Since the end of the Heian period, the Yamashina family has inherited the "Yamashina School of Emondo," a family profession in Kyoto that is responsible for the tailoring and wearing of court attire for the nobility. Tokichika Yamashina, the young head of the family, who is in his 30th generation since the founder, will unravel the occasional events that have taken place at the Imperial Court and in the society of the nobility, as well as the culture that has been handed down through the ages, along with costumes and ancient documents remaining in the Yamashina family.
Attention was focused on the details of Prince Hisahito's coming-of-age ceremony and his attire.
Prince Hisahito's coming-of-age ceremony was held on September 6th of this year. Since the current post-war coming-of-age ceremony for the Imperial Family began, this was the first time a male member of the Imperial Family had come of age in 40 years since his father, Prince Fumihito, and attention was focused on the details of the ceremony and the attire. Prince Hisahito wore two different attires, one before and one after the coronation ceremony, and both were in the Yamashina style.
Two schools of kimono, the Yamashina school and the Takakura school, were established from the Middle Ages to the early modern period and continue to this day. When we think about the tea ceremony, various tools have been developed for the single act of drinking tea, and many schools exist depending on the style and manners of using them. In the same way, as knowledge and techniques have been accumulated in the way of wearing clothes, little by little differences have emerged.
For example, the costume worn by Prince Hisahito this time has two pleats in the sleeves, which is a characteristic of the Yamashina style. Court attire is a single, large garment that must be worn beautifully, like origami, adjusted to fit the width and length of the body. The sleeves of the robe, the top garment, are made so long that they do not reach the arms when worn normally, so the excess sleeves are trimmed to fit the length of the arms.
The procedure for the Imperial Coming-of-Age Ceremony in modern times was established at the Imperial Coming-of-Age Ceremony in 42. Later, as new details such as the color of the costumes were established, costumes were researched for the Coming-of-Age Ceremony of Prince Hirohito (Emperor Showa) held in 8, and correspondence exchanged between the Imperial Household Ministry at the time and the Ministry from 6 has been preserved. This Imperial Household Ministry letter paper lists the costumes to be used at the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, and the pale yellow "keteki no hou" (cloth with a cloud and crane crest) worn by Prince Hisahito this time can be seen in the catalog. @Yamashina
The diary of the Yamashina family ancestors contains an article about former clothing worn during the Sengoku period.
Before the Edo period, the coming-of-age ceremony was called Genpuku. There are many records of the attire worn at the ceremony in the diaries of our ancestors, but here we will introduce an article about the attire worn by Prince Masahito, the first son of Emperor Ogimachi during the Sengoku period.
"Gotokyoki" entry for July 11, 1568 (Eiroku 12)
"In the evening, the Emperor brought his coming-of-age ceremony uniform, and the two ladies-in-waiting ascended to the throne of the Imperial Palace, and passed by the Grand Minister of State through the Rokumanri-koji road.
One Owarahashiyausoku, one Okaufuri, one Onasashi, one Okoshi, one Osashinuki, one Harashiro-yosuchi, one Oshita no Hakama, one Okomotoyuhi One Otokoshiyausoku, one Okaufuri, one Onasashi, one Okoshi, one Okoshi, that's all
Today, the Emperor visited the palace to offer a cup of sake, and each barrel was presented, and every evening, he visited the palace in the three-room hall (omitted)."
We will not go into the details of the costumes described in the Meroku (Record) here, but two types of costumes were prepared, and they were changed from "Owaraha (child) shiyausoku (costumes)" to "Ootoko (man) shiyausoku (costumes)," which shows the importance of starting to wear adult clothing, as the name "Genpuku" suggests.
Records also contain exchanges regarding the preparation of the attire required for the coming-of-age ceremony leading up to the day itself, revealing the careful preparations that went into making these preparations as part of their duties. What is interesting is that on this day a banquet called "Oko-oshimi" was held, where courtiers gathered to celebrate the milestone of seeing the prince in his childlike form for the last time.
This is a register of disciples who learned kimono in the Yamashina style during the late Edo period. For each secret technique in kimono, the date of transmission and the affiliation of the person are recorded. This register of disciples includes many names of retainers from various feudal lords, indicating the high level of interest in kimono at the time.
This is a sample of the oath submitted by those who become disciples of the Yamashina family. There were certain rules for entering the school, such as not teaching what had been bestowed upon them to anyone, even their own parents and siblings. It is known that similar oaths existed for other arts as well.
This year's harvest moon coincided with the Emperor and Empress's stay at the Omiya Imperial Palace. The full moonlight brightly illuminated the palace.
Now, there is a culture of viewing the harvest moon in August of the lunar calendar. Even within the Imperial Palace during the Edo period, this was called Tsuki Gomi, and even though it was done in the back of the palace, moon viewing itself was an annual event. There was an interesting custom in which the Emperor would poke a hole in an eggplant with bush clover and then gaze at the view through the hole while reciting a waka poem three times. This year's harvest moon coincided with the Emperor and Empress's stay at the Omiya Palace, and the light of the full moon illuminated the palace brightly.
On September 8th this year, a total lunar eclipse was visible nationwide, and I watched it from the site of the Tsuchimikado-dai residence, where Fujiwara no Michinaga once lived. There is a plaque marking the site of the Tsuchimikado-dai residence on the north side of the Seiwain Gate of the current Kyoto Imperial Palace, and to the south of there, in the area currently known as the Sento Imperial Palace, was Michinaga's residence at the time. I was able to relive the feelings of Michinaga at the place where he is said to have composed his famous poem about the full moon. @Yamashina
This is a waka poem written by Prince Arisugawa Taruhito (1835-1895). Entitled "Yorigetsu-iwai" (Celebrating the Moon), it reads, "The light of the moon shining through the heavens is the mirror of an unclouded era." It displays the unique style of calligraphy that has been passed down through the imperial family known as the Arisugawa school. Last year, a Kyoto fair was held at Hiroo Plaza in Hiroo, Tokyo, where long-established Kyoto businesses exhibited, and this waka poem, which is associated with Arisugawa Park in Hiroo, became the theme of the entire fair. The hanging scroll was displayed at a tea ceremony supervised by Udagawa Munemitsu, the 18th head of the Sowa school, which follows the tradition of noble tea from Kanamori Sowa, also known as Hime Sowa. @Yamashina
In the past, the Iwashimizu Hojoe Festival was held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, the mid-autumn festival.
The Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine's Iwashimizu Hojoe festival was held on the mid-autumn festival day of August 15th on the lunar calendar until the Edo period. Currently, it is held as the imperial festival Iwashimizu Festival on September 15th on the solar calendar, but when it was held according to the lunar calendar, the gods were welcomed from Mt. Otoko every year under the brilliant light of the full moon. Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine is a syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism, so in the past there were many temples on Mt. Otoko, and Buddhist rituals were also held there. The Hojoe festival is a Buddhist ceremony that warns against killing, and is still held today by Shinto priests at the Hojogawa River that flows next to the shrine.
After the Meiji Restoration, it became difficult to hold the Iwashimizu Festival in its traditional form, and there was a period of confusion, including a name change, but in 17, Emperor Meiji wished to preserve the old rituals, and the festival was reorganized in accordance with the tradition of welcoming imperial envoys. The fact that the ritual has been carefully preserved in this way has made it an extremely significant venue for the practical transmission of kimono-mon techniques.
The Iwashimizu Festival, which takes place throughout the night, is attended by many actors dressed in formal men's attire, known as sokutai, under the light of torches. This precious ritual, reminiscent of the atmosphere of the morning ceremonies of the past, is held every year, and various traditions, such as the techniques of tying clothing and the preparation of special offerings, are preserved and passed down. @Yamashina
We are holding a gathering to listen to the sounds of autumn insects in the east area of the Imperial Palace.
For the past few years, we have been holding an autumn insect listening event every September in the east area of the Imperial Palace. We invite a professor knowledgeable about the ecology of chirping insects to teach us about the characteristics of insect sounds and their cultural connections with people. As we walk through the darkness, our ears become clearer and we gradually become able to distinguish between their sounds. During the long autumn nights, taking a little time to be aware of the changes in nature around us, such as the waxing and waning of the moon and the sounds of insects, makes us feel grateful to be able to touch the source of the delicate sensibilities of our ancestors, who wrote waka poetry about these things.
Written by Anenokoji Kintomo (1840-1863), a nobleman from the late Edo period. The poem, titled "Dawn Bugs," includes the following lines: "Awakening alone in the morning, the lonely dawn, the voice of a pine cicada close to my pillow," and "Thoughts of me, the shadow of the dawn moon, cold, even in my sad bed, no insects will grow." Kintomo was known as a vanguard of the anti-foreigner faction, and in 1863 (Bunkyu 3), during the Sakuhiramon Incident (Sarugatsuji Incident), he was attacked near the northeast corner of the Imperial Palace, near his home. His grave is located at Seijoka-in Temple (the Yamashina family temple), east of the Imperial Palace. @Yamashina
Yamashina Tokichika / Young head of the Yamashina school of kimono. Born in Kyoto in 1995, he completed his master's course at the Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies at Kyoto University. He is the 30th successor to the Yamashina family (former nobles) who have passed down the tradition of preparing and wearing "shozoku", the attire worn at the Imperial Court for generations. He performs kimono at the three imperial festivals "Kasuga Festival", "Kamo Festival", and "Iwashimizu Festival", as well as the "Reiwa Grand Ceremony". He also appears in various media, gives lectures to companies, government agencies, and cultural organizations, plans exhibitions, and conducts customs research for history programs. He is involved in a wide range of activities to spread the tradition of Imperial Palace culture, serving as the representative director of the Yamashina Yusoku Research Institute and a researcher at the Doshisha University Imperial Court Culture Research Center.
Photos by Azusa Todoroki (bowpluskyoto)
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The 30th young head of the Yamashina School of Imondo, Yamashina Genchika…
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