Keikogi
Keikogi (稽古着) ('keiko', "practice", 'gi', "dress or "clothes"), also known as dōgi (道着) or keikoi (稽古衣),[a] is a uniform worn for training in Japanese martial arts and their derivatives. Emerging in the late 19th century, the keikogi was developed by judo founder Kanō Jigorō.
Origin
Japanese martial arts historian Dave Lowry speculates that Kanō derived the uniform's design from the uniforms of Japanese firefighters' heavy hemp jackets, hanten (半纏). By 1920, the keikogi as it exists today was worn by Kanō's students for judo practice; a photo displayed in the Kodokan (judo headquarters) taken in 1920 shows Kanō himself wearing a modern keikogi.
Until the 1920s, Okinawan karate practice was usually performed in everyday clothes. Given the social climate between the Japanese and Okinawans during this time, karate was seen as brutish compared to Japanese martial arts, which had their roots in samurai culture, such as jujutsu. To help market karate to the Japanese, Gichin Funakoshi - the founder of Shotokan karate and the instructor responsible for importing karate to mainland Japan - adopted a uniform style similar to Kanō's design
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Keikogi ]
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