Tasuki - Sash

A piece of Japanese clothing. It is used to tie up the sleeves of a kimono with a string to increase work efficiency. "Tasuki" is a Japanese character, and was also written as "te-mo" in ancient times. Currently, it is one of the tools used to tie up sleeves, but female figures of people from the Kofun period can be seen wearing it over their kosode short-sleeved sleeves, which suggests that it also had a meaning of serving the gods during religious ceremonies. In later times, as the sleeves of kosode became longer and larger, the original meaning was lost and it was used to increase work efficiency, that is, it changed from a ceremonial purpose to a practical purpose. In ancient times, sashes were made of cotton, while in the Edo period, they were made of quilted strings of crepe or cotton, braided strings made of woven silk or cotton threads, bamboo sashes made of threads made of Yoshino bamboo cut into pieces of about 15 mm, crystal sashes with glass beads, and beads with rosary beads. Farmers often use straw sashes. The sash is worn by tying both ends of a single string, twisting it once and passing it through both sleeves, or twisting it once more and passing it through a figure eight. There are also examples of sashes worn around the neck without tying the string, passing it under both armpits, and then passing the string around the neck from above and leaving it on both sides, then tying it into a flower knot, as can be seen in the picture scrolls of "Honen Shonin Eden" and the folding screens of Nagoya Castle. Other methods include holding one end of the sash in the mouth, passing it under the sleeve and then wrapping it up and down the other sleeve to tie both ends together, and in Kyoto Mibu Kyogen, there is a method in which the sash can be tied while dancing in a speed that is too fast to see.

[Takeshi Endo]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

和装用具の一つ。着物の袂(たもと)を紐(ひも)でからげて、仕事の能率をあげるために用いられるもの。「襷」は国字で、古くは手繦とも書いた。現在では袂を始末する用具の一つであるが、古墳時代の人物埴輪(はにわ)の女子像には筒袖(つつそで)の小袖に掛けている姿がみられるところから、神事の際の神に奉仕する意味が含まれていたことを物語るものであろう。後世になって、小袖の袂が長く大きくなるにつれて、本来の意味は失われ、仕事の能率をあげることへ、つまり儀礼から実用へと変わったのである。襷の材料は、古代には木綿(ゆう)があり、江戸時代には縮緬(ちりめん)、木綿(もめん)などの絎(くけ)紐、あるいは絹糸、木綿糸を編んでつくった組紐、よしの竹を約15ミリメートルに切ったものを糸で通した竹襷や、ガラス玉を通した水晶襷、数珠(じゅず)玉を通した玉襷などがある。農家では多く藁(わら)襷をする。襷の掛け方は、1本の紐の両端を結んで、一ひねりして左右の袖を通すか、さらに一ひねりして、8字形の中に通したりする。また紐を結ばずに首に掛け、両わきの下を通してから、首の紐を上から通して左右に出してこれを花結びにした例が『法然上人(ほうねんしょうにん)絵伝』の絵巻や名古屋城の屏風(びょうぶ)のなかにみられる。そのほか、襷の一端を口にくわえて袖下を通して別の袖の上から下に回して襷の両端を結ぶ方法、また京都壬生(みぶ)狂言では、踊りながら目にも留まらぬ速さで結ぶ方法などもある。

［遠藤　武］

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