FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Tokoyo, Female Samurai
(click images to to enlarge)
Other Credits
Photographer : Charlène Konne
Outline the story …
As we started the first lockdown, sports were cancelled. I was disappointed not being able to practice Aïkido anymore. When the theme was announced, I decided looking East for inspiration and took inspiration from the outfits we wear for practice. I really wanted to create something that I could be proud to show to my sensei. It was a way for me to feel spiritually close to Aïkido.
I started looking for a book or a story that would fit. I stumbled upon the story of Tokoyo after a few days of research. It stuck with me because it was the only legend I could find starring a female samurai warrior. Real female samurai existed, but they were very few. I enjoyed the legend and loved reading the story in Faith L Justice’s book Tokoyo, The Samurai’s Daugther.
In the story, the young Tokoyo left behind everything she had in order to find her father who was banned by the emperor. During her adventure, she distinguished herself by lifting a curse placed upon the emperor. He then rewarded her by making her samurai and restoring her family’s status.
I really liked the idea of a female samurai that earned the title for herself and didn’t rely on her family status. This is how I chose this story as inspiration for my outfit.
This is Tokoyo as I imagine her all grown up, practicing martial arts.
Outline the construction…
For construction, I began looking for ideas in the children’s book. Unfortunately, it didn’t have many descriptions, except for a white kimono with embroidered pink sakuras. I knew I had to use it. I decided to repurpose it as a haori jacket. She could have had it refitted later in her life.
For the rest of the outfit, I decided to make a martial arts training outfit with a keikogi and a hakama. The hakama in this context represents the dedication to the practice of martial arts and the commitment to the principles it conveys.
For construction, I used patterns that respected the traditional way of constructing these pieces. The keikogi and haori have the same base pattern, but with modifications in width and sleeves.
The keikogi is French-seamed, entirely embroidered by hand, then flat-lined. The fabric is a sturdy cotton as to withstand the hardships of daily training.
The haori is embroidered by machine, then French-seamed. The fabric I used is silk. It was my first time working with silk.
The hakama is constructed in the traditional way for Aïkido. It has five visible pleats in front that represent Yuki (courage), Jin (humanity, charity, benevolence), Gi (justice, righteousness, integrity), Rei (etiquette) and Makoto (sincerity), and the two pleats in the back represent Chugi (loyalty, fidelity, devotion) and Meiyo (honor). I decided to mark the pleats in the front by using piping. I added the embroidered sakuras as a nod to the haori.
This is how I constructed this outfit.
This is gorgeous! I love how this has meaning to you. And OH MY GOSH THE EMBROIDERY.
This is STUNNING. I wish I had your ability to patiently embroider all those cranes and that gorgeous sashiko in the front of the Hakama. I also admire all of the research you put into not only the concept, but also the construction!
The embroidery is KILLING ME! You look stunning in that outfit. One can clearly see the dedication you have for the art of Aikido in every fold of the clothes. Just beautiful!
The piping on the hakama is just *chef’s kiss*. Well done on this whole outfit.
I really love your costume. I’m so into Japanese clothing and textile. I love the cranes. The result is great, congratulation!
Your dedication and connection come through in every aspect of this gorgeous outfit! Love the layers of meaning for both the character and yourself
I love the outfit and your story with it. Your sensei should be very proud.
Yes, my sensei was very happy. He even had me show my work to the class and explain how and why i made it. 😅
Wow, this is phenomenal ! Great job, love the embroidery and all the attention to detail. Very inspired, you should be extremely proud.
This is absolutely stunning! I love the details and the depth of research and meaning you put into this.
This absolute awsome! As a fellow Aikido practitioner I’d be over the moon to train in such a beautiful outfit <3
A stunning outfit that showcases your love of both Aikido and the character. The colors, the embroidery… I’ve tried to make hakama before. I am impressed by your patience as those pleats can be frustrating to get right.
There are no words for how much I love your embroidery, it is STUNNING!!!! As someone who adores Japanese culture, has lived in Japan and did their university degree in Japanese, I really appreciate the research that you put into constructing this outfit, and the homage you have paid to traditional culture of the land of the rising sun! Beautiful work!