八月、日本各地では花火大会が行なわれます。やはり花火は浴衣（ゆかた）を着て見たいもの。あなたは「浴衣」を見たり着たりしたことがありますか？
浴衣の歴史は古く、今から1000年以上前の平安時代発祥だそうです。この頃の入浴は一人でするだけでなく、複数の人と共に湯を浴びることもあったため、薄い着物を着るようになったとのこと。
裏地のついていない着物は「単（ひとえ）」[布を二枚重ねているものを「二重」（ふたえ）というのに対し、一枚だけで縫ってある着物を「一重」（ひとえ）と呼びます。「単」の漢字には「ただ一つの」という意味があります]。
昔の人は、この単を下着として着用していました。この下着の名前が「帷子（かたびら）」。「浴衣」は、湯を浴びるときに着る下着＝帷子なので「ゆかたびら」、これが次第に「浴衣」と呼ばれるようになったのです。「浴衣」の「衣」は「着物」という意味ですね。
現代では、花火大会だけでなく、夏祭りや縁日、盆踊りなどで着られます。吸水性や肌触りの良い木綿で作られているので、蒸し暑い日本の夏にはぴったり。
ただし、着るときは胸の前の布地の重ね方に注意が必要です。相手から見て左側を上に出して着るのは「左前」と言って、死者の装束と同じ、大変縁起の悪いものになってしまうからです。
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In the month of August, fireworks displays are held all over Japan. And of course the proper attire for any good fireworks display is a ‘yukata’ (浴衣). Have you ever seen or worn a yukata?
The history of the yukata is quite long – dating back more than 1000 years to the Heian period. At that time, bathing was not something that one only did by themselves and since people also bathed communally they began wearing a type of thin kimono.
Kimonos without a lining were called ‘hitoe’ (単). And while a garment made with two layers of cloth was called ‘futae,’ (二重) a kimono sewn together with only one layer of cloth was also called ‘hitoe’ (一重). However, the kanji “単” also carries the meaning of ‘only one.’
Historically, people used to wear ‘hitoe’ as undergarments. These undergarments were also known as ‘katabira’ (帷子). Yukata are undergarments or ‘katabira’ (帷子) to be worn when bathing in hot water or ‘yu,’ (湯) and so the garment was originally called a ‘yukatabira’ (湯帷子). The word was eventually simplified, becoming just ‘yukata.’ As you can see, the character ‘kata’ (衣) in the word yukata refers to a kimono.
In modern times yukatas aren’t just worn to fireworks displays, but also to summer festivals, temple festivals and to Bon festival dancing. Yukata are made of an absorbent, light cotton fabric that is pleasant to the touch and makes them a perfect match for Japan’s swelteringly humid summers.
But when you wear a Yukata be very careful about how you wear it! If you wear the left side over the right when seen from another person’s perspective, it is what is referred to as ‘hidarimae’ – the costume of the dead – and is considered very unlucky.
