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The NCC is collaborating with institutions and scholars to release a monthly series on our blog entitled Japanese Studies Spotlight. These features showcase exciting online collections available to researchers and students in Japanese Studies, introducing the archive or project, describing their contents, and demonstrating how they can be usefully engaged in research or in the classroom. If you are interested in submitting something to the series, please contact Paula R. Curtis, NCC’s Digital Media Manager, at digitalmediamanager@nccjapan.org.
Haruko Takahashi and Keiko Suzuki, Minpaku Costume Database (MCD) Project
Closely connected to the humanities, natural sciences, and the arts, the study of clothing culture is vital for deepening our understanding of the relationship between material culture and human activity. From this perspective, the Minpaku Costume Database (MCD) Project has been publishing the Shinsō Culture Digital Archive on the website of the National Museum of Ethnology (hereafter "Minpaku") since 1984.[1] This project is a collaboration among professionals from various fields, including the humanities, sciences, and library and information sciences.[2] The digital archive was initiated by Professor Emeritus Hiroshi Daimaru (1933–2017) of the Minpaku museum.
Shinsō 身装, (characters literally meaning “body” and “clothing”), is a term project members coined to conceptualize the integration of body and clothing within their research resources. When visually recognizing a person, one typically notices the face first, then the overall appearance, including clothing, and finally the body movements and gestures. Based on this recognition process, shinsō is used by our team to encompass these three aspects and, further, assumes that all of them are always recognized within a specific scene.
By defining shinsō in this way, we gather both textual and visual materials that reflect the cultural context of such scenes. Our digital archive consists of four databases, each structured around resources that reflect this shinsō concept:
Although all four databases have a wealth to offer, this article will focus on the Chronology of Japanese Clothing Culture in the Modern Age 近代日本の身装電子年表 and the Image Database of Japanese Clothing Culture in the Modern Age 身装画像データベース. These two databases address clothing culture for approximately the first eighty years of Japan’s modern period—from the time around the Meiji Restoration (1868) to the end of World War II (1945). During these decades of significant change, a visible tension existed between traditional Japanese clothing and Western clothing, with the latter eventually becoming more common in the everyday. As acculturation accompanying modernization in daily life, shinsō during this era was vividly embodied by newly emerging cultural indices such as “formal wear (フォーマルウェア),” “modern girl (モダンガール),” “Western clothing (洋装),” “professional women’s attire (職業婦人の服装),” and “reformed dress (改良服). Minpaku’s databases provide an important resource for tracing when and how these practices changed over the course of Japan’s entrance into a modern, global stage.
Our Chronology of Japanese Clothing Culture in the Modern Age database has two main objectives:
The main sources for this database are contemporaneous newspapers and magazines, including not only the three major newspapers, Mainichi Shimbun (and its predecessor Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun 東京日々新聞), Asahi Shimbun, and Yomiuri Shimbun, but also Kokumin Shimbun 国民新聞, Miyako Shimbun 都新聞, and magazines such as Jogaku zasshi 女学雑誌, Iratsume 以良都女, Fuzoku gahō 風俗画報, Shin shōsetsu 新小説, and even department store catalogs. In selecting articles from such sources for the chronology, we specifically identified key themes to reflect acculturation and based our selection on the themes. To set the themes, we primarily employed a method of extracting keywords that frequently appeared in articles at the time. As a result, we were able to establish a total of thirty-three key themes, including those previously mentioned, such as "formal wear" and "modern girl," as well as "standard uniform," "national uniform," "body image," "body shape," "posture," "movement," "hygiene," and "female students."
The chronology is organized into four categories:
Figure 1. Display Screen (source document image opens in a new window)
The chronology provides clear citations for its content and, in some instances, images of the original document are available for viewing directly on the webpage (Figure 1).
How can this chronology help debunk misconceptions in clothing history? Let’s look at one example, the Shirokiya Department Store fire in 1932. One of the major urban fires of the early twentieth century, the deaths and injuries of many saleswomen were widely reported at the time. As they descended from the burning upper floors, they allegedly became embarrassed by the possibility that onlookers might glimpse beneath their kimono (it was not custom to wear drawers, a Western-style undergarment, with kimono); allegedly, they attempted to hold down the hems of their kimono to hide their bodies, thus, letting go of the safety rope.[3] Subsequent reporting claimed that had the women been wearing drawers (zuroosu ズロース) then they would not have been in such danger. Widely referenced summaries of the event, such as the Japanese-language Wikipedia article, claim that “the widespread use of zuroosu did not begin until about ten years after the fire,” but an exploration of our digital chronology reveals a complex history of women’s undergarments.
Figure 2. Excerpt from Yomiuri Shimbun, May 25, 1919, Page 4, discussing clothing practices of high school girls of Ochanomizu.
According to various articles from the Yomiuri Shimbun, in 1881, the newspaper informed the reader of the existence of knitted half-length drawers for women (January 19, 1881), and some years later, in 1902, an obstetrician advocated that "women should start wearing drawers as soon as possible" (December 15, 1902). Furthermore, in 1919, an article reported that the most prestigious school for girls in those days (present-day Ochanomizu University Senior High School) had all the female students wear drawers (May 26, 1919) (Figure 2). From this information, it can be inferred that by the time of the 1932 Shirokiya Department Store fire, drawers had become fairly widespread, especially within educational institutions, and a significant proportion of women were wearing them in their daily lives. As such, the records in our chronology raise questions as to the veracity of these rumors and it is possible to gain new insights into this period by cross-referencing different sources of data. Our Chronology of Japanese Clothing Culture in the Modern Age database of primary source records assists researchers and students in locating original materials that can be used for fact-checking and verification.
The Image Database of Japanese Clothing Culture in the Modern Age was created as a byproduct of the aforementioned Chronology database. While selecting newspaper articles for our text-based chronology, we also began paying close attention to the sizable number of illustrations that accompanied serialized novels published in newspapers, as they accurately depicted clothing of the time. With this in mind, we felt it was important to also create an image-focused database.
Figure 3. Screenshot of the Image Database front page
These serialized novel illustrations are a highly reliable source of visual information, being both dated and accompanied by contextualized explanations. While newspapers had largely transitioned to letterpress printing by the late 1880s, they continued to use woodblock prints for the illustrations, which were inserted into the letterpress pages. Because of this, the illustrations were large enough for the reader to clearly see details, making them highly valuable as sources of visual information on clothing and personal appearance. Particularly between the late 1880s and the late 1890s, many illustrations faithfully visualized the characters, costumes, and settings, as meticulously described by the authors. Women's hairstyles—for example, the shimada style for unmarried women and the marumage style for married women—were rendered with striking detail, down to individual strands of hair, and played an important role in indicating a figure’s social status (Figure 4).
Figure 4. A newspaper excerpt depicting a shimada hairstyle (along with closeup). Tokyo Asahi Shimbun, May 18, 1902, Page 4.
However, there are some important caveats to keep in mind. Women's faces in particular tended to be idealized—even unintentionally—by the illustrators. Moreover, in earlier printed works, illustrators at times depicted figures with exaggerated gestures reminiscent of mie poses in kabuki theater. Nevertheless, illustrations for serialized novels tend to be highly credible sources of information on shinsō. This was due to the close collaboration between writers, illustrators, and woodblock carvers, as well as the enthusiastic response they received from readers. By examining a wide range of these images, one can gain an understanding of the lifestyle and contexts of ordinary people, as well as people's shinsō awareness. To provide one example of the types of inquiries our databases can assist with, consider the following question we received from a researcher overseas studying the works of the Japanese author Yasunari Kawabata: “What kind of shape does a kaimaki form of kakebuton (duvet) have?” A kaimaki is a kimono-shaped padded bedding. Designed to cover the neck and shoulders securely, it offers excellent heat retention. In response to this question, we could provide not only an illustration that demonstrates how kaimaki is actually used, but also visual information of the shape of the kaimaki itself (Figures 5 and 6).[4]
Figures 5 (left) and 6 (right). Figure 5. Example of a Finished Yogi Diagram (from New Selection of Japanese and Western Sewing Techniques, Volume II by Chiyo Horikoshi, 1929); Figure 6. Illustration of a Kaimaki (from the serialized novel Kongōban, Osaka Asahi Shimbun, October 13, 1903).
Such illustrations can provide detailed and specific information, often with accompanying dates down to the year and month. By contrast, photographs—another important source of visual information—rarely provide clear dates. Phrases such as “early Meiji period” are often used, but what constitutes “early” or “middle” can vary from person to person, making it difficult to translate these terms into specific years. Furthermore, because cameras were expensive at the time, photographs tended to capture people in their best clothes or as a part of special scenes which were deemed “photograph-worthy.” As a result, everyday life was rarely made the subject of photography. For these reasons, while eager to include more posters, photographs, and other visual materials from the period, the core of this image database consists of newspaper serialized novel illustrations.
The Database’s metadata consists of seventeen fields, including sources of textual and visual information as well as free keywords. For searching images, we offer several methods. The Shinsō Image Codes are codes that represent concepts associated with images and serve as an alternative to a thesaurus. Since images themselves have low referentiality, their meanings often rely on accompanying textual information or the viewer’s prior knowledge. Items that may have been considered ordinary or unremarkable at the time may carry significant cultural meaning for us today. Yet, such items often went undescribed in the original text, making it difficult to rely solely on the textual content for one’s investigation. As a result, the database’s curated image codes are an important part of making these materials accessible for researchers.
The image codes are divided into ten conceptual categories, ranging from clothing items to background settings. Within each category, subordinate concepts are organized hierarchically, and synonymous or closely related terms are grouped under a single code (e.g., "D0bo: [irezumi (tattooing in general); horimono (full-body tattooing in the traditional style); body painting]").
The ten conceptual categories are as follows:
K: Scenery 景観
G: Building Exteriors 建造物等の外観
H: Interiors 屋内
J: Non-Specific Scenes 不特定情景
D: Physical Issues and Clothing Styles/Beauty からだの問題と着装態様・美容
P: Clothing in General (Western Clothing and Shared Classifications) 衣服一般（西洋衣服と共通形態区分）
V: Japanese Clothing (including individual elements, accessories, and manufacturing) 和装（部分、付属品、加工含む）
W: Accessories in General アクセサリー一般
Q: Characteristics of Materials and Surfaces 素材・表面特性一般
E: Techniques 技術一般
Another method of searching content that might otherwise be difficult to locate is the “comment” field of the database’s metadata. For each illustration, our team has developed short commentary (about 300 Japanese characters; see Figure 8) assessing the content with our shinsō perspective in mind and, when relevant, referring to information from the accompanying novel. Currently, our English-language team is working on translating these comments and the associated keywords.
Figures 7 (left) and 8 (right). Figure 7. Search Results matrix display of 車夫 (rickshaw puller) as a free keyword). Figure 8. One entry from the subsequent Search Results.
Though organized independently from the above-mentioned interface, the database’s reference notes also provide explanations on 245 individual topics, categorized under the themes such as “Contexts of Dress,” “The Body,” “Beauty,” “Accessories,” “Materials and Clothing,” “Wearers and TPO (Time, Place, Occasion),” “Industry and Distribution,” “Media and Environment,” “Ethnicity and Folklore,” and “Summary.” These notes serve as a highly useful tool for deepening one’s understanding of the image data, or for obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the period. Through these and many other interactive options, the Image Database of Japanese Clothing Culture in the Modern Age enhances search efficiency by providing detailed metadata and a refined categorization system.
Given the widespread interest in Japan’s modern period in and beyond academic settings, research on the clothing history and acculturation of this time is both compelling and essential. Our databases provide a wealth of reliable information that can be featured in publications and visual media. Professionals, such as journalists, film and television producers, magazine editors, and content planners can make ample use of our cultural chronologies and interdisciplinary resources on the material culture and societal changes that comprised shinsō in this time period. With this in mind, we aim to develop our databases in a flexible and progressive manner that can accommodate not only researchers but also a wide range of users.
Figure 9. Portal Site of the Shinso Culture Digital Archive, Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University
One of the most pressing challenges currently facing this digital archive is the further dissemination of its four databases both domestically and internationally. In Japan, usage by universities and public libraries has been steadily increasing year by year. However, it is now necessary to enhance our outreach to libraries and related institutions overseas. To achieve this, in addition to promoting English-translations of the metadata, it is essential to develop user-friendly access routes and portal sites tailored to international users. As a first step, we have launched a portal site for this digital archive (Figure 9) in collaboration with the Virtual Institute of the Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University. We are also considering gradually releasing previously unpublished analog and digital materials through this portal to expand its offerings. We hope to continue to explore the portal site’s potential as a hub for clothing culture and expand access to materials on shinsō history and culture. We look forward to your use of the Shinsō Culture Digital Archive.
[1] This museum is one of the educational and research museums that constitute the National Institutes for the Humanities (NIHU), an inter-university research institute corporation. While functioning as a museum, it also hosts the "Comparative Studies of Human Cultures" course of the Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI).
[2] This project consists of the following members. Affiliations are noted only for currently active members. For deceased individuals, their birth and death years are provided.
[Project Leader]
Haruko Takahashi (Visiting Researcher, National Museum of Ethnology)
[Members]
Masao Kashinaga (National Museum of Ethnology)
Mizuho Kamo (Mukogawa Women’s University)
Masatoshi Kubo
Kanako Saruta
Keiko Suzuki (Ritsumeikan University)
Masami Tanaka (Researcher, Chubu Industrial Research Institute, Aichi University)
Shigeru Tanimoto (International Physics Olympiad 2023 Association)
Hiroshi Daimaru (1933–2017)
Mitsuhiro Tsuda (iPalette)
Takashi Nakagawa
Kozaburo Hachimura
Makito Minami (National Museum of Ethnology)
[3] Entry for "zurosu" (drawers) under "Shirokiya" (accessed on July 7, 2025): 白木屋 (デパート) - Wikipedia
[4] The yogi in Figure 5 and kaimaki in Figure 6 both refer to kimono-shaped bedding items to wrap around the entire body to keep it warm, and there is no significant difference in shape or purpose between the two.
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