Sleek black satin obi with beautifully embroidered kabuto (samurai helmet) with dragon crest. The textures are so nice!

Origami samurai, by Finnish paper artist Juho Könkkölä. In his own words:

Folded from a 95cm x 95cm sheet of Wenzhou paper. My first work of 2021, probably one of the most detailed designs from me so far.
It took a long 3 month process to design and fold the character, I decided to put some of the other projects on hold to finish it. There were a lot of challenges to make it work, but I am satisfied with the results.

A previous attempt was captured in video:

Modern origami art never ceased to amaze me (see Katsuta Kyohei’s fox bride and owl).

Juho Könkkölä has many other pieces on his websites. My favourite is probably this ronin-like warrior, with his cape floating still in an imaginary wind:

Priests’ outfits - Jikitotsu, Daimon, and Hentetsu

(as worn during Edo period - great charts by Nadeshico Rin). You can find more about samurai ranks and their regulated attires under the tag “samurai kimono”.

“Hight Priest” jikitotsu

This outfit was worn for court events by Buddhist priests of the highest rank ( 法印 Hôin) and second highest rank (法眼 Hôgen). Those titles could also be also given to 儒者 Confucian scholars, 医師doctors, Buddhist 絵師 painters and 仏師 sculptors, etc.

• 直綴 Jikitotsu - type of monk robe, originally made by stitching together a 偏衫 henzan (monk robe covering the upper body) and a 裙子 kunsu (monk robe covering the lower body) together.
  Overtime, jikitotsu came to be worn opened, more like a haori vest.
• 末広 Suehiro - a type of formal folding fan. TN: the fan drawn here ressemble more a 中啓 chûkei, as suehiro have curving ribs which don’t seems to be the case here (find more about fan types here)
• (長)袴 (Naga)bakama - hakama pants with long trailing legs, here made of hiraginu (plain silk)
• 白小袖 Shiro-Kosode - white kosode (=ancestor of the kimono)
  /or/ 帷子 Katabira - thin garment made from hemp or raw silk (worn during Summer). Note that 経帷子 kyôkatabira designates a shroud (=the white kimono used to dress the dead).
  /or/ 熨斗目Noshime - kosode (=ancestor of the kimono) with stripes/lattice pattern at waist area
• 小さ刀 Chîsagatana - small katana

“Companion” formal kimono

First people helping buddhist priests, 同朋 dôbô (lit. “companions) became overtime men attending on the Shogun, feudal lords and other high-ranked officals.

They were in charge of miscellaneous tasks (like cleaning, messengers etc.), or depending on their talents more skilled ones (dance, music, ikebana, tea ceremony etc.).

• 大紋 Daimon is a specific hitatare set, patterned with large 紋 mon (clan/family crests)
• 菊綴 Kikutoji - decorative tassel-like knots, first appeared on Heian nobility clothes. Here, those were leather ones
• 胸紐 Munahimo - chest ties​, first appeared on Heian nobility clothes. Here, those were leather ones
• 熨斗目 Noshime - kosode (=ancestor of the kimono) with stripes or lattice pattern at waist area.
  Also note the colored undergarments collars.
• 袖括 Sodekukuri - decorative sleeve ties. Originally appeared on Heian clothings (like kariginu, nôshi, etc) where they were used to tighten sleeve cuffs. Here, those were leather ones
• (長)袴 (Naga)bakama - hakama pants with long trailing legs, here made of white linen
• 小さ刀 Chîsagatana - small katana

The Proto-haori

This outfit was the formal wear worn by lower class priests, scholars, doctors, artists, etc.

• 編綴 Hentetsu (lit. "stitched together”) - a vest with large and long boxy sleeves, made from gauze or plain silk, most often black or dark brown. The chest straps were also made of the same fabric
  It evolved from 十徳 jittoku (itself a variation of 直綴 jikitotsu, see above). First a casual wear for court nobles, and then spread to lower-class samurai who wore it over their kosode from Muromachi era and on.
  Its use then reached other social classes during Edo period. Overtime and minor variations, it finally became known as our modern 羽織 haori
• 服紗(小袖) Fukusa(kosode) - a kosode (=ancestor of the kimono) bearing crest, and made from soft silk (like habutae or rinzu). In summer, it was a katabira (thin garment made from hemp or raw silk)
  /or/ 熨斗目 Noshime - kosode (=ancestor of the kimono) with stripes or lattice pattern at waist area

Everyday wear for the warrior class - Nagakamishimo and Hankamishimo

(as worn by samurai of the Edo period - great charts by Nadeshico Rin). You can find more about samurai ranks and their regulated attires under the tag “samurai kimono”.

The Nagakamishimo (here with noshime)

長上下 Nagakamishimo was worn by all upper ranked samurai.

• 肩衣 Kataginu - sleeveless overvest, with startched shoulders. It bore back and shoulder 紋 mon (family crests).
  It’s said to be an evolution of 素襖 Suô attire with detached sleeves.
  Formal ones were also entirely covered with tiny dyed patterns, the 小紋 komon (clans tended to have their favourite ones, used by all their retainers).
• 長袴 Nagabakama - hakama pants with long trailing legs.
  Formal look required it to match the kataginu.
• 熨斗目 Noshime - kosode (=ancestor of the kimono) with stripes or lattice pattern at waist area. Note the mon family crest on the sleeves and back.
  Noshime was also worn under more formal sets, like the daimon, suô, hoi, etc.
• 小さ刀 Chîsagatana - small katana

The Hankamishimo

Also called 継上下 tsugi-gamishimo, 半上下 hankamishimo is the official everyday wear for all Edo period samurai.

Main difference with nagakamishimo are the shorter pants, far more suited to everyday life. Colors and fabrics were not especially regulated.

• 半袴 Hanbakama - ankle lenght pants, shorter than the more formal nagabakama. Today, it’s simply called hakama.
• 脇差 Wakizashi - short sword worn by samurai​, depending on the era is part of the 大小 daishô (sword set with a katana and wakizashi)
• 紋付小袖 Montsuki-kosode - kosode (=ancestor of the kimono) adorned with family crest

Other formal outfits of Heian ancestry - Kariginu, Hoi and Nôshi attires

(as worn by samurai of the Edo period - great charts by Nadeshico Rin). You can find more about samurai ranks and their regulated attires under the tag “samurai kimono”.

The Kariginu

狩衣 Kariginu first appeared during Heian period where they were informal attires worn by kuge (nobibilty) men for activities such as hunting and 蹴鞠 kemari ball games.

Kariginu rose to formal status during Kamakura period when it started being worn by the buke (warrior class). In Edo period, it was worn by upper-ranked samurai (4th rank and above).

Edo-period kariginu designates a patterned clothing (different from the hoi, see below), often decorated with the family 紋 mon (crest). Colors were not regulated.

• 風折烏帽子 Kazaori-eboshi - black-lacquered hat made of silk, cloth or paper, originally worn by Heian nobility. Many eboshi shapes exist, this one is a upright style (tate-eboshi 立烏帽子) with top folded to the left.
• 末広 Suehiro - a type of formal folding fan.
  TN: the fan drawn here ressemble more a 中啓 chûkei, as suehiro have curving ribs which don’t seems to be the case here (find more about fan types here)
• 指貫 sashinuki (or 奴袴 nubakama) - large bouffant pants.
  Also, note the bare feet! Rin doesn’t comment this but this was probably a way to put it below sokutai and ikan (which do have socks)
• 袖括 Sodekukuri - decorative sleeve ties. Originally appeared on Heian clothings (like kariginu, nôshi, etc) where they were used to tighten sleeve cuffs.

The Hoi

布衣 Hoi is a variation of 狩衣 kariginu (see above).

During Edo period, it was worn by some hatamoto (6th rank samurai) via explicit permission of the shogunate - setting those rewarded by this honor apart from other vassals of the same rank.

Compared to kariginu, hoi were plain solid color.

It is worn here over a 熨斗目 noshime, a samurai kosode (=ancestor of the kimono) with stripes or lattice pattern at waist area.

As for the kariginu, note the bare feet!

The Nôshi

直衣 Nôshi was a type of everyday robes which were first worn by males of the imperial family during Heian era. Formality placed it then above kariginu.

Overtime, their use spread among nobility, and by Edo period, they were a “tad-formal” attire worn by Shogun’s family for worship celebrations.

• 立烏帽子 Tate-eboshi - upright lacquered hat
• 袍 Hô - round-necked robe with large boxy sleeves
• 檜扇 hiôgi - formal folding fan made of cypress, also of Heian history. Those were unpatterned as painted ones were for women
• 指貫 Sashinuki (or 奴袴 nubakama) - large bouffant pants

Formal outfits for upper ranks samurai & Most formal for lesser ranks samurai - Hitatare, Daimon and Suô court dress,

(as worn by samurai of the Edo period - great charts by Nadeshico Rin). You can find more about samurai ranks and their regulated attires under the tag “samurai kimono”.

The Hitatare

直垂 Hitatare first appeared as an attire worn by lower class warriors. As buke (warrior class) rose into status, it was slowy established as a formal garb for samurai during Kamakura period.

In Edo period, hitatare was the most formal attire worn by samurai of the 3rd rank and above. Fabrics used were luxurious, such as 精好織 seigo-ori (a type of textured silk, also used for Shinto priest clothing nowadays).

• 風折烏帽子 Kazaori-eboshi - black-lacquered hat made of silk, cloth or paper, originally worn by Heian nobility. Many eboshi shapes exist, this one is a upright style (tate-eboshi 立烏帽子) with top folded to the left.
• 袴 Hakama - formal pants, more exactly 長袴 nagabakama trailing pants
• 小さ刀 Chîsagatana - a small decorative katana
• 胸紐 Munahimo - chest ties​, first appeared on Heian nobility clothes
• 菊綴 Kikutoji - decorative tassel-like knots, first appeared on Heian nobility clothes
• 袖括 Sodekukuri - decorative sleeve ties. Originally appeared on Heian clothings (like kariginu, nôshi, etc) where they were used to tighten sleeve cuffs. Later types like the tiny ones above are purely decorative.

The Daimon

The 大紋 daimon is a specific hitatare set patterned with large 紋 mon (clan/family crests). It was worn by fifth court rank samurai (rank of the daimyô lords for example).

It was put over a 熨斗目 noshime, a type of kosode (=ancestor of the kimono) worn by samurai, with stripes or lattice pattern around waist area.

The Suô

The 素襖 Suô, also a variation of the hitatare, was the ceremonial dress of the lower-ranked samurai. Via explicit permission of the shogunate, some samurai could be granted the right to wear 布衣 hoi (a type of kariginu).

It looked very similar to daimon set, but showed fewer crests of much smaller size. The hat was also different as they wore one called a 侍烏帽子 samurai eboshi.

Most formal outfits for upper ranks samurai - Sokutai and Ikan formal court dress

(as worn by upper-ranked samurai of the Edo period - great charts by Nadeshico Rin). You can find more about samurai ranks and their regulated attires under the tag “samurai kimono”.

The Sokutai

束帯 Sokutai is the most formal attire worn by Edo period samurai of the 4th rank and above.

It first appeared during Heian era as a ceremonial court dress worn by 公卿 kuge (nobility/Imperial court) and 殿上人tenjôbito (courtiers/court official​s). Usage was kept well into Edo period by both the Imperial court and the Tokugawa shogunate.

The intricated garb includes:

• 冠 Kanmuri - hat, with distinctive 垂纓 suiei “tail” hanging in the back. Materials could include silk, lacquer or horsehair and were strickly regulated
• 袍 Hô - a round-necked robe with large boxy sleeves. Colors and patterns were strickly regulated.
• Shown here is a pattern used by the Shôgun, the 葵に丁子唐草 Aoi ni chôji karakusa (cloves with arabesques, and hollyhock leaves - which is the Tokugawa crest)
• 笏 Shaku - flat ritual sceptre
• 平緒 Hirao - a wide flat braid wrapped around the body with ties left hanging up front. Colors and weaves were strickly regulated
• (飾)太刀 (Kazari)-Tachi - (mock) long sword for ceremonial use
• 表袴 Ue-no-bakama (or omote-bakama) - white overpants, shorter hakama pants worn over the aka-ôkuchi
• 赤大口(袴) Aka-ôkuchi(bakama) - red underpants, a tad longer than the overpants
• 下襲(の裾) Shitagasane(no-kyo) - visible train part of an inner robe worn under the 袍 hô. During Edo period, train lenght got up to 1丈 (around 3 meters/10 feet).
• 襪 Shitôzu - a type of ancient socks (construction is different than tabi - they don’t have a sole for ex.)
• 石帯 Sekitai - leather belt used in ceremonial court dress, covered in black lacquer, and decorated with stones and jewels

The Ikan

衣冠 Ikan - while still very formal and worn by Edo period samurai of the 4th rank and above, ikan looked much more simpler than sokutai.

First used for nightime duties (夜間宿直) in Heian era, it gradually came to be worm during daytime too. From Muromachi period and onwards, it had become the work uniform of the Imperial court.

Like sokutai, it uses the hô+kanmuri, and wearers were allowed to carry kazari-tachi. Yet, note how the pants differ from sokutai ones: those are large bouffant pants called 指貫 sashinuki (or 奴袴 nubakama).

You can also note that wearer here is not holding a shaku scepter: it’s a folded 檜扇 hiôgi (formal folding fan made of cypress also of Heian history. Those were unpatterned as painted ones were for women).

Samurai’s ranks and dress code in Late Edo period

AMAZING reference chart put together by Nadeshico Rin, showing the different attires worn by the men of the buke class in and about Edo Castle. OP stresses the chart is by no means exhaustive - but it helps picturing things SO MUCH!

For easier reading, I have adapted the chart with english translation. Rin has also created illustrations detailing each attire, I’ll translate those in coming days under the tag “samurai kimono”.

You’ll find the transliteration below cut:

Keep reading

Musha dokuro (skull warriors) modern yukata/kimono by RumiRock, perfect for both Japanese summer and Western Halloween season. I love how it’s modeled here, with skull just peeking through the hakama slit!