History Uncovered - Kimono Dress: Japan's Clothing Revolution

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> A SINGLE DRESS IN THE COLLECTION OF A UNIVERSITY.

150-YEAR-OLD HEIRLOOM NOW BEAUTIFULLY RESTORED.

A DRESS BEAUTIFULLY ADORNED.

YET THE PATTERNS ARE TRADITIONALLY JAPANESE.

IN FACT IT WAS MADE WITH FABRIC MADE IN TRADITIONAL KIMONO.

THE KIMONO DRESS.

IS THIS DRESS IS THE PRODUCT OF THE MAJOR RESTORATION.

A TIME WHEN POWER SHIFTED FROM THE SAMUR AI TO A MONARCHY THAT AIMED TO SHAPE JAPAN INTO A MODERN NATION.

THE SAMUR AI CUT THEIR TOP KNOTS AND WOMEN OF THE UPPER CLASSES STARTED WEARING WESTERN DRESSES INSTEAD OF KIMONOS.

IN THE MID OF THIS THE DRESS MADE WITH TRADITIONAL WOVEN SILK FABRIC STANDS OUT.

WHAT WAS THE INTENT IN THE CREATION OF THIS DRESS AND HOW DOES THAT TIE IN WITH THE REVOLUTIONLY SHIFT IN JAPAN 150 YEARS AGO.

THE KIMONO DRESS TELLS A TALE OF HIDDEN JAPANESE HISTORY, STUDYING THE HISTORY OF ANGLO JAPANESE RELATIONS, PROFESSOR ELEANOR YAMAGUCHI LOOKS AT THE FABRIC OF THE MAJOR RESTORATION FROM A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE.

THE BIRTH OF THE KIMONO DRESS HAS ITS ORIGINS IN 1853.

THAT SAME YEAR THE WEST SAW THE OUTBREAK OF THE CRIMEAN WAR AND IN THE EAST CHINESE IMPERIAL POWER WAS SHAKEN BY THE T AI PEI CIVIL WAR.

ALONG THE COAST, FOUR UNITED STATES WAR SHIPS APPEAR BACKED BY MILITARY MIGHT.

THEY DEMAND THAT JAPAN OPEN ITS PORTS.

WITH OTHER WESTERN POWERS INCLUDING GREAT BRITAIN SOON FOLLOWING SUIT JAPAN IS COMPELLED TO OPEN ITS DOORS TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER 200 YEARS.

THIS THEN SPARKED A CIVIL WAR BETWEEN SHOGUN CONSERVATIVES AND REFORMISTS.

THE SHOGUNATE GAVE WAY TO THE GOVERNMENT LED BY THE EM, PEROR WITH THE AIM OF SHAPING JAPAN INTO A MODERN NATION.

THE KIMONO DRESS IS A PRODUCT OF THIS ERA.

PROFESSOR ELEANOR STUDIES JAPANESE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN THE 19th CENTURY.

NOTE THE FORM OF THE DRESS.

A STYLE POPULAR IN 19th CENTURY EUROPE.

IT'S A BUSTLE DRESS.

I LOVE THESE KIND OF FLOWING VICTORIAN DRESSES AND THIS GOWN IS ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC.

YEAH,.

WHAT DETAILS ARE CONNECTED TO THE CREATION OF THE KIMONO DRESS.

WE VISITED A WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY WHICH UNDERTOOK ITS EXAMINATION AND RESTORATION.

WE'RE DIRECTED TO AN UNDERGROUND STORAGE FACILITY HERE THE 150-YEAR-OLD DRESS HAS BEEN REPRODUCED AND STORED.

WOW.

BEAUTIFUL.

THE TRADITIONAL JAPANESE ELEMENTS STAND OUT.

> SHORT SLEEVED KIMONOS WERE ONCE WIDELY WORN BY EVERYBODY FROM COMMON ORS TO ERS TO THE UPPER CLASSES.

THESE WERE CUT AND T AI LORED TO FORM THE KIMONO DRESS.

A CLOSER LOOK REVEALS THE SILK THREADS ON THEM.

THE EMBRODIERY IS ALSO SILK THREAD AND THE FABRIC IS ALSO WOVEN SILK.

THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT POINT WITH IN THE DRESS ITSELF.

SILK.

SOFT, AND LUSTEROUS.

IN THE 19th CENTURY SILK DRESSES WERE A SIGN OF A PROSPEROUS NATION.

THE CRAZE FOR SILK DRESSES MEANT THE KILK THREAD SOLD FOR SUCH HIGH PRICES IT WAS KNOWN AS WHITE DIAMONDS.

BOTH ITALY AND FRANCE WERE KNOWN FOR THEIR WORLD CLASS RAW SILK BUT IN THE 1850s AND 60s DISEASE RAVA GED THE SILK WORMS AND PRODUCTION SUDDENLY DROPPED.

EUROPEAN NATIONS TURNED TO CHINA AS A SOURCE OF IMPORTED SILK BUT THE CIVIL WAR THAT STARTED IN 1851 MEANT CHINESE PRODUCTION ALSO FELL.

BY THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY THERE WAS A GLOBAL SHORTAGE OF RAW SILK.

IT WAS THEN THAT WESTERN EUROPE TURNED TO JAPAN WHICH HAD JUST RECENTLY REOPENED TO WORLD TRADE.

TRADERS EVERY NATION VIED TO PURCHASE JAPANESE RAW SILK.

IT FETCHED 1.5 TIMES THE DOMESTIC PRICE WHEN SOLD FOR EXPORT.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SILK TRADE AT THE TIME WE SPOKE TO AN EXPERT.

> SILK PRODUCTION HAD LONG FLOURISHED IN JAPAN.

BOTH THE REGIONAL LORDS ENCOURAGED THEM TO INCREASE PRODUCTION.

PRODUCTION OF SILK GOODS CENTERED IN KYOTO ALSO EXPANDED.

THE FABRIC WAS PRIZED FOR USE IN HIGH END KIMONOS.

AT THE TIME OF JAPAN'S REOPENING THE HIGH QUALITY RAW SILK THAT SUPPORTED KIMONO CULTURE WAS ALREADY IN WIDE CIRCULATION IN THE DOMESTIC MARKET.

> THE RISING DEMAND FOR SILK OVERSEAS AS JAPAN ENDED IT'S ISOLATION WAS A FORTUNATE HAPPEN STANCE AND SIX YEARS AFTER JAPAN REOPENED TO TRADE IN 1865 RAW SILK ACCOUNTED FOR 80% OF ALL IT'S EXPORTS.

IN JAPAN'S QUEST TO MODERNIZE RAW SILK BECAME AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF FUNDING.

WHITE DIAMONDS.

IN 1872, THE LEADERS OF THE GOVERNMENT HEADED TO EUROPE TO STUDY MODERN NATIONS.

AT THE TIME AN INCIDENT HAPPENED IN GREAT BRITAIN.

SOMEONE SHOWED US A LUMP OF LEAD IN A PACKAGE OF JAPANESE SILK SAYING SEE, THIS IS THE KIND OF FRAUD WE ENDURE.

IT WAS A COMPLAINT AGAINST THE QUALITY OF JAPANESE SILK.

THIS IMAGE DEPICTS OVERSEAS TRADERS WEIGHING RAW SILK FOR EXPORT IN THE OFFICIAL TRADING PORT.

THE PRICE OF RAW SILK WAS DETERMINED BY WEIGHT AS A RESULT THE PRACTICE OF ADDING LEAD OR LINE BECAME A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM.

THERE WAS ANOTHER REASON JAPANESE SILK WAS SEEN AS INFERIOR.

> JAPANESE RAW SILK LOST CREDIT ABILITY CREDIBILITY BUT BRITAIN CONTINUED TO PURCHASE IT.

WHY WAS THIS?

THIS BOOK BY ALCOCK WHO IS THE REPRESENTATIVE IN JAPAN.

THIS IS FROM 1863 BUT IN THEY ARE TALKS ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS FOR TRADE TO -- TO BE SOMETHING THEY COULD DO.

AS LONG AS REMAIN TAKEN TRADE RELATIONS IT'LL BE DIFFICULT TO ANNEX JAPAN WITHOUT OUR CONSENT.

IF THE WESTERN POWERS WITHDRAW IT IT'S ALMOST A CERTAINTY THAT JAPAN WILL SOON BECOME PART OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE.

AT THE TIME RUSSIA WAS PURSUING A POLICY OF SOUTHWARD EXPANSION WITH AN EYE ON ASIA.

IF JAPAN WERE TO BECOME A RUSSIAN COLONY GREAT BRITAIN WOULD LOOSE A FOOT HOLD IN ASIA.

WHO WOULD CONTROL JAPAN?

TRADE WAS THE KEY.

AS THE BRITISH PROVIDED JAPAN WITH A SOURCE OF FOREIGN CURRENCY THEY ALSO CONDUCTED ON SIGHT RESEARCH INSIDE ITS BORDERS.

THE SECRETARY ADAMS OF THE BRITISH EMBASSY TRAVELED RURAL JAPAN TO LOOK AT THE STATE OF SILK CULTIVATION.

HE THEN SAW THE TRADITIONAL HAND MAKING OF SILK THREAD.

GREAT BRITAIN AND OTHER WESTERN POWERS URGE THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT TO MECHANIZE THE PROCESS ARGUING THAT IF THE MACHINES THEN COMMON PRAISE IN EUROPE WAS ADOPTED THAT PRODUCTION VOLUME AND QUALITY OF RAW SILK WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE.

RECORDS FROM THE TIME SHOW THAT ITO A KEY FIGURE IN THE GOVERNMENT RESISTED REPEATED DEMANDS FROM THE GREAT POWERS.

IN THE END A SILK MILL WAS FINALLY ESTABLISHED IN 1872.

FRENCH ENGINEERS WERE BROUGHT IN ALONG WITH 300 FRENCH STYLE MACHINES WHICH WERE THE MOST ADVANCED OF THEIR TIME.

ITO WAS CLEAR THAT'S FACILITY BE OPERATED BY THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT AND SO IT BECAME STATE RUN.

THE MACHINE PULLS THE SILK, BUNDLES THE STRANDS TOGETHER AND TWISTS THEM INTO A SINGLE STRAND OF RAW SILK.

THE IMPROVEMENT IN EFFICIENCY ENABLED MASS PRODUCTION.

APPROXIMATELY 400 ALL FEMALE EMPLOYEES LEARNED THE LATEST WESTERN PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES.

THREE YEARS LATER A MOVEMENT STARTED TO TAKE SHAPE TO DEVELOP COMPETING PRODUCTS INSTEAD OF BORROWING FROM THE WEST.

THE FIRST RAW SILK REELING MACHINE EVER DEVELOPED IN JAPAN.

IT WAS BUILT BY A SILK MERCHANT TAKING YEARS TO COMPLETE.

HE WAS SO ABSORBED IN HIS DEVELOPMENT THAT HE BECAME KNOWN AS A MACHINE FAN.

HE VISITED THE STATE RUN MILL CLOSELY LOOKING AT THE IMPORTED MACHINERY.

THEY ARE BOILED TO LOOSEN THE THREADS AND THEN WOUND BY MACHINE.

WITH WATER SUPPLIED BY IRON PIPES THE FRENCH VERSION WAS ALMOST ENTIRELY MADE OF METAL.

AFTER CONDUCTING HIS RESEARCH HE RETURNED TO WORK ON MAKING IMPROVEMENTS.

THE BASIN WAS MADE OF LOCALLY PRODUCED CERAMICS INSTEAD OF METAL.

HE USED WOOD IN PLACE OF METAL AND MADE THE DESIGN MORE COMPACT.

HE ALSO TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE LOCATION WHICH IS BORDERED BY MOUNTAINS AND LAKES.

> THE POWER TO RUN THE MILL ALSO CAME FROM A WATER WHEEL.

BEING ABLE TO PRODUCE THE MACHINES AT A THIRD THE COST OF IMPORTED SILK REELING EQUIPMENT THE DESIGN QUICKLY SPREAD.

THIS LED TO THE ESTABLISH MEMBER OF SILK MILLS ALL OVER JAPAN AND THE VIEW THAT JAPANESE RAW SILK WAS INFERIOR SLOWLY FADED.

THE MACHINE IS USED TODAY -- EVEN THOUGH IMPROVED HUMAN EXPERIENCE IS STILL AN ESSENTIAL AGREEMENT FOR PRODUCING HIGH QUALITY RAW SILK.

THIS IS THE PROCESS OF ADDING THREADS FROM THE INDIVIDUAL CACOONS.

RAW SILK MADE WITH THE MACHINES IS STILL THE PRIDE OF THE REGION.

> BY 1909 JAPAN BECAME THE WORLD'S LARGEST EXPORTER OF RAW SILK.

ADAPTING METHODS DEVELOPED ABROAD GAVE RISE TO MADE IN JAPAN.

IN TURN BECAME A SOURCE OF FOREIGN CURRENCY SUPPORTING THE BIRTH OF A NEW JAPANESE NATION THAT STARTED WITH THE RESTORATION.

WHO WAS THE WOMAN THAT WORE THE KIMONO DRESS?

THE DRESS WAS THE PROPERTY OF -- BORN AS A DAUGHTER OF THE NOBILITY.

SHE MARRIED AT AGE 26.

THE WEDDING CEREMONY WAS HELD IN ROME.

HER SOON TO BE HUSBAND HAD NOT LONG AFTER THE LOSS OF HIS FIRST WIFE BEEN SENT AS THE JAPANESE ENVOY TO ITALY.

THE FAMILIAR OF THE ROYAL FAMILY WAS RECOMMENDED AS A SUITABLE WIFE FOR A DIPLOMAT AND THE MARRIAGE WAS QUICKLY ARRANGED.

NOW HE DESCRIBES HIS IMPRESSION SOON AFTER HER ARRIVAL.

THERE ARE MANY DINNER PARTIES AND EVENING EVENTS.

NEVER A MOMENT'S REST BUT SHE HANDLES IT EASE.

SHE IS VERY PRETTY LADY.

ISN'T SHE?

YEAH.

HAVING TO WEAR THESE VERY TIGHT FITTING DRESSES.

SHE GOES TO ITALY.

SHE IS PROBABLY NOT USED TO THE LANGUAGE.

SHE IS NOT USED TO THE FOOD.

LOTS OF VERY DIFFICULT THINGS SORT OF COMING INTO HER EXPERIENCE THAT SHE WOULD HAVE REALLY HAD QUITE A BIG CHALLENGE WITH THOSE.

IN 1882, SHE RETURNED TO JAPAN.

THE NEXT YEAR SHE OPENED A NOW FAMOUS GUEST HOUSE FOR FOREIGN DIGNITARIES IN TOKYO.

SHE DREW ON HER EXPERIENCES IN WESTERN HIGH SOCIETY TO BECOME A KEY FIGURE HOSTING DANCES AND OTHER SOCIAL EVENTS.

THE WIV SECONDS OF HIGH RANKING OFFICIALS TO SOON SHIFTED FROM WEARING TRADITIONAL KIMONOS TO WESTERN STYLE DRESS ENGAGING IN THEIR UNIFORM OF DIPLOMACY.

HOWEVER, THIS WAS NOT PARTICULARLY WELL RECEIVED BY THEIR WESTERN COUNTERPARTS.

WE HAVE AN ARTICLE FROM THE LADIES PICTORIAL MAGAZINE WHICH WAS PUBLISHED IN 1889 EXPLAINING HOW THE JAPANESE WOMEN LOOKED IN THEIR WESTERN STYLE DRESSES.

THEY SAY BECAUSE THEY LOST ALL GRACE AND DISTINCTION AND BECAME MERELY BADLY FIGURED LITTLE WOMEN DRESSED IN ATROCIOUS TASTE AND WITH THEIR TOES TURNED IN LIKE SO MANY DUCKS.

ONE LADY WHO APPARENTLY FELT PERFECTLY SATISFIED WITH HER CUSTOM WORE A VERY CRUMPLED AND SHORT DRESS OF SALMON PINK TRIMMED SCARLETT, A SCARLETT OSTRICH.

THIS WAS THE KIND OF ATTITUDE THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE HAD AND OF COURSE IN THE BACK OF THEIR MINDS THEY THINK PLEASE WEAR KIMONO.

ITO ON THE OTHER HAND SAW THINGS DIFFERENTLY.

HE HELD THE CONTRASTING VIEW THAT IF JAPAN WAS A MODERN NATION WESTERN CLOTHING WAS ESSENTIAL.

THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT OUR ENTRY INTO WORLD POLITICS DEMANDS.

WHEN OUR WOMEN ARRIVE IN TRADITIONAL COSTUME THEY ARE SEEN AS TOYS OR DECORATIVE FIGURES.

IN 1887, THE EMPRESS, VOICED HER SUPPORT FOR THE WEARING OF WESTERN DRESS.

WESTERN DRESS IS SIMILAR TO THAT WORN BY WOMEN IN ANCIENT JAPAN DIVIDED IN TO TOP AND BOTTOM ELEMENTS.

AS IT OFFERS MORE FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT IT IS ONLY NATURAL TO ADOPT WESTERN FASHION.

SHE ALSO ARGUED THAT DOMESTIC PRODUCTION OVER IMPORTING WOULD LEAD TO PROSPERITY FOR JAPAN AS A NATION.

IT'S THOUGHT THAT HER WORDS RESONATED INSPIRING HER TO TURN A KIMONO INTO A DRESS.

IT'S ALSO POSSIBLE THAT THE PERSON WHO DID THE SE WING WAS JAPANESE.

> A DESIGN INSPIRED BY THE TRADITIONAL BEAUTY OF THE KIMONO.

SYMBOLICIMBRODIERY FEATURING CHERRY BLOSSOMS IS RETAINED IN THE FORM OF A WESTERN STYLE DRESS.

THOUGH OUTWARDLY WESTERN WE CAN SEE HER DEEP RESPECT FOR THE JAPANESE SPIRIT.

IN 1889 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE EMPIRE OF JAPAN WAS ADOPTED DECLARING JAPAN A MODERN NATION.

JUST 30 YEARS AFTER REOPENING ITS DOORS TO THE WORLD FORMAL ATTIR FOR PUBLIC FUNCTIONS WENT FROM TRADITIONAL KIMONOS WORN FOR OVER A THOUSAND YEARS TO WESTERN ATTIRE.

LOOKING BACK AT THIS 150 YEAR OLD KIMONO DRESS IT'S FRAGILE, SMALL, DELICATE AND YET IT'S STILL DEMONSTRATES A REAL STRENGTH OF JAPANESE SPIRITS WITH WESTERN LEARNING.

I THINK THIS REALLY SHOWS JAPAN'S ABILITY TO ADAPT TO CHANGING TIMES AND YET STILL MAINTAIN IT'S NATIONAL PRIDE.

A HIDDEN HISTORY OF JAPAN'S MODERN -- UNCOACHED THE IN THE FORM OF ITS KIMONO DRESS.

BEHIND THIS CLOTHING REVOLUTION WE SEE JAPAN STRUGGLE TO MAINTAIN ITS IDENTITY IN THE RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD.