Monday, March 7, 2022

The Stories Clothes Tell

Horikiri Tatsuichi

The Stories Clothes Tell: Voices of Working-Class Japan 

Lanham: Lexinton Books, 2016



One of the frustrations of researching cultural minutia in Japanese entertainment is the lack of information on traditional clothing.

Books on traditional Japanese clothing are almost always about formal kimono that only a very small percentage of the population would have worn. I find this frustrating as while there are excellent kimono books with good solid information finding out about the clothing worn by farmers and laborers is almost impossible. This book is a strong exception as it is about working people's clothing.

Originally published as magazine and newspaper articles the volume covers a large range of types of clothing, and other cloth items, that the author collected. Not only were the items themselves collected the tales behind them were also gathered. Anyone interested in the social history of the poor, of clothing, and more in Japan will find this one a rewarding read.

https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442265103/The-Stories-Clothes-Tell-Voices-of-Working-Class-Japan


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