• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.121-133
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• 2004

This study is about japanese national suit. women's standard dress, and mompe, which were used as a means of controlling people's life and simplifying people's clothing during the chinese-japanese war(1937) and the pacific war(1941-1945). National suit was a semi-military uniform for men and it was the western style suit composed of jacket, under shirt, and pants. National suit was not popular during the early war, but it became popular afterward. Women's standard dress had the two kinds of styles : the kimono and the western style. Women's standard dress was not popularly distributed. Instead, many japanese women wore mompe, the active wear of standard dress. Almost all of japanese women wore mompe by the end of war because of its practical use. The effects of national suit, standard dress, and mompe on the rapid westernization of postwar japanese clothing can be summarized as follows. First, national suit and standard dress contributed to the official acceptance of the western clothes as japanese daily clothes. Second, national suit, standard dress, and mompe changed the traditional view of japanese on clothing and caused the rapid westernization of japanese clothing with the high emphasis on the practical and functional use of clothing. Especially, as japanese women wore mompe as the outer garment, mompe affected the view of japanese on women's body and it served as an important stimulus to speed the westernization of japanese women's clothing.