Ryukyuan Costume (1) : Dance Costume : Classical womans Dance Costume

In Okinawa there are specific folk costumes, 'Ryuso', which are very different from the Japanese folk costumes of mainland Japan and also European and American costumes. 'Ryuso' is a unique product of the Okinawan history and environment. The purpose of this paper is to research the relationship between Ryukyuan Dance and the costumes. There are several perspectives for this study, as stated below: (1) Ways to do the Ryukyuan hair style, 'Uchina-Karaji' (2) Hair accessories(3) Other Accessories (4) Variety of the dance costumes (the quality of the woven clothes and the design of patterns) (5) Ways to wear the costumes ( 6) How the costumes effectively and beautifully express the meaning of the Ryukyuan Dances For this paper, we studied in particular seven classical Ryukyuan Dances for women; 'Kashikaki', 'Nufa bushi', 'Shudun', 'Chikuten bushi', 'Yanaji', 'Amaka', and 'Mutunuchibana'