The first of these edicts also designated white tie dress as the court dress of choice for those not entitled to any particular court uniform, such as private citizens. The new official uniforms were indeed designed based on the court uniforms used in Europe at the time. On December 12, 1872, the Dajō-kan released an edict implementing regulations for the uniforms of civil officials and nobles, and on December 29 of that year another edict determined regulations for their wearing. My vassals, give shape to these my wishes. I now resolve to revise our uniform and reform our mores, and wish to construct a warrior's kokutai not seen since our ancestors' time. We ought not to show such weakness to the world for even one day. There is nothing of Emperor Jimmu's founding of the country or Empress Jingū's subjugation of Korea in the style of today. We of the Imperial Line have Ourselves become marshals, and by the people We revere that style. It is distant from Our roots, ruling by the strength of Japan's warriors. The modern ikan dress has been based on the old dress of the Tang, and is a weak style. Those who form the kokutai control their strength through indomitability. It is Our view that those who form social mores are transient, subject to the whims of opportunity. Internal Imperial Command on Clothing Reform ( 服制改革内勅, fukusei kaikaku naichoku) Calling back to the spirit of Jimmu's legendary founding of the country, it appealed for the creation of a new uniform. The "styles of that time" meant tight sleeves and narrow hakama, and so the order implied that Western-style dress, complying to these standards, had much in common with the essential garb of the Japanese themselves. In order to quiet the kazoku still attached to traditional styles of dress, the order claimed that ikan and similar kinds of clothing were weak, and Japan should go back to the styles of the time of Emperor Jimmu and Empress Jingū. In order to resolve this disorder, the Internal Imperial Command on Clothing Reform ( 服制改革内勅, Fukusei kaikaku naichoku) was released on October 17, 1871. However, as this design was based on the former dress of court nobles, it met with opposition from those of samurai descent. In a meeting of the legislature that winter, Iwakura Tomomi proposed deliberation over the court dress for governmental officials that Saga and his helpers had come up with. The situation was clearly untenable, and so after the election of officials to the new government in summer 1869, the Minister of Justice Saga Saneharu was put in charge of the problem. This lack of uniformity was once again evident on the Emperor's repeat visit the next year. Ernest Satow commented that their slovenly appearances ruined the solemnity of the procession. Meanwhile, the soldiers guarding it were dressed in Western-style uniforms, but were not at all accustomed to the clothing. Furthermore, the colors and designs on the ikan, kariginu, and hitatare were all unique to each individual, destroying the visual unity of the procession. As a result, it was decided that both kariginu and hitatare would be allowed en route, with ikan also permitted when entering the castle. Nakayama argued that ikan should be worn only when departing and when entering the castle, while kariginu would be worn en route Date held that kariginu should be worn only when entering the castle, with nōshi ( 直衣) and hitatare both allowed en route. For example, during the Emperor's visit to Tokyo in 1868, opinions were divided between the high officials Nakayama Tadayasu and Date Munenari. Nobles had their ikan ( 衣冠) court wear and informal kariginu ( 狩衣), samurai had the distinct hitatare ( 直垂) and kamishimo ( 裃) dress, and members of Westernized military forces had their Western-style uniforms. When the Meiji Restoration began, those working to build the new government were wearing a diverse array of different clothing based on their social status during the previous Edo period.
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