Changes

Cotton is also more receptive to dyes and printing techniques than ramie, and so in the early Tokugawa period, many middle- and lower-status members of society who still could not afford [[silk]], could now for the first time in history, afford more colorful garments with more complex designs.

Cotton is also more receptive to dyes and printing techniques than ramie, and so in the early Tokugawa period, many middle- and lower-status members of society who still could not afford [[silk]], could now for the first time in history, afford more colorful garments with more complex designs.

Cotton was only first introduced to the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryûkyû Islands]] in the 17th century, and never became particularly widespread (before the modern era).<ref>''Bingata! Only in Okinawa'', Okinawa Prefectural Government (2016), 74.</ref> However, it was a prominent enough product on [[Kumejima]] that Kumejima cotton was among the products given by the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] as gifts to the [[Tokugawa shogunate]].<ref>Miyagi Eishô 宮城栄昌, ''Ryûkyû shisha no Edo nobori'' 琉球使者の江戸上り, Tokyo: Daiichi Shobô (1982), 108-110.</ref>

Cotton was only first introduced to the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryûkyû Islands]] in the 17th century, and never became particularly widely cultivated.<ref name=bingata>''Bingata! Only in Okinawa'', Okinawa Prefectural Government (2016), 74.</ref> However, it was commonly worn by members of the royalty, aristocracy, and the wealthier classes of [[Naha]]/[[Shuri]] urbanites,<ref name=bingata/> and it was a prominent enough product on [[Kumejima]] that Kumejima cotton was among the products given by the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] as gifts to the [[Tokugawa shogunate]].<ref>Miyagi Eishô 宮城栄昌, ''Ryûkyû shisha no Edo nobori'' 琉球使者の江戸上り, Tokyo: Daiichi Shobô (1982), 108-110.</ref>

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