i like my jeans

In the Heian Period (776-1184) court women wore extremely elaborate kimonos. The most common of these was the Nyoboshozoku, the Twelve Layer Kimono. The colors and their layering order would change with the season, but even during Kyoto’s stifling summers the women would wear twelve layers of heavy silk. This constituted over 20 pounds of clothing. My friend’s friend, Maiko, did her senior project on traditional Heian clothing. As part of it, she sewed the outermost layer of the Twelve Layer Kimono. Today, with the cooperation of Shimogamo Shrine, she modeled the entire costume. I was invited to the event.

The ten under layers.



Full twelve layer kimono of a Heian court lady



Could a court woman actually play the koto in such heavy clothes, as drawn in pictures of the Tale of Genji? Maiko attempted to play, but it was extremely difficult.



Heian women were often hidden from view, tempting the men only by the display of the layers of their kimono and the rustling of the silk.
Maiko models one of these scenes from the Tale of Genji.