Tag: japan

Okay, so dear reference guru, how even would I start trying to research and date kumihimo braid patterns to find some that are period? I mean, the basic spiral pattern is pretty safe because I can easily do it similar on lucet, but Japan, man. Halp?

Oh goodness! <3 Flattery!

Yeah, research into East Asia is difficult because of the language barrier – and that’s just the beginning.  Japan should be a little easier than China, though.

So with my initial Google searching, I found this website with a variety of publications written in both Japanese and English, which may be helpful.

My next step would be to look at museum collections.

The Tokyo National Museum has a 14th century pouch that has braided cord: [Link].

The Portland Art Museum had (at one point) an exhibit on Samurai that featured some kumihimo. They cite a book, but also feel free to reach out to the curators for more information: [Link]

Don’t limit yourself to the search term “kumihimo.” It’s translated most often as “braided cord” so don’t be afraid of using that term, especially in western museum collections.

Lastly, connect with other SCAdians who do Japanese crafts. There is a Facebook group for SCA Japanese, so someone there might be able to help.

Happy braiding! <3

Hi, do you have any references for Japanese names? I’m looking at doing a Japanese persona from around the Heian time period. Also, do you know any references for garb for that time period? I’m looking at a lower noble/ high-ish merchant class. Thank you for your time. This helps a lot!

My mother used to say “I don’t know the answer to that, but I know where to find it!”

(She was a librarian.)

So, no, I don’t have any references for Japanese names – but I know where to find them! 😀

The lovely heralds over on Facebook’s SCA Heraldry Chat group reccommend the following:

Name Construction in Medieval Japan
From the vendor: Written by “Solveig Throndardottir” (aka Dr. Barbara Nostrand), a large compilation of historical Japanese names – forenames, surnames, nicknames, their meanings, and the appropriate Japanese ideographs.

[Link]

I also found some web resources which might be helpful.

”Japanese Names” on An Online Japanese Miscellany, by Nihon Zatsuroku

[Link]

A list of pre-1600 Japanese name resources
by Issendai (who appears to be a SCAdian…)
[Link]

A Long History of Japanese Names, Part II: [Link]

For clothing….

The Costume Museum (Kyoto) – Heian Period: [Link]

History of the Kimono, Part II, Nara and Heian: [Link]