Miko clothing

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Miko clothing (巫女装束, miko shōzoku) is the clothing worn by miko (shrine maidens) at Shinto shrines.

Normally, there are no specific regulations for miko clothing, and each Shinto shrine uses clothing based on its own traditions. Although often confused with miko, there are also women among the kannushi (Shinto priests). The kannushi wear clothing different from that of the miko.

The traditional clothing for miko is a white kosode (white robe) with a scarlet hakama (trouser-skirt). The combination of kosode and hakama is considered to be the working clothes of shrines for both men and women. The Shinto priests also wear this outfit under their formal attire. Yellow sumac dye, the color of the Emperor of Japan, and yellow tan, the color of the Crown prince, are forbidden to be used in clothing as "forbidden colors," and dull and gray colors used for funerals are also forbidden to be used.^[1]

The miko clothing is to be handled with care, and the three principles of "Don't throw it" (don't fling it off), "Don't put it down" (fold it immediately after putting it on and taking it off), and "Don't step over it" (stepping over it is an act of disrespect to the gods) are emphasized, and the costume is taught to be "treated like a talisman.^[2]

The white robe (白衣, hakue, byakue, shiraginu) worn on the upper half of the body is a white kosode, with sleeves the length of a tomesode formal sleeve.^[3] Originally, kosode sleeves were underwear to be worn under daily clothing, but gradually became acceptable outerwear between the end of the Heian era and the Kamakura era^[4] The red collar sometimes seen around the neck is a decorative collar (kake-eri) or date collar (date-eri).,^[3][5] It is just a piece of cloth that is placed between the white clothing and the underwear in the style of padding of a kouchiki kimono.

When wearing a white robe, a koshimaki, which is the undergarment, and a hada-juban are put on before the robe. The koshimaki protects the lower half of the body and prevents the hem of the costume from getting caught in the legs. The upper half of the body is covered with an undershirt (hada-juban), which is tied with a cord-like white belt at the area below the ribs (chest). The collar is placed so that the wearer's left side collar is on top. Normally, a half undershirt is used, but in cooler months, a long undershirt that goes below the knees may be added. Today, it is permitted to wear Western-style underwear under the koshimaki and hada-juban.^[5]

After the koshimaki is put on, the white robe is put on. The white belt is tied below the white belt of the undershirt and hidden by the hakama belt, so that the upper part of the undershirt can be seen.

In the old days, the white belt was a white string, but in modern times, it is a wide, elastic band, which is secured with velcro.

The scarlet hakama (緋袴, hibakama), which covers the lower half of the body, is, as the name implies being composed of scarlet (緋, hi) and hakama (袴, hakama, combining form: -bakama), a scarlet hakama, but in actuality, scarlet or vermilion is used. At Kotohira-gū, dark purples are used, and at some shrines, those who have retired from the main duties of shrine maidens and remain as clerks wear green or dark blue hakama.

The scarlet hakama was originally a gusseted hakama used by wives and aristocratic women in the Heian period.^[6] Originally, the long hakama covered the ankles, but this was completely designed for indoor use, and it was impossible to stand and walk without kicking up the hem. ^[7] Miko use the kiribakama, a type of hakama used when going out for worship such as Kumano-mode pilgrimages.

In modern times, Shinto priests, including female Shinto priests, wear traditional hakama with gake-like gussets, and in some shrines, mikos also wear hakama with gake-like gussets. Some shrines also require their mikos to wear hakama with gussets. Some shrines also use oguchi hakama.^[8]

Like the original scarlet hakama for female courtesans, the lower part of the waist is decorated with six long and seven short white usawashiito/sashinui.^[9] Contrary to the name of "the upper finger thread", this stitch is quite thick to be called a "thread", and two sets of twisted "strings" are used.^[10] Unlike martial arts hakama, the Hibakama does not have a waistboard. However, the front and back of the hakama are made with a stiff core that serves as a waist board to prevent the hakama from falling apart.

The hakama is divided into front and back sections. After putting the legs through the hakama, the front section is adjusted so that it sits high on the hips, and the back section is adjusted by hooking the front section with a koshihera spatula (some scarlet hakama do not have a spatula).^[11] At this point, the knot should be slightly lowered to show the usawashiito in front. .^[12] Some shrines also cover the knot with an obi (such as Tsurugaoka Hachimangū).

The length of the obi is longer in the front and shorter in the back, but is usually equal on both sides. However, in the traditional twisted gake-hakama, the obi is different in length on either side. As mentioned above, the obi is not tied in the front, but is tied with a single knot down the right side, and no waistband is used to secure it.

The fabric used to be silk, but after the 1970s, easy to wash poplins and synthetic fabrics are commonly used. The hibakama can be sewn as either lined or unlined. Lining is used only during winter, but often the unlined version is worn year-round.

When a miko serves a Shinto ritual or performs a shrine maiden dance or kagura, she wears a chihaya over the top.^[13]

The chihaya has been used since ancient times, but originally it was just a plain white silk cloth with a vertical cut in the middle. Later, it was made up of two widths of silk as a costume for female officials, and it became a style of clothing in which the sides were not sewn and the front was held together with a munahimo cord, and then sleeves were added and only the base of the shoulder sleeves were sewn in the current style.^[13] The sleeves of a chihaya do not have kukuri-himo embroidery or tassels, which are often seen in manga and other creative works.

Normally, the sleeves are made of thin white silk with a faint pattern on it, and only a vermilion munahimo cord is loosely fastened, leaving the sides of the sleeves and the sides of the body below the armpits unstitched and open. However, depending on the content of the ceremony in which they are to participate (for example, a shrine maiden dance), Chihaya with more ornate colors and patterns may be used.^[13] In addition, the sleeves, back, and the tips of the munahimo cord are decorated with musubikikukoji, chrysanthemum binding made from thread.

Chihaya can have a "Aozuri", and "Crane", "Turtle", "Pine", or "Chrysanthemum" design, often painted in green. In some cases, the god of the shrine's crest, cherry blossom, or plum are painted in vermilion or peach.

Silk was traditionally used to make chihaya, but nowadays most of them are made of synthetic fiber. The fabric is thicker than it looks, and extremely thin fabrics such as gauze, which can easily be seen through, are usually not used.

The Mo [ja] (裳) is an ornament worn at the back of the waist in women's fine kimono. It is a cloth that is trailed from the waist. It is sometimes used in the Urayasu dance and in Kagura and other Shinto rituals.

The Mo is typically white with plant and pine tree designs. Long, thin pieces of cloth with stitching hang from each side.

In cold climates, miko haori (羽織) may be used to protect against the cold. Wool-lined haori are widely available.^[14]

The long black hair of a miko is often considered part of her costume and she is required to maintain it. The shrine maidens tie their long black hair into a ponytail with either takanaga or mizuhiki washi paper. Mizuhiki is string made of twisted paper that is dipped in glue, dried, and hardened, and usually several strands are put together and with the center dyed a different color, but when used by miko, it is red and white or all white. For the miko, the color is red and white, while the takanaga is white, gold and silver, gold and red, or white and red.

In addition to this, depending on the content of the ritual, a highly decorative hair clip may be worn. If the length of the hair is short, a hairpiece may be added to add length to the hair and then covered with a hair clip.^[15]

In Kanda Shrine, instead of takanaga or mizuhiki, the miko tie their hair back in a purple-colored bag-like hair clip called a "murasaki" (lit. purple). .^[16]

Mikos wear tabi socks on their feet, while mikos wear zori sandals or white wooden (or black lacquered) geta sandals (with red or white straps), and female mikos wear black lacquered wooden shoes called asagutsu. Nowadays, synthetic materials are allowed to be used as long as they have a good appearance.^[17]

In winter, mikos wear a double layer of tabi socks to protect from the cold, and sometimes put a hand warmer on the inside of the tabi socks.^[18]

Head ornaments such as hanakanzashi, kazashi, and orieda hairpins and crowns, adorn the head during ceremonies. The kanzashi hairpin and its ancestor, the kasashira, have elements of both a hair clip and a hair ornament, and are said to be remnants of the ancient practice of sticking flowers and twigs in hair to bring in the spiritual power of trees (nowadays they are often made of artificial flowers or metal).

The crown was originally a sign of status, but female priests used saishi and mikos wear tengan (heavenly crown) when dancing. There are two types of crowns: one is a full crown and the other is a tiara-style crown, called maetengan.

In the case of female Shinto priests, nukaate (forehead covering) may be worn depending on the ritual.^[19]

Also, at shrines where Ebisu festival is held, such as Osaka Tenmangū and Imamiya Ebisu Shrine, miko sometimes wears a gold Ebisu hat.

In some cases, depending on the nature of the ritual, the suikan (水干) may be worn as a miko costume. The suikan was made a regular costume during the war when a system of female priesthood was established, but was later removed from the official dress code in 1987. However, even today, the suikan is sometimes used as a costume for female priests and shrine maidens.^[13][20]

Traditional miko tools include the Azusa Yumi (梓弓, "catalpa bow"),^[21] the tamagushi (玉串) (offertory sakaki-tree branches),^[22] and the gehōbako (外法箱, Occult Box).^[23]

Miko also use bells, drums, candles, gohei, and bowls of rice in ceremonies.

When a shrine maiden performs a ritual or dance, she may use a prop called a torimono in her hand. The ritual of handing a torimono from a miko to a dancer during a Kagura dance is called "Takarimode".

The items are sakaki, Gohei, staff, sasa, yumi, which are also used in court rituals, sword, hoko yari, Hishaku, kudzu (kadsura), but depending on the shrine, bells, fans, and trays are also widely used.^[24]

Kagura-zuzu bells are made to look like ears of rice. There are also hoko-suzu, also known as hokosaki-mai-suzu, which resemble spears. There are also tesuzu (hand bells) with handles. Kagura bells have 15 bells (3, 5, and 7 from the top), Hokosuzu have 8 bells under the tsuba, and Tezuzu have 1 bell at the end of the handle. Kagura bells and hoko bells often have a five-colored hanging cloth (bell cord) attached to the bottom of the handle.

The fan is a hinoki fan (hiyougi), of which the women's version Akome Ougi (袙扇) is used. It is decorated with auspicious paintings of white sand and green pine trees, and has artificial flowers and a braided cord attached to the end.^[25]

Although not included in the collection, there are Sake sets used by shrine maidens to hold Omiki, Toso, and other rituals such as Wedding.^[26]

Choshi (sake bottle) and heishi (ceramic bottle) are used for pouring sake. Choshi for Shinto rituals are made of metal and are not the so-called tokuri made of ceramic. Choshi are double-sided choshi with handles. They are made of tin, copper or brass, and are decorated with Engraving and finished with gold leaf or gilding.^[27] For happy occasions, the top of the choshi (sake bottle) is sometimes decorated with twigs of pine needles or red and white mizuhiki.

The recipient's sake cup can be a cup or a square. Cups are usually made of pottery or lacquerware, but in ancient times they were made of unglazed earthenware (kawarake) and were disposable.

In some shrines, mikos carry Kinchaku to carry their personal belongings.

After the Meiji Restoration, the government excluded women from the priesthood, but due to the shortage of priests during World War II and after the war, they had to allow female priests. However, later on, for the sake of activity as a Shinto priest, they added the elements of Koshiro's costume and adopted white cloth with twisted gusset hakama and Omoshiro and Karagoromo on top of it as the formal clothes. In 1987, as mentioned above, the suikan was abolished and the omote-gown was used as the regular attire.^[20]

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• Kimono