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[[File:Ryukyu-official.jpg|right|thumb|250px|A man in the costume of a [[scholar-aristocracy of Ryukyu|scholar-aristocrat official]], with purple (First or Second Rank) ''[[hachimaki]]'']]
The colors and types of materials worn by aristocrats indicated their rank. This was seen especially in the colors of the ''[[hachimaki]]'' (court cap or turban) and court robes, and in the material (gold or silver) used to make hairpins. A summary of the significance of colors in the court costume of male officials is included in the description of [[Ryukyuan court ranks]].
==Medieval Ryukyu==
During the First Shô Dynasty, Ryukyuan court costume is believed to have closely resembled the Chinese ''[[changshan|chángshān]]'', a long shirt that wrapped around the body. Officials wore white, black, or red robes depending on their rank; all had embroidered designs along the openings of the sleeves and of the neck. ''[[Hachimachi]]'' court caps and hairpins also indicated rank.<ref name=uezato28>Uezato Takashi, ''Dare mo mita koto no nai Ryukyu'', Naha: Borderink (2008), 28.</ref>
Both during the First Shô Dynasty and throughout the early modern period, members of the royal family, [[Kumemura]] elites, and certain others wore court costume in the style of the [[Ming Dynasty]] on certain special occasions, including when traveling overseas on diplomatic embassies.<ref name=uezato28/>
==Early Modern Ryukyu==
While the royal and aristocratic classes are today strongly associated with the colorful ''bingata'', traditionally they would have worn ''bingata'' robes only when going out of the palace; in the private areas of the castle, members of the royal family were more likely to wear a simpler outfit of a red ''dujin'' wrap-shirt and white ''kakan'' skirt, throwing a ''bingata'' robe over this when going out.<ref>Okinawan traditional clothing demonstration, East-West Center International Conference in Okinawa, Sept 2014.</ref> ''Bingata'' was not generally worn for major court ceremonies, and further it was typically only worn by adult women and by young people (both male and female); adult men typically only wore ''bingata'' as a costume for dance or theater.<ref>''Bingata! Only in Okinawa'', 91, 112.</ref>
By contrast, the typical men's garment worn during official duties was a simple black robe, cinched at the waist. Known as ''kuruchô'' (黒朝, lit. "black court [robes]"), it was often made of extremely fine ''bashôfu'' fibers, woven so finely as to have a texture similar to silk.<ref>''Bingata! Only in Okinawa'', 112.</ref>
The colors of women's garments were also significant, indicating the rank of their husband or family. The queen and royal princesses wore goldish yellow silk or satin damask, a color long considered an Imperial color in China, while wives of ''[[anji]]'' or ''[[ueekata]]'' wore ''[[kasuri]]'' (ikat) fabrics, especially ''tsumugi'', in green or pale blue (or yellow, for higher-ranking ''anji'' families). Pink ''kasuri'' garments indicated wives of those of ''[[peechin]]'' or ''[[satunushi]]'' status, while the wives of the ''[[chikudun]]'', the lowest-ranking nobles, wore blue ''kasuri''. The highest ranking noblewomen wore gold hairpins, while other noblewomen wore silver; commoners wore hairpins made of copper, brass, bronze, wood, or other materials. Deep blue garments dyed with indigo were standard among the commoner/peasant class; these were made of various materials, including ''bashôfu'' and cotton, but excluding ramie (''jôfu''), which was off-limits for commoners. ''Kasuri'' garments were worn by members of all classes, from the royalty down to the peasantry,<ref>Gallery labels, Naha City Museum of History, August 2013.</ref> but particularly large ''kasuri'' patterns were limited to the aristocracy.<ref>''Bingata! Only in Okinawa'', 108.</ref>
The colors and types of materials worn by aristocrats indicated their rank. This was seen especially in the colors of the ''[[hachimaki]]'' (court cap or turban) and court robes, and in the material (gold or silver) used to make hairpins. A summary of the significance of colors in the court costume of male officials is included in the description of [[Ryukyuan court ranks]].
==Medieval Ryukyu==
During the First Shô Dynasty, Ryukyuan court costume is believed to have closely resembled the Chinese ''[[changshan|chángshān]]'', a long shirt that wrapped around the body. Officials wore white, black, or red robes depending on their rank; all had embroidered designs along the openings of the sleeves and of the neck. ''[[Hachimachi]]'' court caps and hairpins also indicated rank.<ref name=uezato28>Uezato Takashi, ''Dare mo mita koto no nai Ryukyu'', Naha: Borderink (2008), 28.</ref>
Both during the First Shô Dynasty and throughout the early modern period, members of the royal family, [[Kumemura]] elites, and certain others wore court costume in the style of the [[Ming Dynasty]] on certain special occasions, including when traveling overseas on diplomatic embassies.<ref name=uezato28/>
==Early Modern Ryukyu==
While the royal and aristocratic classes are today strongly associated with the colorful ''bingata'', traditionally they would have worn ''bingata'' robes only when going out of the palace; in the private areas of the castle, members of the royal family were more likely to wear a simpler outfit of a red ''dujin'' wrap-shirt and white ''kakan'' skirt, throwing a ''bingata'' robe over this when going out.<ref>Okinawan traditional clothing demonstration, East-West Center International Conference in Okinawa, Sept 2014.</ref> ''Bingata'' was not generally worn for major court ceremonies, and further it was typically only worn by adult women and by young people (both male and female); adult men typically only wore ''bingata'' as a costume for dance or theater.<ref>''Bingata! Only in Okinawa'', 91, 112.</ref>
By contrast, the typical men's garment worn during official duties was a simple black robe, cinched at the waist. Known as ''kuruchô'' (黒朝, lit. "black court [robes]"), it was often made of extremely fine ''bashôfu'' fibers, woven so finely as to have a texture similar to silk.<ref>''Bingata! Only in Okinawa'', 112.</ref>
The colors of women's garments were also significant, indicating the rank of their husband or family. The queen and royal princesses wore goldish yellow silk or satin damask, a color long considered an Imperial color in China, while wives of ''[[anji]]'' or ''[[ueekata]]'' wore ''[[kasuri]]'' (ikat) fabrics, especially ''tsumugi'', in green or pale blue (or yellow, for higher-ranking ''anji'' families). Pink ''kasuri'' garments indicated wives of those of ''[[peechin]]'' or ''[[satunushi]]'' status, while the wives of the ''[[chikudun]]'', the lowest-ranking nobles, wore blue ''kasuri''. The highest ranking noblewomen wore gold hairpins, while other noblewomen wore silver; commoners wore hairpins made of copper, brass, bronze, wood, or other materials. Deep blue garments dyed with indigo were standard among the commoner/peasant class; these were made of various materials, including ''bashôfu'' and cotton, but excluding ramie (''jôfu''), which was off-limits for commoners. ''Kasuri'' garments were worn by members of all classes, from the royalty down to the peasantry,<ref>Gallery labels, Naha City Museum of History, August 2013.</ref> but particularly large ''kasuri'' patterns were limited to the aristocracy.<ref>''Bingata! Only in Okinawa'', 108.</ref>
