十二単

See also: 十二單

Japanese

明治33年（1900年）
結婚の儀に臨む九条節子
Sadako Kujō (Empress Teimei) wearing jūni-hitoe at her wedding ceremony in 1900.

十二単 (jūni-hitoe): the plant in genus Ajuga

Kanji in this term
十	二	単
じゅう Grade: 1	に Grade: 1	ひとえ Grade: 4
goon		kun’yomi

Alternative spellings
十二單 (kyūjitai) 十二一重 十二単衣

Etymology

Compound of 十二 (jūni, “twelve”) +‎ 単 (hitoe, “unlined or single-layer robe”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) じゅうにひと​え [jùúní hítóꜜè] (Nakadaka – [5])
• IPA^(key): [d͡ʑɨᵝːɲ̟i çito̞e̞]

Noun

十(じゅう)二(に)単(ひとえ) • (jūni-hitoe) 

1. (clothing) a ceremonial twelve-layered robe worn by women of the imperial court, consisting of twelve single-layer unlined robes worn one over the other

   This style became fashionable some time in the tenth century during the Heian period. Starting from the Muromachi period, the term jūni-hitoe was also used in the popular culture to refer to the five-layer 五重唐衣裳 (goe-karaginumo) style.

2. (botany) Ajuga nipponensis, a perennial plant in the mint family and native to Japan

Usage notes

• (Ajuga nipponensis): Members of genus Ajuga are also known as bugleweed, ground pine, carpet bugle, or just bugle. As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as ジュウニヒトエ.

Related terms

• 唐衣裳(からぎぬも) (karaginumo, “traditional robe and apron clothing”)
• 着物(きもの) (kimono, “kimono”)