#high collar

cozy outfit for days off, no matter what time of year

Bankara high schoolers. 1929, Kumamoto.

Bankara youth stride through a gate in the early post-war era. 1949, Takushoku University.

In the late 1800s, during the Meiji Restoration (1868–1912), Japan was all about modernizing, and one of the ways the government pushed this was through Western-style clothing. Men’s fashion changed first—shaved heads and topknots gave way to European-style cropped hair. By the mid-1880s, 90% of Tokyo men were rocking a fake-European “randomly cropped” look (散切り頭). Geta (wooden clogs) were swapped for regular shoes and even sneakers, while suits, hats, and ties replaced the old hakama and haori.

For Japan’s high society, wearing Western clothes became the new way of showing they were part of the Civilization and Enlightenment movement (bunmei kaika, 文明開化). The rich and powerful wanted to create a clean, modern look for Japan. By 1898, this whole push for Western fashion became known as the haikara (“high collar”) movement.

But not everyone was into it. The bankara movement grew as a response to all this Western influence. Bankara (蛮カラ) means “barbaric,” and those who followed this style rejected the fancy, foreign clothes, going for a more rugged, traditional vibe. It was especially popular with students and intellectuals who didn’t want to give up Japan’s roots.

The Tonbi Coat

At the same time, the tonbi coat showed how Japan was mixing in Western elements but making them their own. Originally based on the Inverness coat from Scotland, the tonbi was modified to fit the kimono with wide armholes and a cape. Over time, it became so tied to Japanese style that no one even thought of it as a Western thing anymore, to the point that Bankara students liked to wear the tonbi coat over their uniforms as symbol of subversion.

So, while the government was pushing for Western fashion, the bankara movement resisted, and the tonbi coat shows how Japan took some foreign ideas and turned them into something uniquely their own.

Sources: 1,2,3.

From "The Mad Menace of the Macabre Mole Man!" in Fantastic Four #31, October 1964. Stan Lee script, Jack Kirby pencils, Chic Stone inks, Stan Goldberg (?) colors, Sam Rosen pencils.

Elizabeth Flaye

Artist: English School; Formerly attributed to James Gandy (1619-1689)

Date: 1635 to 1645

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, Exeter, England

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