打ち掛け

Japanese

Kanji in this term
打	掛
う Grade: 3	か Grade: S
kun’yomi

Alternative spellings
打掛 裲襠

Etymology

From 打(う)ち (uchi-) + 掛(か)け (kake, “wear”), the 連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 掛ける. The various items are worn, often over other clothing.

Noun

打ち掛け (sense 8): traditional red kimono overcoat

打(う)ち掛(か)け • (uchikake) 

1. (archaic, historical) [10th century] a type of ceremonial armor made of cloth and worn by officers when appearing in the Emperor's court

   Synonyms: 打掛鎧 (uchikake yoroi), 挂甲 (keikō)

2. (archaic, historical) chest armor made from small pieces of iron bound with leather straps

   Synonym: 挂甲 (keikō)

3. (archaic, historical) clothing worn by palanquin bearers during Imperial visits
4. (archaic) [14th century] one type of costume worn by bugaku or dengaku performers
5. (archaic) [14th century] a jacket worn while traveling, with narrow sleeves and a wide bottom
6. (archaic) [c. 14th century] short for 打掛烏帽子 (uchikake eboshi), a type of strapless eboshi, a headdress

   Synonym: 掛烏帽子 (kake eboshi)

7. [a. 17th century] short for 打掛小袖 (uchikake kosode), a type of kimono worn by upper-class women from autumn through spring
8. [from 17th century] a kimono overcoat

Usage notes

The kimono overcoat is a huge, thick, heavy, highly-formal ornate, brocaded coat, worn by a bride or at a stage performance. It is often heavily brocaded and is supposed to be worn outside the actual kimono and obi, as a sort of coat, therefore an obi should never tied around the uchikake. It is supposed to be allowed to trail along the floor. This is also why it is heavily padded along the hem. The uchikake of the bridal costume is either white, or else very colourful, often with red as the base colour.

See also

• 舞楽(ぶがく) (bugaku, “court ritual dance”)
• 田楽(でんがく) (dengaku, “shrine ritual dance”)
• 烏帽子(えぼし) (eboshi, “eboshi, a black lacquered cap”)
• 小袖(こそで) (kosode, “short-sleeved kimono; under-robe”)
• 白無垢(しろむく) (shiromuku, “white bridal kimono”)
• 角隠(つのかく)し (tsunokakushi, “bridal headdress”)
• 綿帽子(わたぼうし) (watabōshi, “bridal hood”)
• 帯(おび) (obi, “kimono sash”)
• 着物(きもの) (kimono, “kimono”)

Further reading

• 打ち掛け on the Japanese Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^ja
• uchikake on Wikipedia.Wikipedia