Brooch - brooch (English spelling)

A pin-type accessory for clothing. Originally a practical fastener for fastening the edges of cloth or clothing, it became decorated and became an accessory worn mainly on the upper body. There are pin-type, safety pin-type, and spring-loaded tuck-type brooches. In ancient Egypt, there were scarab, horus, and uraeus brooches, which were used to ward off evil, while the ancient Greek perone and the ancient Roman fibula were a type of large safety pin. The heyday of brooches is said to have been the Byzantine period, when elaborately crafted and ornate with gemstones and cloisonné became popular for men's clothing. Corsages made of fresh or artificial flowers are also a type of brooch, and were popular from the 17th to 19th centuries, and the boutonniere, a chest ornament made of fresh flowers inserted into a small bottle of water, was also invented. In the early modern period, as the wearing of capes fell out of fashion and clothes began to conform to the body, brooches lost their practical use as fasteners and were used exclusively as decorations for hats. In the 19th century, brooches were unisex, but as modern men's clothing became more common, they became unnecessary for men and reappeared as accessories exclusively for women. In the early Victorian era, semi-precious stones and colored gemstones were popular, while gold enamel crafts were popular during the Napoleon III era. They were imported to Japan at the end of the Meiji era and used as shoulder fasteners for some upper-class women's kimonos, becoming common at the beginning of the Showa era. Today, they are mainly used to decorate the collars and chests of women's clothing and to fasten ties, but they are also used on scarves, hats, belts, etc. Sharp-looking pins and brooches and light ones made of plastic are popular among young people.

[Hirano Yuko]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

衣服に飾る留め針式の装身具。本来は布や衣服の端を固定する実用的な留め具であったが、装飾がつけられて、おもに上半身に用いる装身具となった。待ち針型、安全ピン型、ばねで挟むタック型などがある。古代エジプトでは魔除(まよ)けの意味をもつスカラベ、ホルス、ウラエウスなどのブローチがあり、古代ギリシアのペローネ、古代ローマのフィブラは一種大型の安全ピンである。ブローチの最盛期はビザンティン時代といわれ、精巧な細工と宝石、七宝(しっぽう)で飾った華美なものが男子服にも流行した。生花や造花のコサージュもブローチの一種で、17～19世紀に流行し、水を入れた小瓶に挿した生花の胸飾り（ブトニエール）も考案された。近世以降、マントの着用が廃れ、衣服が体にそってくると、ブローチは留め具としての実用性を失い、一時はもっぱら帽子の装飾として用いられた。19世紀、男女両用だったブローチは、近代男子服の完成につれて男性には不要となり、婦人専用の装身具として再登場する。ビクトリア朝初期には準宝石や色石、ナポレオン3世期には金のエナメル細工品が流行した。日本に輸入されたのは明治末期で、一部上流婦人の和服の肩掛け留めとして用いられ、昭和の初めに一般化した。現在おもに婦人服の襟や胸元を飾り、打合せを留めたりするが、スカーフや帽子、ベルトなどにも用いる。シャープな印象のピン・ブローチ、プラスチック製などの軽いものなどが若い人に好まれている。

［平野裕子］

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