When Indigo Becomes a Stripe: A Showa Uwappari and the Precision of Its Cuff
The cuff of this uwappari is 11.5cm wide. The sleeve width is 25cm. The sleeve narrows significantly from arm to wrist — a construction that keeps the cuff close to the hand during work, preventing the fabric from catching on tools or dragging through soil. This is a precise specification, the result of a maker who understood exactly what the garment needed to do. The indigo stripe runs the full length of the sleeve and arrives at the cuff still sharp, still present, pulled tight around the wrist.
This uwappari was made during the early to mid-Showa period, somewhere between the 1920s and the 1950s. It is 66cm from back neck seam to hem — slightly longer than the shortest uwappari, still short enough to stay clear of the legs during active work. The chest and shoulder are both 60.5cm — a square, balanced cut. The sleeve length is 33.5cm. The miyatsuguchi — the traditional side-body openings at the underarm — are present. The condition is clean: fraying only, no significant holes or staining.
The Indigo Stripe: Color in the Thread
Indigo-dyed striped cotton was the fabric of Showa-era workwear. The indigo was not printed on the surface of the cloth; it was in the thread itself, absorbed through the dyeing process before weaving. This means the color is structural — present in the fabric rather than on it — and it ages differently from printed color. Indigo fades with washing and use, but it fades in a way that reveals the depth of the dye rather than simply removing it: the color shifts and lightens unevenly, the stripe remaining legible while the overall tone softens.
The stripe of this uwappari has been through decades of washing and wearing. The indigo is still present and still sharp at the stripe boundaries — the definition of the pattern has not blurred or faded into the ground. This is the quality of genuine indigo dyeing: the color has depth, and depth survives time in a way that surface color does not.
The Narrow Cuff: Precision for Work
The cuff width of 11.5cm is notably narrow — narrower than most surviving uwappari of this period. A narrow cuff keeps the fabric close to the wrist during work: it does not catch on tools, does not drag through soil or water, does not pull the sleeve back when the arm is extended. It is a specification that prioritizes function over ease of dressing, that accepts the slight difficulty of pulling the cuff over the hand in exchange for the security of a close fit during labor.
In contemporary wear, the narrow cuff reads as a design detail — a proportion that is unusual and therefore interesting, a quality that distinguishes the garment from any contemporary jacket. The functional origin of the narrow cuff does not disappear in contemporary use; it remains present as the reason the cuff is the width it is, giving the detail a history that purely decorative design cannot have.
Size and Condition
Era: Early to mid-Showa (1920s–1950s). Material: Cotton (indigo-dyed stripe). Miyatsuguchi present. Back length approx. 66cm / 26.0in. Chest approx. 60.5cm / 23.8in. Shoulder width approx. 60.5cm / 23.8in. Sleeve length approx. 33.5cm / 13.2in. Sleeve width approx. 25cm / 9.8in. Cuff width approx. 11.5cm / 4.5in. Fraying present. Washed twice in-house. Vintage scent may remain. One of a kind.