Stepping Back in Time: Becoming 12-Layered Princess of Heian Period

New York, N.Y.  I had an interesting experience this New Year: I dressed up, wearing twelve layers of royal costume and transformed myself into a Heian-era princess!

Where I went was a long-standing store called “Iyaka” in Fushimi, Kyoto, which is used to make costumes for shrines and our Imperial court. The costumes are woven from silk yarn, but the yarn itself are all made by hand by themselves in their own hands, and when silkworm cocoon was steamed, a special ceremony is performed, and a cloth is made using this ilk yarn drawn from there one by one. To make a costume. It is a story that makes you feel daunting, but it means that you are stuck with it. I should know this. after all, I am from old celebrated silk family.

Hairstyle and Makeup Also in Heian Era

Not only the costume but also the hair style can be chosen from two types of wigs imitating the haircuts of old princess and I felt that I was truly a princess of the Heian period 1200 years ago. I had a long hair style with a familiar round hair style and a long hair shape hanging on the back that I could see with patterns such as Karuta.

It’s time to wear it. Everyone saw this hairstyle in the papers recently as new empress

The twelve layers were all beautiful: first is a bright red rose, and a white rose. At this stage there are already more than 3 sheets already overlapping. On top of that, yellow, green, red, purple, etc. Anyway, beautiful kimonos will be piled up one after another, so just looking at the colors one by one looks enchanting. Everything is made of silk interwoven with patterns and even those that look plain are interwoven with patterns

Twelve-dan is a formal dress worn by noble women during the Heian period, but is still worn at events of the imperial family. People at Heian period of time were very fashionable, what colors would be on the outer and lining, what colors to bring up and down, and so on. It is said that it was attached. There are many names derived from the season, for example, a combination that has a fresh pinkish green like a pale green, with a pale red “usukoubai” as the front fabric, and a “green” like the “green” as the back fabric. It is said that there is a name “momo-shige.”

Name and Meaning of the Patterns

The pattern in the form of a round shape like a crest has a name and meaning properly, and the one that I wore is “a round crest of a butterfly on a turtle shell," so the pattern in the ground has the shape of a turtle shell This means that they wish to have a longevity of one million years, and that they will definitely move forward step by step.

The mauve, which has a desire for longevity and prosperity, has the meaning of keeping things in step with you from the beginning to the end. The politeness of the mind that can be put into every single Japanese is wonderful.

By the way, people think that it feels very heavy to hear I wore twelve layers , but I was surprised when I wore it as it had a feather-like weight. One ties the strings when one wear first one but when the next one is worn, and tied, the first string is taken away, I take the string of inner one. Everytime one wear, the string of previous one is taken away. So, in the end, we will be tied the whole with two or three strings. Unlike ordinary kimonos, they are light as they have no obi. The whole twelve layers float like a feather.

Anecdote of  “Battle of Dannoura”

At the famous “Dannoura Battle” (1185), Japan’s first national civil war “Genpei Battle,” Tokiko (Wife of Kiyomori’s wife) held a young Emperor Antoku , and said to him “At the bottom of this sea, an extravagant Pure Land under the Wave so we are going there” they jumped into the sea. But the air came in between the twelve layers of Tokiko’s costume, and floated up softly, and they were saved by someone. Minamoto Yoritomo searched and searched decades for the whereabouts of Tokiko and Antoku Emperor, and the Tenkuun-sword, which is one of the sacred treasures of the emperor’s households, for several years, but it has never been found.

On the day when this manuscript was finished, an article of Emperor Antoku appeared on the Asahi Shimbun (February 23, 2019). According to the article (and I often have this kind of thing), , the Emperor Antoku survived, around Shikoku mountainous area and takes a wife in Yokokurayama in Kochi prefecture and dies at 23 years old in 1200, It is said that there is also the tomb of Antoku Emperor. Did the costume of twelve layers save their lives?

Mysterious Feelings that Time Slipped

Wearing Twelve layers will make feel like a time-slip, so it is so mysterious, forget the reality of yourself today and your time, and feel so fluffy and elegant. I am truly grateful for this valuable experience as a peaceful old Japanese.

Originally published as Vol. 63 in  Weekly Biz , January 22, 2019; translated by Jim Luce.

See:  Dr. Kazuko Hillyer Tatsumura Column in Japan’s Weekly Biz

(ニューヨークビズ！)

Dr. Kazuko ,  Gaia Holistic Foundation ,  Japan ,  Japanese essay ,  Kazuko Hillyer Tatsumura

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