The stories clothes tell : voices of working-class Japan / Tatsuichi Horikiri ; edited and translated by Rieko Wagoner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Horikiri, Tatsuichi, 1925- author.

Contributor:

Wagoner, Rieko, editor, translator.

Series:

Asian voices (Rowman and Littlefield, Inc.)

Asian voices : a subseries of Asia/Pacific/perspectives

Standardized Title:

Nuno no inochi. English

Language:

English

Japanese

Subjects (All):

Costume--Japan--History.

Costume.

Oral history.

Working class.

Working class--Clothing.

History.

Japan.

Clothing and dress--Japan--History.

Clothing and dress.

Working class--Clothing--Japan--History.

Japan--Social life and customs.

Manners and customs.

Japan--Social conditions.

Social conditions.

Working class--Japan--Biography.

Japan--Biography.

Oral history--Japan.

Genre:

Biographies.

History.

Physical Description:

xxii, 179 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Maryland : Rowman & Littlefield, [2016]

Summary:

"This compelling social history tells the stories of ordinary people in modern Japan. Tatsuichi Horikiri spent a lifetime searching out old items of clothing and oral history accounts to shed light on those who used these items. He reveals not only the often desperate lives of these people, he illuminates their hopes, aspirations, and human values"--Provided by publisher.

"Spanning decades of research, this compelling social history tells the stories of ordinary people in modern Japan. Tatsuichi Horikiri spent a lifetime searching out old items of clothing--ranging from everyday kimono, work clothes, uniforms, and futons to actors' costumes, diapers, hats, aprons, and bags. Simultaneously he collected oral history accounts to shed light on those who used these items. Horikiri reveals not only the difficult and sometimes desperate lives of these people, most from the lower strata in early twentieth-century Japan, he illuminates their hopes, aspirations, and human values. He also explores such topics as textile techniques, the history of fashion, and the ethnography of clothing and related cultural phenomena. Having been wrongly accused and tortured by the Japanese military police in China during World War II, Horikiri takes a deeply empathetic view of all those who struggle--from peasants and coal miners to traveling salesmen and itinerant performers. This personal connection sets his account apart, giving his writing great power and immediacy. Students and scholars of Japanese history, as well those interested in material culture, labor history, and feminist history, will find this book deeply illuminating"--Publisher's website.

Contents:

Notes to the Reader: Era Designation and Timeline

Map

Kasuri Mattress Cover from Home

Koshimaki petticoat of 83 patches

Echigo-jishi Costume for Boy Dancer

How Many Diapers?

Two Hanten Field Jackets

Okiboda, the Pride of Women

My Teacher's Sunday Best

A Weighty Quilt

Life with a Mosquito Net

A Bed of Wood Shavings

The Meisen the Girl Could Not Wear

Dead Horse

Female Coal Miners

Aunties and Uncles

Rich and Poor

A Begging Girl

Noble-minded Ladies

A Gown of Leaves for the Dead

Katatsuke-gasuri

A Lady in a Dilapidated Mansion

Female Workers in Textile Mills

Forbidden Tears

The Thousand-stitch Waistband

The Rising Sun Kimono That She Wore

Gifts from My Mother

Akemi's Song

Military Uniforms and Shoes

What Mompe Trousers Symbolized

A White Chima Jeogori

Sarasa Print Bed Quilt

Hanten Story

Afterword

Clothing Term Glossary.

Notes:

Originally published in 1990 as a monograph, Nuno no Inochi (The Life of Clothes) by Tokyo publisher Shinnippon Shuppan-sha; a new and expanded edition was brought out by Shinkagaku Shuppan-sha in 2004; the present volume is a translation of the 2004 edition.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Horikiri, Tatsuichi, 1925- Stories clothes tell.

ISBN:

9781442265097

1442265094

9781442265103

1442265108

OCLC:

928606872