YUKATA's history

WHAT IS A YUKATA?
YUKATA is the most casual kimono which is worn in summer. It used to be a indoor cloth after taking our bath. Nowadays, however, since its figure and material has changed, we can see it during summer vacation in a festival, a fireworks display and so on. Since we can put it on more easily than normal kimono,and it is very reasonable, especially young people and foreigner like it.


 IT IS POPULAR FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Since YUKATA is inexpensive and easy to put it on, the Japanese receive it naturally. it is popular to from children to elderly people. Generally it's made of white or indigo blue cloth whose pattern is a flower or a grasses in autamn so that it looks cool.
But thesedays dressmaker's shop which is popular to teenagers begins to produce and sell it, its design gradually becomes colorful and loud. Ones which is white or indigo blue is called "a classic",while ones whose pattern is colorful and up-to-date is called "a brand yukata".


a bland yukata "tsuyahime"


WITH A PUBLIC BATH'S PREVAILING
The origin of yukata is "yukatabira" on which aristocrats put lest they would scalded themselves  when they took a bath. "Katabira" is hemp clothes. At the time, cotton is very expensive, so thin cloth as an underwear is made of hemp.
In the latter EDO period, as the amount of cotton's production was increasing and it prevails in ordinary people, the material of yukatakatabira changed hemp into cotton. While the number of times when they wear it was increasing, they called it "yukata" for short. Now we come to wear it not merely after taking a bath but also always in summer.


                yukatabira



reference URL
http://iroha-japan.net/iroha/B01_clothes/09_yukata.html
http://wkdkigodatabase03.blogspot.jp/2007/03/summer-robes-natsu-goromo.html
http://www.e-salus.jp/bidders/tokushuu/08yukata/