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Tamagiku was a geisha of the Tamagawaya, a teahouse of Tokyo’s Shinbashi district.  1891.

Geiko is Toshikana.

Shooting location is Ryuhonji Temple.

Photo by Hiseong Kim.

Geiko is Toshimana.

Photo by Photographer name/撮影者名.

(licensed CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Tenjin festival

Osaka,Japan

2012

The maiko Tanewaka performs “A Brilliant Brocade of Chrysanthemums”.

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Kaga-Yuzen Kimono

The Shinsengumi’s uniform: asagi blue haori

Part 1

(source: https://shinsengumijapan.com/2020/10/11/haori/)

The Shinsengumi uniform was an iconic light blue color (Asagi-iro) unlined haori. According to the book “History of the Mibu Ronin” (八木為三郎老人壬生史話) by Yagi Saburo when he was elderly, when the team members first arrived at Mibu, everyone was in rags and was obviously impoverished.

Serizawa Kamo referenced the Ako Roshi in the incident of the Forty-seven Ronin in 1701. At that time, the lord of the Ako Clan was framed by Kira Yoshio, and Ako Clan’s boss Ishiuchosuke assembled forty-six ronin to kill Kira in his mansion. They beheaded and killed the enemy. At that time, they were wearing black haori with mountain-shaped patterns embroidered on the cuffs. This was the inspiration of the new Shinsengumi uniform.

Although this event ended with 47 people being ordered to cut their belly, Oishi Uchizosuke fully demonstrated his loyalty to his lord and his strong faith, which was praised by later generations, and it also brought out the samurai who ignored their own lives in order to maintain their reputation and seek the righteousness of being abandoned. This story was adapted into “The Soul of the 47 Ronin” by Hollywood films in 2013. It is said that Serizawa Kamo was proud of borrowing from the costumes of the Ako clan. Taiga drama “Shinsengumi!” protrayed Kondo Isami as the one interested in Ako’s clothing, while Serizawa Kamo’s lover Oume suggested a light blue color to which Serizawa Kamo agreed.

The scene of the Ako Ronin’s revenge for their lord is a well-known allusion in Japanese families and one of the three major revenge events in Japanese history. It is often adapted by local or even foreign countries as stage plays, Kabuki, TV series and movies.

As for the asagi color, it is a blue-green color in the traditional Japanese color system, and its name comes from the light-colored green onion leaves. Slicing abdomen is the most noble way of death for samurai, and light blue was the traditional dress color worn by samurai when cutting abdomen. It is said that the light blue color adopted by the Shinsengumi is to remind the team members to swear to death and fight to the death for the most dignified moment.

An ancient [modern] painter’s depiction of Shinsengumi wearing team uniforms

Part 2

(source: https://shinsengumijapan.com/2020/10/17/asagi-iro/)

In historical records, the haori of Shinsengumi is light blue, but the previous dyes are ultimately different from modern chemical toning. According to Nagakura Shinpachi’s memoirs, the team uniforms of Shinsengumi were arranged by the Daimaru store (Dai-Monjiya) at that time. Daimaru (now Daimaru Matsuzakiya Department Store ) was founded in Fushimi, Kyoto in 1717. In view of this, the Daimaru Kyoto store now reproduces the light blue haori of the Shinsengumi based on the natural dye technology and hand-woven linen materials recorded in the history of the Edo period. Compared with the color of haori produced in general TV and movie productions, the asagi color is slightly darker.

Daimaru Clothes Shop

The reproduction of the Shinsengumi haori was exhibited at Mibu Temple in April 2020

In film and television, we always see the Shinsengumi arranged in formation, wearing team uniforms to attend work, very prestigious. But according to Yagi Yusaburo’s “Shinsengumi Legacy”, the team members were not satisfied with the uniform. I believe that in view of the financial constraints at the time, the team uniforms of the Shinsengumi were made of coarse hemp. It made the upper body too hot and it looked particularly shabby. What’s more, in the early Edo period, the light blue color has become a symbol of the lower-ranking samurai outside the city. It is said that when the samurai came to Edo from outside the city, they all chose to wear asagi blue kimono, a color that was a smash hit at the time as in order to blend into this prosperous area. Little did they know, the people in Edo usually use this beautiful color of silk as a the inner part of their kimono, so it’s not exposed to others, so it’s understandable that the Shinsengumi members were somewhat against it. During street patrols, only one or two people at the front put on team uniforms. After the Ikedaya incident, this light-blue set of haori was gradually forgotten, and it can be said that it has only been worn for a year. This is absolutely contrary to the public’s perception of the Shinsengumi image.

Haori display