Sophistication at the Start of Life Miyamairi Kimonos Mark a Japanese Child’S Rites of Passage

Sophistication at the start of life Miyamairi kimonos mark a Japanese child’s rites of passage. Using examples from his own collection, collector, dealer and researcher Roger Yorke looks in particular at the meanings and symbolism of those made especially for boys. 1 Boy’s miyamairi kimono depicting tsutsugaki (a type of resist painting) and hand leaping carp. Japan, early to mid- painting, or hand painting alone. Meiji period (1868–1912). Silk plain The tradition probably arose as a response to weave with yuzen-dyeing, bokashi the high infant mortality rate that once (shading) painting, metallic and silk plagued Japan.General customs based on embroidery highlights. The small special children kimonos can be traced back as black spots in the ocean are tiny far as the 9th century, when Heian period sections of metallic embroidery. aristocrats would celebrate the safe passage of 84 × 101.5 cm (33" × 40"). Author's their children through their early years. In collection centuries past, many Japanese children did not live to see their first birthdays, an obstacle in a 2 Studio image of a grandmother culture in which prosperity was believed to holding her grandson on the day of result from a long bloodline and having many Hatsu Miyamairi (‘first shrine visit’). children. In response, the Japanese enacted Japan, ca. 1940s, A samurai-themed lavish rituals at auspicious times during miyamairi kimono is draped over childhood to assure the child’s good fortune the baby, with the long kimono and longevity. sashes tied securely around the In traditional Japan, a newborn baby was grandmother’s neck. Courtesy considered impure and unpredictable, and was Vintage Japan-esque on Flickr 2 wrapped in rags fashioned out of the mother’s he Japanese view their ceremonial old clothing. On the seventh day, the child kimonos as works of art, like would be given a proper name along with its Tpaintings. Miyamairi kimonos are one- first kimono, to ensure his or her entry into of-a-kind ceremonial robes created for an the world. Then, when a boy was thirty-one infant’s life-milestone visits to a Shinto shrine. days old, the specialised miyamairi kimono was While practical as a garment, they are used for the first time – draped over the infant evocative and remarkable textiles that have during the Hatsu Miyamairi (‘first shrine visit’) been largely ignored as an art form by both ceremony. The baby boy was draped or wrapped collectors and the research community. in this way because he was still too small to Although both girls and boys wore miyamairi wear the normal kimono. The Hatsu Miyamairi kimonos, this article concerns itself with boys’ is just the first occasion in a boy’s life when the miyamairi, as these are perhaps more miyamairi kimono is used. interesting in terms of layout and motifs. Traditionally, the miyamairi kimono was These miyamairi ( ‘shrine visit’) ceremonial commissioned and bought at substantial cost kimonos are extraordinary for both their by the father’s parents, and then presented to sophistication and their deep symbolic their grandchild and his parents. The Hatsu meaning. In shape they resemble formal adult Miyamairi ceremony is attended by both kimonos and feature family crests and pictorial parents, together with grandparents as well as 1 designs created through a combination of other family and close friends. The kanji 108 Japanese costume Japanese costume 109 Shichigosan was a day to celebrate the kamioki (’hair leaving’) event, meaning that he could start to let his hair grow. Until this event, a boy’s head was kept clean-shaven, as it was believed that during their first three years of life, children caught diseases and bad energy from their hair. Additionally, at the Shichigosan ceremony, parents asked the priest at a nearby Shinto shrine to perform an oharai purification rite on their three-year old boy, and recite a norito Shinto prayer for their children’s continued health. Again in November, a five-year-old boy will attend his last Shichigosan ceremony (8). Shinto prayers for continued good luck and long life are incanted, with the main celebration being hakamagi-no-gi, where the boy dons his firsthakama (loose-pleated trousers used for formal wear). This five-year- old is now considered a little man for the first time, and correspondingly assumes new and more mature roles and responsibilities. It was only after the beginning of the 19th century that the designs adorning boys and girl’s kimonos began to differ; this divergence became more pronounced during the Meiji 3 period (1868–1912), which ushered in a 3 Boy’s miyamairi kimono (and detail) wholesale change in the social hierarchy, depicting the folk tale of the strong Aristocrats would celebrate the safe passage of their including the adoption of the miyamairi and brave Kintaro refereeing a kimono tradition by all Japanese citizens who wrestling match between a rabbit children through their early years could afford the great expense involved. and a monkey. Japan, Meiji period, Boys’ miyamairi dating to the Meiji, Taisho perhaps ca. 1890–92. Silk plain weave character representing ‘big’ is written with red At the end of the ceremony, the parents and (1912-26) and Showa (1926-1989) periods have with hand-painted pigments. ink on the boy’s forehead in the hope of his grandparents come forward one by one, bowing various set characteristics. They share the 86 × 20 cm (34" × 38"). Author's growing up big and strong. to the altar, and placing tamagushis upon it. St same structural features of all kimonos: a 4 collection During the Hatsu Miyamairi ceremony, the the end of the ceremony, the baby’s T-shaped, straight-lined robe worn so that the sleeve. These kimonos always sport five white 4 Boy’s miyamairi kimono depicting father’s mother holds the child in her arms grandparents would typically host a party for hem falls to the ankle, with attached collar and mon (family crests) from the father’s family, the samurai Kashiwade no Hanoshi with the presentation kimono draped over the friends and family, and the miyamairi kimono long, wide sleeves. Unlike the larger adult three on the upper back, and two on each of the fighting a tiger. Japan, Meiji period tiny month-old baby, the kimono ties secured would be carefully put away until the next kimonos that are constructed of two joined front shoulders, so they are the most formal of (1868–1912). Silk plain weave with around her own neck and shoulders (2). The formal temple visit, the shichigosan for a three- strips of fabric to form the rear, the miyamairi is garments. Traditionally, most miyamairi have a yuzen-dyeing and hand-painted duty of the paternal grandmother in carrying year-old. called hitotsumi, referring to its back’s single black background, and rarely blue or dark pigments. 84 × 101.5 cm (33" × 40"). the child is to assist the recovering (from The miyamairi kimono would be worn again fabric width. Shoulder widths average 33 brown, although in recent times several other Author's collection giving birth) mother; in addition, this task by a Japanese boy during the Shinto shichi-go- inches (84 cm), with garment heights ranging colours have gained acceptance. symbolises the baby’s entrance and acceptance san (‘seven-five-three’) rite of passage from 37 to 44 inches (94–112 cm). Two simple Although miyamairi kimonos were created into the husband’s family. ceremony, which is repeated at the age of five. silk sashes attached to each of the front lapels in specialised workshops, the boy’s mother Swinging a tamagushi (a decorated sakaki- By this time, these three- and five-year-old can be utilised to tie the kimono front shut, or would often later add some protective stitching tree branch) right and left, a kan-nushi (Shinto boys are big enough to wear their miyamairi tied around the grandmother’s neck during the to her son’s kimono. The Japanese believed that priest) in full traditional costume and headgear kimono, albeit with the waist and shoulder first shrine visit. stitching prevented the entrance of evil spirits officiates at the proceedings, praying for the sections temporarily folded and hand-sewn to Unlike the crepe and damask silks of adult through a kimono. As miyamairi kimonos are baby’s happiness and health, and asking the reduce the height and width of the kimono. kimonos, boys miyamairi kimonos had to be a hitotsumi (single cloth width) with no back Usubana Gami (local deity) to bless and purify Shichigosan is celebrated on the 15th more reflective plain weave, called habutae, of centre seam, these kimonos were deemed the baby. The kan-nushi would recite a prayer November because this is the festival day for a the finest silk. Decorations were executed in under-protected from harmful spirits. The that mentioned the baby’s name, names of the Shinto guardian spirit. It is a day on which the either tsutsugaki yuzen (rice paste resist decorative stitching the mother worked into parents, the family address and the date of Japanese celebrate the lunar-calendar autumn painting) or tegaki-yuzen (freehand painting). miyamairi kimonos is referred to as semamori baby’s birth. The ceremony establishes the harvest, and considered the luckiest day of the Miyamairi kimonos are typically dominated by (‘back magic’ or ‘to protect the back’).Some child as one of the shrine parishioners. year. For Japanese boys, their three-year-old a centred design stretching from sleeve to Meiji and Taisho period miyamairi kimonos 110 Japanese costume 5 5 Boy’s miyamairi kimono depicting family crests (front detail) and a Finely rendered auspicious motifs represent good luck, Noh theatre actor (back).

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