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Japanese boys clothes: chronology late-19th century
Japanese Boys' Clothes: Chronology--Late-19th Century (1867-1900)
Figure 1.--The children in this Japanese family were photographed in 1890. Note they are all wearing traditional costumes. The family is unidentified, but the children are almost certainly from a prosperous urban family. What we do not know is if the children dressed up in traditional clothes for the photograph or if they even had Western-styled clothibng.
It is a little difficult to see gender differences in the traditional garments, but the hair styles are apparent. This is a colorized photoraph, not a color photograph.
Japanese boys in the years right after the end of Japan's isolation (1868), continued to wear traditional attire. We do not know a great deal about the traditional garments yet. We do not yet know about specific children's garments or gender differences yet. It is a little difficult to see gender differences in the traditional garments, but the hair styles are apparent (figure 1). With the opening to the west, western clothes were introduced. Western clothes gradually became associated with progress and modernity. Notably at first it was more common to see men and boys in western clothes than women and girls. The ascendancy of military values in the latter 19th Century and the building of a public educational system on German lines, boys
overwhelmingly came to be dressed in school uniforms and the Japanese militarists chose the uniform of the Prussian army cadets. Prussia had succeed in forging German Empire which was beginning to dominate Europe and the Japanese were impressed. Japan began to rapidly modernize after the Menji Restoration. Some Japanese in the cities began to wear Western dress. We believe this was at first largely the urban elite. Western dress continued to be relatively rare among the common people through to the the turn of the century.
For the first time in Japanese history, we see two styles of dress during the late-19th century, traditional and Westrern styles. Traditional clothing continue to be the principal dress for the great bulk of the Jspanese populstion throughout the 19th century, even the lte-19th century. Japanese boys in the years right after the end of Japan's isolation (1868), continued to wear traditional attire. With the opening to the west, western clothes were introduced. Western clothes gradually became associated with progress and modernity. Japan began to rapidly modernize after the Menji Restoration. Some Japanese in the cities began to wear Western dress. We believe this was at first largely the urban elite. Western dress continued to be relatively rare among the common people through to the the turn of the century. We note images from the country side in which everyone is wearing traditional clothing. We belierve this countinued to be the case into the early 20th century. While the traditional clothing was not age specific, Western clothing was. This thus introduced a new dimension to Japanese fashions.
Traditional Garments
We do not know a great deal about the traditional garments yet. We do not yet know about specific children's garments.
Gender Differences
We are not sure about gender differences yet. It is a little difficult to see gender differences in the traditional garments, but the hair styles are apparent (figure 1). Notably at first it was more common to see men and boys in western clothes than women and girls.
School Uniforms
Public education was one of many innovations brought to Japan by the West. Before the Menji restoration there were no public schools in Japan or effort to educate the great bulk of the population. The ascendancy of military values in the latter 19th Century and the building of a public educational system on German lines, boys overwhelmingly came to be dressed in school uniforms and the Japanese militarists chose the uniform of the Prussian army cadets. Prussia had succeed in forging German Empire which was beginning to dominate Europe and the Japanese were impressed.
