Now with Photos!

Not only is Seta Soujiro the perfect warrior (and cute to boot! ^_~), he also has impeccable fashion sense. There's just something about that kimono-and-collared-shirt combination that really does it for me, and of course you can never go wrong with hakama.

For the people who admire this look as much as I do, here's some information about the components of Soujiro's wardrobe, plus where to go if you want to buy or make them yourself and dress like Soujiro for Halloween, an Anime con, or just for fun. As you can see by the photos on this page, I took my own advice, too! (Even though I'm a girl and I literally weigh twice as much as Soujiro. -_-;) And, as my best friend Kati demonstrates below, these tips are easily generalizeable for dressing as other Rurouni Kenshin characters (although in Kati's case, being a petite redhead naturally was a help. ^_~) By the way, if you haven't had a look at the picture of Soujiro getting dressed on the Site of Stuff Homepage, it's based on this research, too.

All the websites selling the garments that I've linked to here are ones that came up in a simple web-search on Yahoo, Altavista, or Google, so if the sites I turned up don't meet your needs, it's easy to go looking on your own. All prices and availabilities noted here were accurate according to the merchant's website at the time of writing (4/3/2002 - 6/17/2002).

The information on the Japanese garments is taken from Make Your Own Japanese Clothes by John Marshall, except the information on Hakama, which is taken from Folkwear #151.

Where would Soujiro be without his collared shirt? I don't think this part of the outfit needs further explanation. As for how to get one, I think the best way to get a collared shirt like this, with the least amount of trouble and expense, is to go to Wal-Mart and buy one. If you prefer a more hands-on approach, the major pattern catalogs like McCalls and Simplicity (also at Wal-Mart, in the Crafts department) have plenty of patterns for this kind of thing.

The kimono is, of course, the quintessential Japanese garment; the word "kimono" actually means nothing more than "thing to be worn." The garments that usually bear the name come in several varieties; women's kimono differ from men's, and they vary from unlined yukata worn in summer to lined kimono and gauze-lined nemaki (sleeping kimono), not to mention the array of sleeve designs--notice the squarish shape of Soujiro's sleeve, and that the end of it is half-shut. Men's kimono reach to the floor when worn unbelted, and although Soujiro's doesn't look that long, it most likely is; hakama, with their long side-slits, seem designed to be worn over a long garment. Another thing to note is that Soujiro's kimono has a back seam. This was believed to protect the wearer of the kimono from evil influences (Don't laugh!), and if there was no back seam, an embroidered charm was added high on the back of the kimono to fulfill the same function.
As for where to get a kimono, if you search online, you'll find places that sell them, but don't expect to find one that looks just like Soujiro's (I have yet to see a real-life kimono with sleeve edgings like that), and expect it to be in the three figures. The closest thing I have seen is at Bokunan-Do (they're in Japan, so use their currency converter and be prepared for international shipping); click here and scroll down for half-length kimono to go under hakama; there's one that's light blue like Soujiro's (without the contrast collar and sleeve edgings, though), and it'll set you back about $130. ---It doesn't have to do with Soujiro, but having found it I just have to mention that Bokunan-do also carries the Shinsengumi jacket, here; the blue one like we see in RK is about $70. Inn'it grand?
Personally, I consider making your own to be a much better, cheaper, and more enjoyable option, and I can point you to all sorts of resources for that. Firstly, I recommend the book Make Your Own Japanese Clothes by John Marshall; it includes instructions on how to make kimono to fit any measurements, instructions to help you make one in as traditional a manner as you see fit, and a whole lot more (once you had the shirt, this book would be all you needed if only they'd had the decency to put hakama in it). It's available for about $20 from Amazon.com. Alternately, the Folkwear patterns include a pattern for yukata (unlined kimono) to fit men and women up to 6 feet tall. The list of Folkwear Patterns is free for the asking, and the yukata pattern (#113) is about $17. I'll tell you one thing from personal experience, too: do not attempt to make a kimono out of a stretchy fabric. Oy, that turned out bad...
Recently I recieved an e-mail from someone who rather violently insisted that what Soujiro is wearing is not a kimono, but a keikogi. I looked those up online, and it appears that this is the garment worn under hakama in Aikido and other martial arts. However, I disagree that this is what Soujiro is wearing, because the keikogi I saw had narrow, open-ended sleeves, whereas, as noted above, Soujiro's kimono has square sleeves that are half-closed on the end. Everything I've read clearly states that kimono can be worn under hakama, so there's no reason Soujiro wouldn't be wearing one. Another reason I resist this assessment is that I can't help you make a keikogi. If you're interested in buying one, though, have a look at Keikogi at Eguchi.net, or search on your own.

Hakama are wide, pleated trousers that tie at the waist and have a rigid panel in the back, and side slits. Japanese men traditionally wear hakama over their kimono on formal occasions, but women wear them too, especially when practicing martial arts or taking part in religious ceremonies--hakama are part of Kaoru's dojo clothes, and Sailor Mars wears hakama when she's acting as a miko (temple maiden). Martial artists' hakama are traditionally dark blue, as Soujiro's are.
As for where to get Hakama, instructions for making them are sadly absent from Make Your Own Japanese Clothes. The Folkwear patterns have previously included a very nice Hakama pattern (#151), but, alack and alas! When I looked at the Folkwear site in updating this page, the hakama pattern was nowhere to be found! If you're interested, please go there, see if perhaps they've reinstated it, and if they haven't, e-mail them telling them that we want it back! If Folkwear has reinstated the pattern since this writing or you otherwise manage to find a copy, it'll probably cost about $17. That same month a reader e-mailed me having noticed the disappearance of this Hakama pattern as well. Trying to help her, I ran a web-search and soon found that all was not lost! Here are two more places to buy Hakama patterns: Round Earth Publishing's Hakama Pattern is made with Aikido practitioners in mind, and costs about $17. Make Your Own Japanese Clothes is also available in their books section. There's also Costume Connection's Men's Kimono and Hakama at Sewing Central, for $12.
Or, at no cost, here's a hakama pattern online, designed for a Live-Action RPG. Check out the Samurai Matsuri Hakama pattern, which is based on your measurements, like the Folkwear pattern or those in Make Your Own Japanese Clothes, so it will fit anyone.
Hakama are also worn today by practitioners of some martial arts, including Kendo and Aikido, so they're available from some martial arts supply companies, and some even have them in Soujiro's color (for the traditional color of martial arts hakama, you'd think it'd be easier to find). Buying ready-made hakama this way tends to be rather expensive, but if you don't like to sew or are shorter on time than money, you might check out these places, offering hakama at varying levels of quality and price: As of this writing, hakama from Bu-Jin Design cost $100 - $160 and come in black and navy blue; Hakama at Honda Martial Arts Supply cost between $59 and $95, available in black, blue, and white; Hakama from Eguchi.net will set you back anywhere from $75 to $200, and although they didn't have a notation of available colors, the pictures look dark blue. Bokunan-Do also carries hakama in Soujiro's color, here; depending on your size, they'll be about $200 to $250 for colored hakama, or $55 to $70 for Kendo hakama.

Tabi are the split-toed "socks" worn under sandals in Japan, but unlike socks, they are made of a lined woven fabric, and fasten in the back. Although tabi or shitauzu without the split toe have been worn in Japan since ancient times, they did not become universal among the social classes until the 1500s. Tabi reached their peak in the Edo dynasty (which Soujiro was there for the last few years of), when a variety of styles and colors were used, depending on the wearer's occupation and status. Today, men wear black or navy tabi around the house, and white tabi are worn by women and on formal occasions. For our purposes, Soujiro's tabi are obviously white.
Instructions on how to make tabi are included in, you guessed it, Make Your Own Japanese Clothes by John Marshall, which you can get for about $20 from Amazon.com. The Folkwear patterns also offer instructions on making tabi, included in Folkwear #129, a pattern to make Japanese Hapi and Haori jackets for Misses size 6-20 and Men sizes 34-44 (if you weren't concerned with total accuracy and wanted to cut down on the number of patterns you're buying, a Hapi jacket could probably stand in for Soujiro's kimono, as well, although lengthening the jacket might be prudent in this case). The pattern is about $17. Expect to go through some trial and error in making your tabi, however; I'm told that while putting them together isn't difficult, getting them to fit you just right may be a rather involved process, especially since the traditional fit of tabi is quite snug.
If you prefer to buy tabi, there are several places online selling them, and here are a few whose sites particularly impressed me. (Note I've never actually bought from these places, so I can't give you a truly informed opinion.) Cotton Tabi at the House of Rice store are available in several sizes, and in black and white, for about $19 per pair (they also carry stretch "tabi" socks, but I'm mainly concerning myself with traditional tabi here). Tabi at Cool East Market appear to be the only thing they sell. Their mascot may be scary (the Tabi Tabby...? ^_-;), but they have stretch-knit "tabi" socks in too many colors to name, including tie-dyes, and traditional tabi (black or white) in hard-to-find sizes for $25 per pair. I haven't priced them at Bokunan-Do, but I know you can find them there, though not where you'd expect. Look under kimono underwear.
I'll admit that on my own costume, I got pressed for time and cheated on this part. I just sewed toe-splits into a pair of white socks.

An even better question than the shirt is "Where would Soujiro be without his sword?" (Six feet under would be my guess; poor kid...) Soujiro weilds a Nihontou, or Japanese sword, normally a katana (long sword), although he does own a rather significant wakizashi (short sword). Also notice that his sword has a curved "samurai" blade rather than the straight "ninja" blade.
If you're dressing as Soujiro, you don't have to include a sword, since we didn't see it on his person all the time, but I'm here to lend a hand in case you want to. Plastic toy swords are pretty easy to come by, and they're especially common in dollar shops and such. You can see that that's what I did (in-joke for those with fan-subs, the sword reads "Shinsengumi (in Japanese), a.k.a. Shin Sen Gumi (in English). Which is why, for the photo, I taped a paper sweat drop to my head.), but if you're making the rest of your Tenken regalia with a lot of care and accuracy, a cheap plastic sword might look a skosh tacky. If you want to get really serious, you can get a real sword; however, for legal and conscientious reasons, I must ask that if you go this route, you be very careful with your sharp pointy thing. Swords like this should only be used for display purposes or for carefully choreographed demonstrations under expert supervision. That said, a katana will set you back anywhere from $60 to $600 or more. Any number of businesses on the web sell katana, but here are a couple of places to look: I've seen katana at Bud K. for as little as about $40; katana from Museum Replicas Limited are a lot fancier, ranging from their $160 "No-Frills Katana" all the way into the four figures (!!!).

If you're content with Soujiro's casual clothes, all you need to finish it out is the shoes. For his usual simple sandals, tatami zori are a good approximation. You can check out the Zori at the House of Rice Store while you're looking at the Tabi there; in fact, a rendition of tatami zori has been available at Wal-Mart the last few summers---that's what I was wearing.
If you want to dress as Soujiro from his final battle with Kenshin and after, you owe a debt of gratitude to Jason Haynes, who e-mailed me with links where you can buy waraji, tekko (the hand-guards like Soujirow as wearing), and kyahan (the wraps he was wearing on his legs---see above, you can also get hakama that come like that, too). They're all on the same site, Bokunan-Do---yes, Jason introduced me to them, and they have just about everything you need to dress as Soujiro is here if you're willing to pay for it and for international shipping. You'll have to do a bit of scrolling on these pages to find the items in question, but check here for waraji and special tabi for them, and here for the tekko and kyahan. According to the site's handy currency converter, the Waraji range approximately from $12 to $16, the Tekko are $14 to $18, and the Kyahan are $18 to $31.
I can't help you make these things yourself, I'm afraid. My only advice on that is just to look at every picture of these things you can find and watch the appropriate episodes carefully to get to know how they're constructed, where the seams are, etc., and go from there to make your own.

If you have any more resources for making or buying clothes like Soujiro's, please Mail Me and I'd be happy to post them on this site.

The absolutely most important thing to have if you're trying to capture Seta-san's charming appearance...

A Happy Smile!
^_^

And one last photo... Rurouni Kenshin meets Star Wars!

Return to my Site of Seta Soujiro Stuff

Rurouni Kenshin, Seta Soujiro, and all related copyrights and trademarks are the property of Watsuki Nobuhiro, Jump Comics, Sony and other releasing companies; I am using them here in a not-for-profit manner and without permission, in the spirit of transformative fair use. All sites linked to on this page are the property of their respective creators. Make Your Own Japanese Clothes by John Marshall and the patterns contained therein are copyright 1988 Kodansha international.