Atsuita Noh Costume

The term atsuita originally referred to high-class fabrics imported from China as bolts rolled around thick wooden boards (atsu-ita). In the Muromachi period, warlords acquired the fabrics through private trade and presented them to Noh actors. The costumes made from such fabrics also came to be called atsuita.

In the Edo period, textiles called atsuita began to be produced in Japan, however, these were plain weave cloth with twill weave design motifs for use as obi sashes, and different from the fabrics used for Noh costume. From the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo periods, Noh costumes were made from twill-weave cloth produced in Japan.

Usually, atsuita was worn under kariginu or happi coats by leading male actors playing roles such as warlords, gods and demons. Because only small portions of the atsuita garments were visible, their designs were mostly repetitive geometrical patterns such as checks, horizontal bands and stripes. After Tokugawa Ieyasu unified Japan under his rule and Noh became the Tokugawa government's official ceremonial performing art, various decorative atsuita motifs were created to suit different Noh roles.

For noble warlords, elegant designs were required, such as family crests featuring paulownia, chrysanthemum and tomoe (comma-like shape) motifs on backgrounds of hexagonal or interlocked circle patterns. For violent gods and demon characters, powerful motifs including cloud-shaped flat gongs, dragons and clouds, and hammer-wheels on lightning or zigzag patterns were used. In contrast for the roles of graceful warriors who loved to play flute, such as the main characters in the dramas Atsumori or Kiyotsune, garments decorated with elegant designs of butterflies, wisteria flowers or folding fans rendered in a weaving method called karaori were chosen, according to the style of performance. Thus, in synthesis with the development of textile techniques, atsuita designs became part of Noh culture and enhanced its dramatic effects.