For Florentinescot: "Shogun"

[gurdymonkey]

florentinescotasked in another entry what I thought of the costumes for the 1980's miniseries Shogun. Quite honestly, I have not seen it since its original air date, and at that time I didn't really know anything about Japan, its history or historical clothing.

In general, Japanese films tend to have a pretty good track record costume-wise.  When outfitting huge armies of retainers, sometimes the armor turns into a mishmash of styles. However, when screening Kagemusha for the first time, I spotted re-creations of several extant historical garments, which means that I am a complete geek and Kurosawa's costume designer was  my hero for weeks afterward.

NOTE: This does not mean that films are documentation of historical clothing styles - in many cases, they are pretty far from it. Furthermore, Shogun is a fictional story VERY loosely based on a real English pilot who spent ten years in the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu in the early 17th century. It is NOT history.

That said, let us take a look at some stills from Shogun.

Frustrating set of screen-shots that only seem to show heads and shoulders. Can we say "Argh?" :
http://www.moviescreenshots.blogspot.com/2006/09/shogun-1980.html

B&W production still: The men look quite good, Mifune-san in a classic hitatare kamishimo, Mr. Chamberlain in kosode, hakama and kyahan. I cannot see enough of Ms. Shimada's outfit to comment in great detail, but her "high" ponytail does appear on figures in 16th and 17th century artwork.


Another production still. LOVE Chamberlain's kataginu in this one. The women in the shot look correct in terms of clothing and hair.

Mifune-san looking badass in scarlet silk and armor. VERY good shot of the interior of the akunoya (pavilion) structure. I'm not sure, but Shimada-san's obi appears to be back-tied. If one bumps the date well into the 17th century, this is not out of line, though women were still wearing front tied obi as well.


I may have to locate this on DVD at some point - it's been decades since I've seen it, but the overall look is good for the turn of the 16th/17th century.

Comments

[reynardine.livejournal.com]

I used to have a book about the making of the miniseries (it has since been lost in one of the many moves that I've made since the 1980's), but I do recall in the interviews that the costuming was done by the Japanese part of the production and the American production crew used to get aggravated with them regarding details that the Japanese costume designer insisted upon, even for the extras in the scenes.

[florentinescot.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I think I"m going to have to get the full DVD too. The 2-hour abridgement just whetted my appetite -- and I remembered too many good scenes that weren't there.

[gurdymonkey.livejournal.com]

Besides, it's got Toshiro Mifune. What's not to love?

You might be interested in reading *Samurai William* by Giles Milton, while you're at it. It's not only a good study of the relationship between William Adams and Tokugawa Ieyasu, but it offers some insight into 16th century European exploration and trade expansion in the Far East.

[florentinescot.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'll check that out.

But, Toshiro Mifune? nods. :-)

More clothing - and fabrics I'd maim for.

[elmunadi.livejournal.com]

A couple of other (more or less decent) shots -

Re: More clothing - and fabrics I'd maim for.

[gurdymonkey.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

Aha, she IS in back-tied obi. (And violating my No Pink rule in a big way.)

And note the white hakama ties on the men, historically accurate and guaranteed to get someone's knickers in a twist if someone does it in the SCA and isn't a member of the Chivalry. Sigh.