Suikan

A woman wearing a red Suikan at a festival.

A suikan (水干) is a type of clothing that used to be worn by low-ranking officials serving the imperial court during the Heian period (794-1185). It is generally worn over other clothes. The word "Suikan" literally means "water-drying," referring to the process of stretching the cloth and drying it without using glue. The clothing is a sliding-door type of jacket with a single-breasted body and open sides, and the collar is tied with a kumihimo cord. The term "suikan hakama" is also used to refer to the long hakama worn with the Suikan, although the exact meaning of this term is somewhat debated. It is considered a quite formal form of clothing. It features very large sleeves that attach to the shoulders for a short distance. The garment is made from one very wide fabric panel. The sides are open. This shows the clothes worn underneath.

Overview

Suikan of a single color and plain fabric are used for less formal ones, and for lower ranked people.

They are tied together with knots at the necks and shoulders.

In the late Heian period, various materials were used to make Suikan, including white linen, plain-colored cloth, and tie-dyed cloth. Warriors who became lower-ranked military officers of the court also wore Suikan, which gradually became a formal attire. From the Kamakura period to the Muromachi period, samurai wore Suikan as formal dress along with hunting clothes.

It is made with a single body (no backstitching) with a rounded collar, similar to a hunter's robe. However, the collar is not fastened with a dragonfly, but with a string attached to the back center of the collar and the upper front edge of the collar. The breast and sleeves are decorated with chrysanthemum ornaments. The long part pierced through is called "oohari," the short part "kohari," and the remainder below is called "dew".。

The Suikan was typically worn in the banryo style, but a method was devised to wear it in the tari-kubi style with the collar folded inward. A braided cord was used to reinforce and decorate the garment, and the wearer would typically wear a kuboshi hat and kukuri hakama with the Suikan.

Various materials have been used for making Suikan, such as hemp cloth, plain silk, twill, and gauze. Fancier ones are made entirely of silk. The hem of the Suikan is tied together with a braided cord to prevent fraying, and tucked into the hakama.

Some suikan have kikutoji for decoration. They make the clothing stronger at certain points, and are often made of silk yarn. They look like pom-poms that have been flattened by ironing.

See also

• Kimono
• Miko clothing
• Japanese clothing