Ribbon - Ribbon (English spelling)

Japanese: リボン - りぼん（英語表記）ribbon

A ribbon-like woven fabric used by women and children to adorn or attach to clothing, hats, or hair as accessories, or to hang on gifts or medals. Widths range from about 2 millimeters to more than 30 centimeters.

[Kumiko Ichikawa]

history

There is a picture of an angel presenting a crown with tin and ribbons to the Sassanid Persian king Ardeshir I's investiture ceremony (226) as a sign of his royal authority, but ribbons bearing sayings and slogans were also used as symbols of authority in the Middle Ages. The ribbons of medals are probably a remnant of this. In ancient Greece and Rome, people already tied their hair beautifully with ribbons and pins. In the Middle Ages, men also began to wear ribbons, and they decorated their collars and cuffs with ribbons. Ribbons were brought to Japan and used by the general public only after the Meiji period, but even before that, Yamaga Soko (a Confucian scholar and military strategist in the Edo period), who was the magistrate for foreign affairs, obtained them and modified them in Japan, and the cuffs of his favorite jinbaori (battle robes) had double ribbons attached like ruffles.

[Kumiko Ichikawa]

Material and type

They come in a wide variety of materials, including silk fabrics such as satin, taffeta, velvet, and grosgrain, cotton fabrics such as cotton satin, organza, and lace, as well as synthetic fibers, gold and silver lamé, nylon lace, polyester lace, and nonwoven fabrics. There is a wide variety of types, including solid colors, stripes, floral patterns, polka dots, and lace.

There are also ribbon flowers, which are made from ribbons to create artificial flowers, and ribbon embroidery, which uses ribbons instead of thread.

[Kumiko Ichikawa]

[Reference] | Ribbon embroidery

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

テープ状の織物。女性や子供の装飾品、アクセサリーとして衣服や帽子、頭髪に結び付けたり、贈答品にかけたり、勲章につける。幅は2ミリメートルぐらいから、30センチメートル以上のものまである。

［市川久美子］

歴史

ササン朝ペルシアの、アルデシール1世の叙任式（226）に王権のしるしとして天使が王に錫(しゃく)とリボンのついた王冠を授与する図が残っているが、中世でも格言や標語を書いたリボンが権威の象徴として用いられた。勲章のリボンはその名残(なごり)であろう。古代ギリシア・ローマ時代には、すでに頭髪をリボンとピンで美しく結っている。中世になると、男子もリボンを用いるようになり、襟や袖口(そでぐち)などもリボンで飾っていた。日本にリボンがもたらされ一般に使用されたのは明治以降であるが、それ以前も、外国奉行(ぶぎょう)だった山鹿(やまが)素行（江戸時代の儒者、兵法学者）が入手し日本で加工したうえ愛用した陣羽織の袖口には、二重のリボンがフリルのようについていたという。

［市川久美子］