May 7 02:44
12 days ago
19 viewers *
Japanese term

腰巻

FVA Japanese to English Social Sciences Religion buddhism
I'm translating a text about Ashura (Buddhism) into English and the lower clothing is called 腰巻. I don't think "loincloth" would be appropriate since most of the images and definitions I've read only mention that it covers the genital area, and the clothing is more "trouser-shaped". Also, I've read that "koshimaki" is mostly used by women when wearing kimono and in the theatre noh, so I have problems with that term too.
Proposed translations (English)
4 koshimaki

Proposed translations

24 mins

koshimaki

You seem to have a good grasp of what koshimaki represents—it's a long piece of cloth wrapped around the waist, historically worn by women in the Edo(?) period as an undergarment. The term translates literally to "waist roll." Considering the cultural specificity of the term, much like "kimono," it might be best to retain the original Japanese term "koshimaki" in your translation. You could then provide a brief explanation in a footnote or parenthetical, which would help readers understand the term without replacing it with an English equivalent that might not capture its full meaning or cultural nuance.

P/s:
Koshimaki also refers to the belts (obi) wrapped around the lower part of publications like books and mooks (magazine-book hybrids). These belts display information such as titles, prices, and promotional text.
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Reference comments

1 hr
Reference:

"腰巻" here means "裙” in Buddhist term

Judging from your explanation, "腰巻" here means "裙” in Buddhist term which means "skirt".
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