I am Eógan svartauga/Hattori no Sabarou Akihira within the Society of Creative Anachronism. I am Apprenticed to Countess Mægwynn skrautibrok, and Squired to Count Gannicus the Hibernian. I am a medieval costumer focusing on Iron Age Scandinavia, Kievan Rus, and Sengoku Japan.
You can find all this on my blog, and more...
Sewing
Jewellery-making
Leather-working
Shoe-making
Cooking & Recipes
Medieval Sex Work
Queerness in Medieval Context
Folk Lore - Especially Eastern European
Religion
Lino Block Printing
I also run a YouTube channel featuring my creations.
Imagine a fluffy unicorn that’s bred for its wool like a sheep- once or twice a year it has to get shorn and the shearer just has to awkwardly flop and position the unicorn around without getting stabbed. Perhaps they cover the horn with a protective pool noodle
There are multiple chapters that are set in hospitals where the characters are attempting to recover from injuries that never fully heal. I must once again stress that my experience in WWI was perfectly normal.
There is a giant horrible mudplain full of unrecoverable and perfectly preserved dead bodies that the characters have to walk through in a land where the air is poisoned gas, and on a compLETELY UNRELATED NOTE: WWI WAS TOTALLY FINE AND NORMAL!!
'Asagutsu' (Shallow Clogs/Shoes) in 'Medieval' Japan
I have amassed enough research to start working on creating the 'asagutsu' for my White Wolf Fian project, though I will not be posting a huge research dump here. I will be reserving the more in-depth breakdown for when I start on my documentation papers, and a link to the Google Doc will be subsequently added.
Quick Breakdown:
In my research I have found that the term asagutsu (浅沓, shallow clogs/shoes), is a term that encompass most clog styles because it is used as an inverse to kanokutsu (靴の沓, deep clogs/shoes), and is also the name that primarily refers to the modern clogs worn by Shinto priests. Although my use of 'modern' is only in comparison to the time period of mid Muromachi era to the end of Azuchi-Momoyama (1450-1615 CE), and the solidification of cultural traditions in the late Edo and Meiji eras (1800-1912 CE).
Wagutsu (和沓, Traditional/ancient Japanese shoes) also applies as an umbrella term to refer to any shoe worn in the 'medieval' period.
This modern asagutsu style is worn almost solely today by priests. The tsumasaki no hana (爪先の鼻, tip of the toe/toe box) of these modern asagutsu can be described as oblong, rectangular, and cavernous. They're made from paper layered over a form in the 'positive' shape of the final shoe. Then several layers of black urushi lacquer is applied and sanded to create an even surface and a solid seal. To finish, a lining and a silk fabric pad stuffed with cotton or silk fibre is inserted to fill the cavernous toe box to make them usable in daily priestly life.
In pre-Edo era, clogs were of a shallow style which is why 'asagutsu' is used to refer to them modernly. But the proper name is karihana (雁鼻, shortened from karihana no kutsu, 雁鼻の沓), which translates to 'wild goose nose shoe'--named as the toe box closely resembles the shape of the bill found on 'wild geese'. Unfortunately I could not find a name for a specific breed of knob-billed goose that served as the inspiration, as Kari (雁) translates literally to 'wild goose'. But, a general search of 'Kari 雁' brings up a set of bronze statues from the Meiji period, depicting knob-billed geese. However, the breed 'Chinese Goose' has a distinct knob on it's bill, and geese are known to be migratory. There may not be a knob-billed goose that is considered to be 'native' to Japan, and the wild goose they're referring to could migrate from China. As this is a costuming blog, I'm not going to be researching the migratory patterns of the Chinese goose.
Chinese goose, compared to a depiction of karihana in a 17th century scroll painting.
Karihana in the Momoyama era are not limited to the priestly caste, as courtly nobles wore them with a few specific formal outfits such as Sokutai (束帯), Ikan (衣冠), Nōshi (直衣), and the Kariginu*(狩衣). I will be working on a kariginu to go with this outfit at a later date. Karihana are not meant to be 'everyday shoes'. These shoes are also not worn for extended periods of travel or for when riding horses.
I have not found explicit information on how this style was constructed, but the item description for the one physical extant sōkai (插鞋, brocade wrapped lacquer shoes) set, provides enough information to reconstruct them (combined with the information I found in creating modern asagutsu).
"Sōkai are footwear originally worn by the Emperor when dressed in sokutai (束帯, formal court dress). They are wooden clogs...decorated by pasting nishiki (錦, brocade) on the outer surface...While they feature brocade in accordance with the Emperor's sōkai, the core of one pair is crafted from leather." I believe the other pair in the set are constructed from (Paulownia) wood, based on how well they have held their shape.
Inferring, these shoes start with a shell shape constructed from wood or leather around a 'positive' of the final shoe, then lacquered over in a similar smoothing motion like modern asagutsu. While the last lacquer layer is still wet, the silk brocade is pasted over. However, I don't believe these and modern asagutsu use a traditional shoe-making last to create the foot bed, as they're not exactly custom shaped to the individual's foot. This follows as most other forms of Japanese footwear do not require the individual's exact measurements or a carbon copy of their foot to create, like medieval European boots and shoes.
Other images featuring Karihana:
Scenes From the Tale of Genji | Azuchi-Momoyama (17th century)
Horse Race at the Kamo Shrine | Azuchi-Momoyama (17th century)
Wakana jo (New Herbs pt 1) - Kashiwagi and courtiers playing kemari (kickball) | Late Azuchi-Momoyama (17th century)
Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Tenjin Shrine | Kamakura (13th century)
I do not believe that the footwear featured in this set of paintings are actually 'Karihana', but I'm still including them as they show an evolution of style from an earlier era. Also because the inclusion adds more extant sources of lacquered clogs in the medieval era. These might be Hanakirigutsu (鼻切沓, cut-nose shoe).
'Asagutsu' (Shallow Clogs/Shoes) in 'Medieval' Japan
I have amassed enough research to start working on creating the 'asagutsu' for my White Wolf Fian project, though I will not be posting a huge research dump here. I will be reserving the more in-depth breakdown for when I start on my documentation papers, and a link to the Google Doc will be subsequently added.
Quick Breakdown:
In my research I have found that the term asagutsu (浅沓, shallow clogs/shoes), is a term that encompass most clog styles because it is used as an inverse to kanokutsu (靴の沓, deep clogs/shoes), and is also the name that primarily refers to the modern clogs worn by Shinto priests. Although my use of 'modern' is only in comparison to the time period of mid Muromachi era to the end of Azuchi-Momoyama (1450-1615 CE), and the solidification of cultural traditions in the late Edo and Meiji eras (1800-1912 CE).
Wagutsu (和沓, Traditional/ancient Japanese shoes) also applies as an umbrella term to refer to any shoe worn in the 'medieval' period.
This modern asagutsu style is worn almost solely today by priests. The tsumasaki no hana (爪先の鼻, tip of the toe/toe box) of these modern asagutsu can be described as oblong, rectangular, and cavernous. They're made from paper layered over a form in the 'positive' shape of the final shoe. Then several layers of black urushi lacquer is applied and sanded to create an even surface and a solid seal. To finish, a lining and a silk fabric pad stuffed with cotton or silk fibre is inserted to fill the cavernous toe box to make them usable in daily priestly life.
In pre-Edo era, clogs were of a shallow style which is why 'asagutsu' is used to refer to them modernly. But the proper name is karihana (雁鼻, shortened from karihana no kutsu, 雁鼻の沓), which translates to 'wild goose nose shoe'--named as the toe box closely resembles the shape of the bill found on 'wild geese'. Unfortunately I could not find a name for a specific breed of knob-billed goose that served as the inspiration, as Kari (雁) translates literally to 'wild goose'. But, a general search of 'Kari 雁' brings up a set of bronze statues from the Meiji period, depicting knob-billed geese. However, the breed 'Chinese Goose' has a distinct knob on it's bill, and geese are known to be migratory. There may not be a knob-billed goose that is considered to be 'native' to Japan, and the wild goose they're referring to could migrate from China. As this is a costuming blog, I'm not going to be researching the migratory patterns of the Chinese goose.
Chinese goose, compared to a depiction of karihana in a 17th century scroll painting.
Karihana in the Momoyama era are not limited to the priestly caste, as courtly nobles wore them with a few specific formal outfits such as Sokutai (束帯), Ikan (衣冠), Nōshi (直衣), and the Kariginu*(狩衣). I will be working on a kariginu to go with this outfit at a later date. Karihana are not meant to be 'everyday shoes'. These shoes are also not worn for extended periods of travel or for when riding horses.
I have not found explicit information on how this style was constructed, but the item description for the one physical extant sōkai (插鞋, brocade wrapped lacquer shoes) set, provides enough information to reconstruct them (combined with the information I found in creating modern asagutsu).
"Sōkai are footwear originally worn by the Emperor when dressed in sokutai (束帯, formal court dress). They are wooden clogs...decorated by pasting nishiki (錦, brocade) on the outer surface...While they feature brocade in accordance with the Emperor's sōkai, the core of one pair is crafted from leather." I believe the other pair in the set are constructed from (Paulownia) wood, based on how well they have held their shape.
Inferring, these shoes start with a shell shape constructed from wood or leather around a 'positive' of the final shoe, then lacquered over in a similar smoothing motion like modern asagutsu. While the last lacquer layer is still wet, the silk brocade is pasted over. However, I don't believe these and modern asagutsu use a traditional shoe-making last to create the foot bed, as they're not exactly custom shaped to the individual's foot. This follows as most other forms of Japanese footwear do not require the individual's exact measurements or a carbon copy of their foot to create, like medieval European boots and shoes.
Other images featuring Karihana:
Scenes From the Tale of Genji | Azuchi-Momoyama (17th century)
Horse Race at the Kamo Shrine | Azuchi-Momoyama (17th century)
Wakana jo (New Herbs pt 1) - Kashiwagi and courtiers playing kemari (kickball) | Late Azuchi-Momoyama (17th century)
Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Tenjin Shrine | Kamakura (13th century)
I do not believe that the footwear featured in this set of paintings are actually 'Karihana', but I'm still including them as they show an evolution of style from an earlier era. Also because the inclusion adds more extant sources of lacquered clogs in the medieval era. These might be Hanakirigutsu (鼻切沓, cut-nose shoe).
I will be trying to be more active on here, and maybe catching up on things I have made in preparation for posting about my White Wolf Fian project. The project hasn't been accepted as an appropriate challenge yet, but I'm excited to share that it's going to be a skin out Sengoku jidai Japanese Courtier set featuring:
Fundoshi
Juban/Under Kosode
Properly fitted Kosode
Hakama with the correct pleat placement
Suikan
Lacqured eboshi
Tabi
Asagutsu
Other associated accessories
As well, all the garments will be hand sewn with the traditional Japanese technique. There may be some sort of block stamping or rice paste dyeing. I am also thinking of adding ohaguro in a masculine context.
I will have one year to complete this project, and I will be using this tumblr to post about my process and research.
I was finally able to give my challenge proposal in court at Kingdom A&S on March 28, 2026. From this point on, I am now in 'challenge mode' until March 29, 2027. Despite it being April already, I was giving myself some time off from working on projects, as I have been working non-stop on other creations. But now I should get down to business and create a plan of attack, especially with how many sewing items I have. Though as much as I would love to dive right into the sewing, especially the fundoshi/underwear, I should attempt and test the asagutsu/lacquered clogs first as this project is utterly out of my wheelhouse, and would take the most amount of time.
Project Timeline:
Asagutsu
- Research in creation & execution
- Last/form making
- Plaster/Paper mache
- Lacquering
- Documentation write up
Lacquered/starched Eboshi
- Research into court status, which dictates which hat I'll be making
- Making
- Lacquering at the same time as the Asagutsu
- Write up
Ohaguro, in a masculine context
- Research
- Write up
- Test application with Alcohol Activated Makeup SFX Tooth Palette
Clothing
- Research into court status, which dictates garments/outfit composition
- Research and practice in unshin and/or wasai
- Research and practice in kaki-e and ukiyo-e/block printing
- Production
- Write up
Associated accessories
- Research
- Creation/Acquisition
- Write up
Now that I have jotted this all down, I'm now fully understanding the brevity of the project I've undertaken. I'm just thankful that I didn't ask for a reduced amount of time. There's only one thing left to do now, and it's to get started one bite at a time.
When I was younger I was very right-wing. I mean…very right-wing. I won’t go into detail, because I’m very deeply ashamed of it, but whatever you’re imagining, it’s probably at least that bad. I’ve taken out a lot of pain on others; I’ve acted in ignorance and waved hate like a flag; I’ve said and did things that hurt a lot of people.
There are artefacts of my past selves online – some of which I’ve locked down and keep around to remind me of my past sins, some of which I’ve scrubbed out, some of which are out of my grasp. If I were ever to become famous, people could find shit on me that would turn your stomach.
But that’s not me anymore. I’ve learned so much in the last ten years. I’ve become more open to seeing things through others’ eyes, and reforged my anger to turn on those who harm others rather than on those who simply want to exist. I’ve learned patience and compassion. I’ve learned how to recognise my privileges and listen to others’ perspectives. I’ve learned to stand up for others, how to hear, how to help, how to correct myself. And I learned some startling shit about myself along the way – with all due irony, some of the things I used to lash out at others for are intrinsic parts of myself.
You wouldn’t know what I am now from what I was then. You wouldn’t know what I was then from what I am now.
It distresses me deeply to think of someone dredging up my dark, awful past and treating me as though that furiously hateful person is still me. It distresses me to see others dredging up the past for anyone who has made efforts to become a better person, out of some sick obsession with proving they’re “problematic.”
Purity culture tells you that once someone says or does something, they can never go back on it. That’s a goddamn lie. While it’s true that some remain unrepentant and never change their ways and continue to harm others, it’s important to allow everyone the chance to learn from their mistakes. Saying something ignorant isn’t murder. Please stop treating it that way. Let people grow.
Bruh. No. Listen. Call out what people do now, absolutely. If they haven’t changed, call them out on their record. This post is explicitly not about people who HAVEN’T changed. What this post IS saying is, if someone is making an effort to be a good person, don’t go digging around in their past for evidence that they were once for what they’re now against, or once against what they’re now for, as “proof” of what they “really think,” because people’s opinions and beliefs can change.
The obsession with finding shit in someone’s past and then claiming that a questionable or even sordid past negates all possibility of a good present needs to become extinct. Gold-star activism and purity culture are bullshit and we need to collectively reject the fuck out of them.
If someone has changed for the better, don’t harass them about what they were like before they fuckin’ changed. That’s shitty and it needs to stop.
Gold-star activism and purity culture are bullshit and we need to collectively reject the fuck out of them.
We really need to start asking where this purity bullshit came from. I’m not Christian and was not raised Christian but there has been a lot evidence that much of gold star activism and purity culture originated in of evangelical youth movements and then infiltrated progressive left-wing and center-left politics when those youth left their churches but failed to leave behind the black-n-white puritanical “you’re going to hell if you stray one inch from the righteous path” style of thinking they were taught.
I distinctly remember some conversations I had in the late 00s and very early 2010s with long time social justice activists who were baffled and disturbed by the new crop of youth activists who were practicing something that was decidedly NOT social justice despite stealing that phrase from us.
In the decade and a half that has passed since then, all of this gold-star activism and purity culture has done exactly what I predicted back then: empowered the far-right while sowing division everywhere.
The thing about sewing machines is that while the machine is working properly, it's way faster and easier than hand sewing but the second it runs into a mechanical problem, you could have hand sewn the whole thing in the time it took you to fix it with none of the aggravation
My "Yesses" in historical fashion. Based on Pins & Weevils' post on Instagram with the same title. These are all my favourite aspects of historical bodily decoration mainly from the cultures I focus on.
First panel is all me/my work. 1. Generic 'SCA' Viking, 2. 'SCA' Rus with beaded silk cuff, 3. Hand sewn Rus, 4. 16th century/German Renaissance courtier
Heavy fur lining/accents
Coat on bottom right from Kvetun Garment
Sha 紗/Gauze layered garments
Wool with silk trim
Top two garments from Yuliya Viking Clothing, bottom two from Sew or Die Reenact
Suikan/Suo shoulders
Pearl beading
Bottom right is Ruriki Family, bottom left is my work
Igote / Archer's arm guard
Teeth blackening
Tattooing
Bottom right from Razzouk Tattoo
Jewellery made from coins/stamped metal
Temple rings (Would love to wear these, even though I'm a man)
Leather boots in this style
Reproductions from either Kvetun Garment or Alex Kovalevskii
I will be trying to be more active on here, and maybe catching up on things I have made in preparation for posting about my White Wolf Fian project. The project hasn't been accepted as an appropriate challenge yet, but I'm excited to share that it's going to be a skin out Sengoku jidai Japanese Courtier set featuring:
Fundoshi
Juban/Under Kosode
Properly fitted Kosode
Hakama with the correct pleat placement
Suikan
Lacqured eboshi
Tabi
Asagutsu
Other associated accessories
As well, all the garments will be hand sewn with the traditional Japanese technique. There may be some sort of block stamping or rice paste dyeing. I am also thinking of adding ohaguro in a masculine context.
I will have one year to complete this project, and I will be using this tumblr to post about my process and research.
literally following and regularly checking your tag for asoiaf hair and clothing i’m so obsessed <3 if you want/have the energy: how do you think sansa and arya dress and does it influence the winterfell “court”? does catelyn? does it influence the rest of the north?
*kisses you*
Cat alters the winterfell fashions for the first time in years, as she’s coming up from the riverlands with corsets and stays, low necklines, wide sleeves, and other fashions that are mostly associated with a slightly warmer climate. She does still wear the traditional winterfell fashions of high necks, many layers, head coverings, but she also creates a mashup of the two styles. It’s more popular in the summertime for women to start wearing tighter dresses and loose veils, bc of Catelyn
I think Sansa tends to dress in traditional winterfell clothes, but still adds a twist to it inspired by her mother, to give her a more “southern” look. Brighter colors and soft silks and the occasional tighter bodice and high waistline. It’s her idea of what princesses from her stories wear. All of the other girls around her age are suddenly also wearing fun colors and begging their fathers to buy them nice silks from white harbor. She is a baby trendsetter
Arya is just so scrungly…she doesn’t really care about her clothes and doesn’t like them to get in her way. She probably wears old skirts that are too short for her so she doesn’t trip while running, and undershirts that she terribly hemmed herself at the elbow bc she doesn’t like big sleeves. The simplest clothes she can find in her wardrobe (or trade with the servant girls) Cat usually just lets her be but when they all need to be presentable she’s forced into a starched ankle length dress and tight fitted jacket and her hair combed back with and embroidered scarf. But overall she dresses more like the kitchen girls than Ned’s daughter
