MovieChat Forums > Tasogare Seibei (2002) Discussion > Obscure detail Clothing or Female etique...

Obscure detail Clothing or Female etiquette Q??


Can anyone please explain this obscure odd detail with Tomoe when she visits Senbei's house before he departs to do battle:-

Tomoe arrives to dress Senbei's hair/ assist him in formal dress. Just prior, she kneels with him before kimono/ his hair etc is prepared, unwraps her carry cloth bag kerchief & pulls out a long cloth strap which she then deftly loops round herself & ties around her left shoulder-underarm.

It's not that this appears or seems especially featured as somehow ceremonial in the on-screen interplay or action or say, like putting on an apron before doing a task. But the way it's in there as a small detail in that same interplay of smaller action implies it is somehow a notable ( period ? ) detail in the directed action / screenplay, if that makes sense...?

We then see her next removing it as they sit with the drink once he is prepared and casually talking with one another.

What is this long cotton band-strap? Why/ what purpose does it serve? I know it's an obscure detail - but almost appears too as a smaller deliberate detail...as say, one notices kneeling & bowing & other ceremonial behaviours in Japanese set films.

I couldn't help but notice that small detail in the sequence which is intriguing & bugging me to know what that is?! ...Eg. the strap(ping) doesn't seem to do anything as such, even in the on-screen interaction??... say being seen to serve as a loop to hold or carry or serving some other specific task or purpose ?? ...and yet we see Tomoe deliberately do this action...

Any knowlegeable insight??

Tia any Imdb-er assist :)

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It's a tasuki, a kimono sleeve-cord; you use it to tie back your full sleeves out of the way before you do anything at all practical.

You'll see this all the time in Japanese costume drama. A woman ties her sleeves before cooking, sewing, cleaning, anything like that; a man does the same before fighting or sword practice, or chopping wood, or anything physical. He'll also hitch up his hakama, his baggy trousers, out of the way, and probably kick off his sandals. We see Iguchi do all of these before fighting.

And yes, since it is kind of like wearing an apron, you take it off when you've finished.

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Thank-you!
& am off to Google further - cheers :)

The arcane intricacies of Japanese traditional dress and forms I notice in film continually fascinate...

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Your choice term implies fault-finding rather than close observation and appreciation for finer points I meant :)

It's more: devil is in the details of life perhaps I suggest with more respect than you have demonstrated by your pointless post adding nothing productive to a legitimate query just like many across IMDB by peeps interested in all sorts of aspects of film-making and further appreciation of same.

That you would make such an unnecessary observation on IMDB to someone interested in a matter of culture/costume detail or production design in a period/foreign film is disappointing.

Best Wishes

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