Karaginu

A type of clothing worn by court nobles. It is worn over the top layer of the court attire commonly known as the twelve-layered kimono. In the Nara period, the haishi worn over the morning kimono of women in spring and winter was sleeveless and short, but from the mid-Heian period onwards, as clothing became longer, it was given narrow sleeves and the collar was turned down to show the underside, forming a "turned collar" style. The kimono became even larger and its length extended to the hem, becoming similar in shape to the kimono worn as an evening garment, and it came to be called either kinu or uchiki. The haishi worn over it also became larger accordingly, becoming slightly longer in length, two-width, narrow but long in sleeves, and wide-sleeved, called karaginu, and worn throughout the four seasons. This, along with the skirt worn around the waist, was considered a symbol of formal attire. No remains of karaginu from the late Heian period to the Kamakura period have been handed down, but we can get an idea of ​​what they were like from picture scrolls of the time. Among the remains from the Muromachi period, there are karaginu, which are among the national treasures of Kumano Hayatama Taisha Shrine in Wakayama Prefecture, and there are two types of karaginu: one with a circular back collar and one with a square back collar. The way they are made, as well as the fabric and color, give us valuable information about the actual karaginu of the Middle Ages. In the early modern period, the square part of the back collar was called kamioki. From the Middle Ages to the present day, the outer and lining of karaginu have been sewn together in a tweezer-like manner, and while early modern uchiki have had the outer fabric held back about one centimeter from the lining at the edges of the collar, sleeves, and hem, creating a so-called "omeri," this kimono conveys the ancient style.

Materials used for the outer fabric were Nishiki, double-layered fabric, floating fabric, solid fabric, twill, plain silk, and embroidered fabrics, while diamond-patterned twill and plain silk were used for the lining. For the outer fabric, patterns that gave a dignified and neat impression as the top layer of formal wear, such as tortoise shell, triple sash, diamond pattern, and small hollyhock, were used. Furthermore, forbidden colors such as red and blue, and brocade and double-layered fabrics were only worn by ladies-in-waiting of upper ranks who had received imperial permission. The Pillow Book states, "Although karaginu is said to be a short garment, it is only worn by people of the Mormon race," and The Diary of Murasaki Shikibu states, "Those who were allowed to wear fair clothing wore the usual blue or red karaginu, a jizuri skirt, and a jacket made of woven safflower."

[Takada Yamato]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

公家(くげ)女性の衣服の一種。俗に十二単(じゅうにひとえ)といわれる女房装束(にょうぼうしょうぞく)の最上層に重ねるもの。奈良時代の女子朝服の衣の上に春・冬に着用した背子(はいし)は、袖(そで)のない、身丈の短いものであったが、平安時代中期以降、服装の長大化に伴って、袖幅の狭い袖をつけ、襟を外側へ折り返して裏側をみせる「返し襟」形式となった。さらに衣が大きく、身丈も裾(すそ)を引く長さとなって、夜着の袿衣(けいい)と形が同様となり、衣(きぬ)とも袿(うちき)ともよばれるようになると、その上に重ねて着る背子も、それにしたがって大きくなり、身丈がやや長く、身幅が二幅(ふたの)、袖幅は狭いが袖丈が長く、広袖形式で、唐衣と称されて、四季を通じて用いられた。これは腰に着装する裳(も)とともに正装の象徴のように考えられた。平安時代末期から鎌倉時代にかけての唐衣の遺品は伝わらないが、当時の絵巻物などによってそのあらましを知ることができる。室町時代の遺品として、和歌山県・熊野速玉(はやたま)大社御神宝装束（国宝）のなかに唐衣があり、それらは襟の後部を円弧形にしたものと、角形につくったものと2種ある。その仕立て方のほか、織物、色目などの点についても、中世の唐衣の実体を知ることができて貴重である。なお、後ろ襟の角形の部分を近世では髪置(かみおき)とよんでいる。中世から現代に至るまで、唐衣は表地と裏地が毛抜き合わせに縫ってあり、近世以降の袿では襟、袖、裾などの縁のところで、表地が裏地より1センチメートルほど控えられて、いわゆる「おめり」となっているのに対して、古様を伝えている。

　材質は、表地に錦(にしき)、二重(ふたえ)織物、浮(うき)織物、固(かた)織物、綾(あや)、平絹(ひらぎぬ)などのほか刺しゅうを施したものも用い、裏地に菱文(ひしもん)の綾、平絹が使われた。表地の地文には、正装の最上層のものとして、品格高く、端正な印象を与えるもの、たとえば亀甲(きっこう)、三重襷(みえだすき)、花菱(はなびし)、小葵(こあおい)などを用いた。また、禁色の赤色、青色、錦や二重織物などの唐衣は、勅許を得た上﨟(じょうろう)（高位）の女房でなければ用いられなかった。『枕草子(まくらのそうし)』に「からぎぬは短き衣とこそいはめ、されどそれは、もろこしの人のきるものなれば」とあり、『紫式部日記』に「色ゆるされたる人々は、例の青色、赤色の唐衣に、地摺(ぢずり)の裳、上着はおしわたして蘇芳(すおう)の織物なり」とある。

［高田倭男］

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