Textile & Fashion

Nanban (also namban), or 'Southern Barbarian' was the name given to Europeans. The East-West encounter had a great impact on Japanese dress. It should be recalled that the late 16th century was a time of particularly flamboyant dress in Europe, and styles were admired in Japan. It was the Portuguese who arrived first and their nanban manner spread, becoming the rage in the early part of the 17th century. Materials, names, cuts and accessories, as well as general wearing habits, were all affected. To this day the Japanese language retains many words of Portuguese origin that entered at this time, and of the about one third relate to clothes. Nanban fashions were fancy and exotic, but they were also practical and utilitarian. They spread not among the elite, but to quite lowly social levels too. Trend-setters adopted pantaloons and capes made of imported cloth and flounced about in them.