The History of Clothing

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Medieval · East Asia · 500 - 1500 CE

Kosode

A Japanese robe with small wrist openings that developed from an undergarment into the principal outer garment and later became known as the kimono.

By Dan Schnau · Last updated

A kosode is a Japanese robe with small wrist openings that, according to JAANUS, became the principal outer robe of Japan in the sixteenth century and evolved into the modern kimono.2 The Costume Museum in Kyoto describes it as underwear in the Heian era that "turned into an outer-garment gradually" between the Kamakura and Muromachi eras.1

Fragment of a Japanese kosode with paulownia crests and calligraphic characters, late 18th century
Kosode fragment, Edo period, late 18th century, stenciled imitation tie-dyeing with silk and metallic-thread embroidery on silk crepe. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Miss Bella Mabury. Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain.

Origins and History

The Costume Museum traces a change from clothes of "mono-color and without patterns" to "multi-color with patterns," and states that the form of the kosode was established between the Momoyama and Edo eras.1 JSTOR Daily states that in the Edo period (1603-1868) it was a unisex outer garment, and that only from the Meiji period (1868-1912) onward was it called kimono.3

How It Was Worn

The name means "small sleeves," but it refers to the wrist opening.2 The Victoria and Albert Museum explains that robes with small openings at the wrist are kosode, while robes with a wide opening along the entire width of the sleeve are osode.4 JAANUS describes two main pieces joined at the center back, rectangular sleeves, two narrower front panels, and a diagonal collar piece.2

Meaning and Status

JSTOR Daily states that in the Edo period every Japanese person wore kosode, so style, motif, fabric, technique, and color announced the wearer and were often subject to sumptuary regulations.3

On This Site

Sources

  1. Woman of the upper class in kosode of Keicho period — The Costume Museum, Kyoto (Heian undergarment, gradual change to outer garment, patterns, and Momoyama-Edo form).
    Return to text (2 references)Reference 1 Reference 2
  2. Kosode — Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System (JAANUS), 2001 (definition, sixteenth-century outer robe, and construction).
    Return to text (3 references)Reference 1 Reference 2 Reference 3
  3. The Surprising History of the Kimono — Cynthia Green, JSTOR Daily, 2017, updated 2025 (Edo unisex outer garment, Meiji naming, and social messages in kosode).
    Return to text (2 references)Reference 1 Reference 2
  4. Robe and belt (kariginu), FE.157&A-1983 — Victoria and Albert Museum (kosode and osode distinguished by the wrist opening).Reference 1