Kosode no sugatami

Kosode no sugatami   小袖の姿見

FSC-GR-780.91

Commentary by Suzuki Jun

Posted June 2, 2017

Original unedited text in Japanese follows

Hishikawa Moronobu’s pattern book (hiinagatabon) from 1683 presents twenty-three designs of full-length figures (sugatami) wearing short-sleeved kimono (kosode) such the English title might read Full-length Figures in Short-sleeved Kimono. The book is printed in black sumi ink, and the Pulverer copy is missing one section as well as select folios. With the exception of the first and last openings, the right side of each double-page opening shows a full-length portrait of a woman wearing a kosode kimono while the image opposite depicts the kosode designs on the back of the kimono. Explanatory texts also accompany the illustrations. The postscript on the final opening offers an idea behind the work’s conception:

Because there are differing tastes in kosode designs and also various opinions about what is or is not suitable for [a woman’s] figure, this Kosode no sugatami reviews kosode patterns together with portrayals of female figures. Please take into account the appropriate sizing and figure type.

The idea of including full-length images in kosode pattern books is believed to have begun in the Enpō era (1673–1681). Moreover, Yoshida Hanbē’s book Toshi no hana  としの花 (1690, Genroku 3) follows a similar format as Kosode no sugatami in the pairing of a back view of a robe together with a full-length image of a kabuki actor. But the full-length figures in Kosode no sugatami differ in that they are dressed in styles associated with courtesans (yūjo遊女) and male youths (wakashu). Interestingly, the patterns on the kimono worn by the figures in Kosode no sugatami and those on the reverse side of kimono are principally plant motifs fashionable during this period. However, they do not match. The explanatory text begun on the sheets illustrating the figures continues onto the opposite sheet showing the kimono. For example, the description on the third double-page opening (pp. 4–5 on the website) features the “chrysanthemum in water” (kikusui菊水) motif, and it states:

 

Dyed fabric with a turmeric colored ground goes well with a kikusui motif running from shoulder to hem. The size of the chrysanthemums designs should be about four sun (roughly 12 cm) and should be matched with vermillion and light yellow kanoko 鹿子(fawn-spotted) patterns.

This passage demonstrates that the texts include instructions and explanations regarding the names (types) and colors of diverse patterns. The style of the writing, which is a combination of kanji and kana, suggests that this particular kosode pattern book may have targeted not only artisans specializing in the weaving, designing, and dyeing of textiles but also the general public. The Pulverer copy was formerly owned by the Japanese art dealer and collector Hayashi Tadamasa林忠正(1853–1906), the Dutch collector Heinz M. Kaempfer (1904–1986), and others.

書名                小袖の姿見

執筆者            鈴木淳

菱川師宣の小袖雛形本。墨摺。「姿見（すがたみ）」は全身像の意。欠本。乱丁あり。半丁ごとに小袖姿の女性の全身像と小袖の背面（雛形）を交互に配し、余白に詞書きを入れる。絵は二三図。跋文に「此小袖すがたみは、もやうのこのみ／＼にて相応不相応有之によつて、小袖のひいなかたに其女らうのかたちを書、大小きりやう様子ふう／＼に心をつけ給へかしと令板行者也」（この小袖姿見は、模様の好みや分相応か否かということがあるので、小袖の雛形といっしょに描いた女性の姿を参考に、大小や容姿を考慮くださいと出板したのである）とある。小袖雛形本に全身像を取り入れる趣向は延宝期より始まったとされるが、元禄三年の吉田半兵衛画『としの花』の例を見ると、衣装の雛形と全身像の役者とは、基本的に同じ模様で一対を成している。一方、『小袖の姿見』における全身像の女性は、遊女、若衆風で、雛形ともに、当時流行の大柄の植物紋が多いが、雛形の模様とは異なっている。また全身像と雛形の詞書きは、雛形の説明で一続きを成している。記述内容は、たとえば、菊水紋の雛形の見開きでは、「地くろべにのそめ物かたよりすそまてきく水とり合よく、きくの花大サ四寸ほとにして、紅かのこあさきかのこをとりませ」（鬱金の地色の染め物を、肩から裾まで菊水紋を取り合わせよく、菊花の大きさを四寸ほどに取り、紅鹿子と浅黄鹿子を取り混ぜて）云々と、雛形の名称、色、模様等の説明、指示が記される。詞書きの書きぶりから、本雛形本は、一般の客のほか、機織りや図案、染色などに携わる職人向けでもあったと考えられる。本コレクション本は、林忠正、ハインツ・ケンフルなど旧蔵。

Selected readings:

Jack Hillier, The Art of the Japanese Book, 2 vols. (London: Sotheby’s Publications by Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd., 1987), see esp. vol. 1, 113.

Nakamura Yukihiko 中村幸彦and Hino Tatsuo日野竜夫, Shinpen kisho fukuseikai sōsho『新編稀書複製会叢書35』(Kyoto: Rinsen Shoten, 1991). 

Copies in other collections:

Tenri University, Tenri Central Library

Tokyo University of the Arts, University Library