book " Ukiyo Hyakunin Onna E" by Hishikawa Moronobu published in 1681 which defines the kazuki as a Kyoto custom, the kazuki was passed down for a long time first in Kyoto and its environs and then in some regions such as central and northern Honshu. Distinctive designs were also developed.
Kyoto kazuki and the regional kazuki were not totally unrelated as they were probably similar in terms of design. Although it is conceivable that kazuki made in Kyoto were used as models for designs for kazuki made in the regions, there were naturally some things that could be copied while there were others that could not be (or weren't) copied. Let's take a look at several examples.
The " daimon" kazuki with the " Ryusui-katawaguruma-hatou-chidori" (stream, wheel, wave crest and plover) pattern made in a region that is shown in Figure 8 has a diagonal pattern that has been dyed both brown and blue. This kind of dyeing of different colors using a diagonal pattern is rare, as no other examples have been found. However, it is not uncommon for printed works from Kyoto to have diagonal sections like those in the kazuki shown in Figure 3. These kind of examples are probably original.
Although the " Yamagata" (mountain patterned) kazuki shown in Figure 9 has a design similar to that of " gosho" kazuki, the stripes are a single color - dark blue - and have a mountain-shaped pattern and not a split bark diamond pattern. There are no flowers in the design. The fabric is pongee, which is different from the silk gauze commonly used for " gosho" kazuki. A more recent example is a " gosho" -type kazuki belonging to the Agishi family, which was a warrior family belonging to the Kaga clan, that is made of a satin fabric on which there are dark blue and light blue mountain-shaped stripes. Judging from this example, we may assume that this is a kazuki made locally that met the needs of local warrior families.
The " Omi-hakkei" (eight famous sights of Omi) " daimon" patterned kazuki shown in Figure 10 is a regional kazuki that took its design from a " machi" kazuki. The positioning of the waist section is considerably lower than on kazuki made in Kyoto. Although its makers were aware of the design components, they probably did not bother about positioning. Although it does have a large pattern (" daimon" ), this was not found among " machi" kazuki made in Kyoto. Rather, it was the regional kazuki that tended to retain such large patterns.
Regional kazuki may be classified into several groups according to their style. Kazuki in the same group exhibit strong similarities. They are regarded as having been made in the same region from a particular Kyoto kazuki which was used as a model, and this helped establish and continue a particular regional style. This kind of development is conceivable given that, in terms of the period in which they were made, regional kazuki had designs that were older than those of their Kyoto counterparts. Viewed from another perspective, we may say that these serve as an indication of when Kyoto culture was introduced to these respective regions.
The reason why not much is known about kazuki as mentioned at the beginning of this article is that they have been neglected by research. Besides the fact that, in terms of absolute numbers, there are few that remain today because they do not easily survive, other factors for the lack of interest are that extant examples date from the middle of the Edo period and are therefore not that old and that their coloring is cold and plain. Nonetheless, kazuki are extremely interesting not only in the context of the history of dyeing and the history of apparel, but also because from various perspectives they provide a most useful source of information on aspects of history and culture.