"The Tale of Genji is a representative literary design"

 And the story that has had its themes incorporated into kimono designs even more than The Tale of Genji.

Kosode, which began to be worn by people of all ranks and genders from the early modern period, saw a flamboyant development in design, especially as women's clothing, during the Edo period. Along with designs based on themes from poetry and Noh, designs based on themes from literature also occupied a large proportion of these, and the most representative of these was the "Genji pattern."

The "Genji patterns" seen on kosode clothing can be roughly divided into two types. One is a design of impressive scenes selected from "The Tale of Genji" using painterly techniques such as sumi-e and yuzen dyeing. These have many similarities in expression to the "Genji-e" paintings.

Sumi-e is a technique seen since the Muromachi period, and was used as part of Tsujigahana dyeing along with other techniques. There is a theory that its origin can be traced back to white painting in painting, so it is only natural that it is suited to pictorial expression.

During the Edo period, from the latter half of the 17th century to the first half of the 18th century, sumi-e came to be used on its own to decorate kosode. Around the time of the Genroku era, as the "Genji pattern" became popular in kosode designs, sumi-e "Genji patterns" similar to "Genji paintings" began to be created.

Such examples can be seen in the fashion magazines of the time, such as Kosode Hinagatahon.(1715)The annual "Hinakata Miyako Shonin" contains a pattern titled "Genji Moyo" (The Pattern of the Genji), depicting two nobles gazing out to sea from a seaside mansion. The theme of this pattern is "Suma", and even in the margins of this model drawing, sumi-e (ink painting) was specified as the technique for expressing the pattern.

On the other hand, Yuzen dyeing is a dyeing technique that was invented around the Genroku period by combining paste resist dyeing and color insertion techniques, but because it excelled in pictorial expression and enabled a wide variety of colors to be used, such themes were chosen for the patterns depicted, and the "Genji pattern" was one of them. In the first half of the 18th century, there were Yuzen dyed kosode model books that depicted pictorial "Genji patterns."

In contrast to these, the second type of "Genji pattern" was based on the Tale of Genji, and consisted of one or more abstract motifs that allude to a scene from each volume or the whole story. This type of "Genji pattern" is also said to have become popular around the Genroku period, and is known to have been used in the 5th century.(1692)The book of kosode patterns, "Yojo Hinakata," published in the year 1940, contained patterns titled "Sekiya pattern" and "Wakamurasaki pattern."

 "The Imperial Court's interpretation of the pattern, packed with knowledge of classical literature"

In the latter half of the 18th century, Genji-e-style patterns disappeared, and the "Genji pattern" began to show new developments. From this time on, typical landscape patterns that would later come to be called "Gosho-kai patterns" became popular for kosode worn by women of the samurai class. Although "Gosho-kai patterns" contain the word "Imperial Palace," they refer to the patterns worn by women of the nobility for official duties and in daily life, and it is said that the name was created in the Meiji period as a result of a mistaken understanding of Edo-period kosode.

Among these "Gosho-kai patterns," some motifs alluding to the story of "The Tale of Genji" were hidden in the landscape. It is said that the purpose of this was to enjoy a kind of intellectual exchange between the wearer of the kosode and the viewer. It is thought to reflect the fact that knowledge of classical literature, including "The Tale of Genji," was essential education for samurai women during the Edo period.

For example, a landscape with a curtain, a drum, and a bird helmet represents "Momijiga" (Autumn Leaves Festival), and a landscape with a cat on the veranda represents "Wakana no Ue." Some "Gosho-kai patterns," like the "Genji patterns," use specific motifs to suggest the story of a Noh play, such as the arrangement of cherry blossoms and a drum representing "Tsuzumi no Taki (Drum Waterfall)."

While the "Genji pattern" reflects the samurai class' admiration for imperial literature, these patterns likely reflect the fact that Noh was regarded as the ceremonial music of the samurai class.

As mentioned above, these literary dyeing and weaving designs seen in the Edo period are thought to have been made possible by the cultural maturity of samurai and upper-class townspeople who were able to acquire literary education in the same way as the nobles of the Heian period. For this reason, they are more interesting than just as designs.