Lord Sesshomaru Costume

A Lord Sesshomaru costume is probably one of the most advanced costumes you could make. Before you begin, you should set out a plan of what it is you want to do. Decide ahead of time, which items you will make by hand and which items you will buy ready made and which items you will have made on commission.

There are many factors to deal with including:

Creating a pattern from scratch.
Learning to sew and wear a kimono.
Sewing slippery silk.
Dyeing and painting said silk.
Stitching long-pile fur.
Embroidering imperial crests.
You should have at least a minor understanding of Edo Japanese fashions and their construction.
Learning to pleat and fold a hakama and bind it at the ankles.
The creation of haramaki (battle armor) with battle spikes.
Not to mention the creation of not one, but two custom swords.
Finding or making a custom wig.
Also you'll need to know about the application of theatrical makeup.

Keep in mind that the more accurate you plan to make the costume, the more details you will need to focus on, and if you plan to go a step past the comic books and cartoons, and strive for historical accuracy as well, than you will be opening up a whole new list of details you will need to add. The more details you add to this costume, than the more advanced your sewing skills will need to be. In short, this is not a project for a beginner, not to say a beginner should not attempt it, though. Overall this is not a difficult costume to make, just that it has a lot to it and it does require some prior knowledge in the basics of costume making. I would not recommend Lord Sesshomaru, if this is your first time making a costume, but if you have already made a costume or two, or if you have sewed up a few smaller projects, say doll cloths, than you should have no major problems making this one. As long as you know what steps you need to take to complete your costume, you should be fine.

InuYasha, Volume 27

A major stumbling block here, is that no pattern exists for this costume and if you want to create it from scratch (rather than from a kit) you must have enough knowledge of fashion design to be able to make the pattern yourself, determine how much of which fabrics is needed, and than assemble them, all without the help of any instructions from anyone.

Japanese Fashions

And yes, there are kits available for this costume, and if you are a beginner in the craft of costume creation, it may do better to start with a kit first, or try a less complicated costume before moving on to Lord Sesshomaru. Basically a kit version includes a white kimono and white harem pants, (which not by the way Sesshomaru does not wear harem pants) both already sewn, which you would than embellish as desired. Often these will include a black vest/corset without any armor attached. The kits usually recommend buying two yards of white fur and draping it over your shoulder like a shawl. I have never seen a kit that included the armor and never are there instructions as to how to make armor either.

One thing that stops many CosPlayers in their tracks before they even have a chance to get started is the fact that there are so many separate items in his outfit, and before they can start sewing, they must first seek out patterns and instructions for each and every one of these items. Often they are not ever sure what articles of clothing they actually need or what the names of each item is, and so they are not certain what exactly they should be searching for to begin with. The amount of research required before the project can even start, scares off many, and results in them instead creating an easier to make costume, even though they had their heart set on Lord Sesshomaru.

Why have I made this lens?

Well, because I am making a Lord Sesshomaru costume, and I know a commonly asked question CosPlayers have, is: Where can I find instruction to make a Lord Sesshomaru costume? The answer they get is: nowhere. Nowhere on the Internet is there a site that goes into any detail with helping CosPlayers to recreate a Lord Sesshomaru costume. There is a need for such a site and therefore I am going to make an attempt at filling in the need.

Japanese Warrior Costumes Paper Dolls

Why am I the right person to tell you how to do this?

I sewed my first cloth doll at age six. At age 12 I sewed my first ball gown. At age 14 I enrolled in a two-year college course in pattern making and fashion design. At age 16 I sewed my first dress made from my own pattern designed by me. Today, 13 years later 90% of my clothing consists of historical re-enactment costumes designed and sewed by me, made from my own patterns. And starting in spring of 2008, I will take on my most ambitious project ever: to create from scratch, the most accurate Lord Sesshomaru costume ever created.

To complete this goal, I have done what I have done in the past with my other projects and am consulting with history books. I am currently reading three dictionary-sized books on the history of Japanese fashions.

Make Your Own Japanese Clothes:
Patterns and Ideas for Modern Wear

Lord Sesshomaru is a character born Feudal Japan in approximately 1240 - 1370 A.D., with the time of InuYasha books and show being set (according to author Rumiko Takahashi) during 1482 - 1558 and so from those periods I find myself doing the most research. (Sesshomaru is approximately 250 years old at the time of the story). My personal goal here is not, just to create a CosPlay costume, but to recreate the actual costume this man would have worn had he been real, so I'm taking the high road an going a much more advanced rout than the average CosPlayer would take. I estimate that this project will take a year or more to complete. Well, not a year or more to actually make. Once I have everything gathered up, it should take me less than a week to sew it up and assemble it, but finding the supplies to recreate this costume in historically accurate detail . . . that could take a while as some of the items I'll need are quite expensive. The tail for instance, I don't see any way around paying less than $400 for the fur, and the metal spikes for the battle armor will be $10 to $20 per spike, than there's the leather for the armor itself: about $200 per yard. In short, this project could easily surpass well over a $1,000 before I get done, and that, could be a set back, but I can wait. I'm not in any hurry to get this finished, so long as I do get it finished. Slow and steady wins the race.

And so it begins.

~~Wendy C. Allen (March 7, 2008)

Becoming a costumer, first and foremost means you will need to learn to sew. As you may have noticed, I have not included any sewing instructions on this lens. The reason for this is because Sesshomaru is a costume that is open to personal interpretation, and will be as unique as it's creator.

My goal here is not to teach you how to sew, but rather, guide you through the steps needed to bring your Lord Sesshomaru costume from an idea to a reality. I have done this by detailing each article of clothing needed to complete your costume. Along with studying in detail each item, I have also included links to suppliers who sell the materials necessary to create those items. However, if this is your first time creating a costume from scratch than you may find yourself needing help along the lines of sewing instruction.

Even if you have never threaded a needle before, you have no need to fret, anyone can learn to sew, and before you know it, you will be sewing up your costume.

For those of you new to sewing and costuming, I will be listing links to sites to help you learn to sew and items needed to help you reach you goal of becoming a costumer.

Before I go on, let's first do a quick run over of what you'll need to know before starting.

Below is a list of a few basic things to follow, when making any costume. I know, they seem so simple that it would seem I would not need to list them, but hey, even a professional costumer needs to be reminded of them every now and again.

Might as well start off with this first and get it over with and out of the way. :P

The reason Lord Sesshomaru attracts more oogle-eyed, love-struck, crazed fan girls than any other Bishie boy is: his mokomoko, that big furry fluffy thing, that is the cause of so many battles and debates among his fans who fight fang and claw over what in the world a mokomoko actually is.

I once saw a fan created picture that quickly explained the fan girl obsession with Lord Sesshomaru. It was screen shot taken of Lord Sesshomaru while looking very fierce and was combined with a second screen shot of a woman "in love". Over this altered picture was the words: "Fear me, damn it!" followed by: "But you're so cute and fluffy!".

Women love furry things. Women love all things cute and cuddly. Women love all things soft and fluffy. Women go wild over men draped in fur boas. Wait, why is a man wearing a fur boa?

Of course those of you who only know Lord Sesshomaru from the TV show and not from the book, will be interested to know that while the show portrays him as a man wearing a 4 foot long fur boa, the book from which the show was based on, portrays him as a man with an 8 foot long tail which he drapes over his shoulder to keep it from dragging on the ground. (See Picture below.)

Also in the book, but not on the show, is the fact that he can only be mortally wounded if his tail is injured, which has happened twice resulting in his near death each time, again, not in the show, only in the book. (See second picture below, with Sesshy and his bloody wounded tail.)

Another thing that points to the fact that the mokomoko is actually a part of his body, is the fact that when he transforms back into his natural state (that of a 40 foot tall white dog) he still has the mokomoko, which can be seen to be some sort of a lion's mane.

If you've never seen the difference between the skimpy boa of the show, than you'll be quite shocked at the sight of the monstrously huge tail of the book version of Sesshomaru.

I got to say, the original book version of Sesshy is much better than the "edited" tv show version of him that came along seven years later.

Kimono:

Kimonos are T-shaped, straight-lined robes that fall to the ankle, with collars and wide, full-length sleeves. Kimonos are wrapped around the body, always with the left side over the right (except when dressing the dead for burial) and secured by a wide belt called an obi, which is usually tied at the back.

Making Kimono & Japanese Clothes

Nagajuban

Nagajuban or simply juban are kimono-shaped robes worn by both men and women beneath the main outer garment. Since silk kimonos are delicate and difficult to clean, the Nagajuban helps to keep the outer kimono clean by preventing contact with the wearer's skin. The sleeves of the Nagajuban are 3/4 length and do not have the long drapes as a Kimono does. Only the collar edge of the nagajuban shows from beneath the outer kimono.

Sessho-Maru-Sama's Kimono

Besides being the world's most powerful demon, Lord Sesshomaru is both a warrior and nobleman, a wealthy and powerful Feudal overlord,The Ruler of The Western Lands (believed to be somewhere in China or Mongolia) and a much feared (a murderously violent) aristocrat and as such wears a style of ceremonial Kimono which is only worn by the elite few of his social standing. This can be seen by the fact that he wears white, a color reserved only for royalty, brides, and the dead, and by the fact that there are so many imperial crests embroidered onto his Kimono.

Sesshomaru's Kimono is a very ceremonial style, of solid white, with full swinging sleeves that sweep in lengths just above his ankles. The lower quarter of each sleeve is dyed red, and the left shoulder is also dyed red.

On the front and back of each sleeve, near the boarder of the dye are embroidered three family crests (twelve in all). The crest is repeated on the neck and shoulder of the left side.

Each crest consists of a triple hexagon with a six petaled white plum/cherry blossom in the center of each red hexagon, surrounded by a white boarder.

There is some debate among fans as to the lower edge of the kimono and what it should look like, since the hem of Sesshomaru's kimono is never seen in either the books or the show. There is also question as to just how long the kimono he wears is; again, he wears a hakama over his kimono, so we never see the hem edge of it.

In the areas of Lord Sesshomaru's costume where we do not have a visual reference to go by, we must instead look to the history books and find out what a real warring lord of Endo Japan would have done, and in doing that, this is what my research told me:

When worn by common folk, soldiers, and laborers, the length of a kimono worn under a hakama would have been knee length. However, the kimonos worn by noblemen, lords, and aristocrats would have been long full length kimonos.

The length of Lord Sesshomaru's kimono should be long: very, very, very long. My study of Japanese fashion history tells me that a war lord of Sesshomaru's status, would have worn a kimono of overblown proportions, not only are the sleeves abnormally long, but so to would have been the length of the kimono, which in some cases would have a train several feet long in the back! All of this extra fabric however would not be seen, because it would be girdled with a braided cord, and stuffed into the legs of the overlaying hakama, thus helping to give the hakama it's huge ballooning pant-legs-effect.

Additionally, my research tells me that the hem edge of the kimono would be patterned and decorated to match the pattern of decoration on the sleeves and left shoulder. Note that the fact that the pattern is ONLY on the left shoulder, is an indication that this is not only a lord, but a lord of near Shogun status. Lord Sesshomaru is a very high ranking lord.

So my advice? I would say to make his kimono at least 4 inches longer than floor length for the wearer, and dye the lower 8 to 12 inches red to match the sleeves, and add imperial crests staggered at the same intervals as on the sleeves..

Beneath his Kimono Sesshomaru wears a white (or sometimes red flower print) Nagajuban.

This is the ONLY version ever to be drawn by Sesshomaru's creator Rumiko Takahashi. All other versions of his costume were created by the tv anime artists and manga inkers.

On occasion, Sesshomaru is seen wearing a slightly different kimono. This can be considered either a mistake on the pat of the anime artists, or an indication that he has not one, but four different kimonos.

Alternate Kimonos #1 and 2 are essentially the same as his regularly worn kimono, the only difference being the color of the dye and patches.

Alternate Kimono #3 is completely different and is much less formal as is has no crests on it at all.

If you want to make one of the alternate kimonos, they are described as follows:

Alternate Kimono #1:

Sesshomaru's Alternate Kimono #1, is a very ceremonial style, of solid white, with full swinging sleeves that sweep in lengths just above his ankles. The lower quarter of each sleeve is dyed purple, and the left shoulder is also dyed purple.

On the front and back of each sleeve, near the boarder of the dye are embroidered three family crests (twelve in all). The crest is repeated on the neck and shoulder of the left side.

Each crest consists of a triple hexagon with a six petaled white plum/cherry blossom in the center of each purple hexagon, surrounded by a white boarder.

Beneath his Kimono Sesshomaru wears a white (or sometimes purple flower print) Nagajuban.

The Hakama worn with this is usually pale lilac colored, while the battle armor may be black, purple, or sky blue in color. When wearing black or purple armor, the yellow Heko-obi is worn with this, however, when wearing the sky blue armor, the blue Heko-obi is worn, as are a pair of sky blue shoes.

This is a rarely seen alternate version of Lord Sesshomaru's kimono. This is the second most commonly drawn version featured in non-cannon daijoshi manga.

Alternate Kimono #2:

Sesshomaru's Alternate Kimono #2, is a very ceremonial style, of solid white, with full swinging sleeves that sweep in lengths just above his ankles. The lower quarter of each sleeve is dyed blue, and the left shoulder is also dyed blue.

On the front and back of each sleeve, near the boarder of the dye are embroidered three family crests (twelve in all). The crest is repeated on the neck and shoulder of the left side.

Each crest consists of a triple hexagon with a six petaled white plum/cherry blossom in the center of each blue hexagon, surrounded by a white boarder.

Beneath his Kimono Sesshomaru wears a white (or sometimes blue flower print) Nagajuban.

With this version we see Sesshy wearing either his black armor or his purple armor.

This is a rarely seen alternate version of Lord Sesshomaru's kimono, however, once it surfaced, it quickly became the most beloved one used by fans, as when wearing blue, Sesshomaru seems less fierce than when wearing red. This is the most commonly drawn version featured in non-cannon daijoshi manga.

Alternate Kimono #3:

Sesshomaru's Alternate Kimono #3, is of a less formal style than the other three. This is the kimono we see him wearing before he became a Lord, seen only once during a flash back. This kimono is the one he wore when he was still quite young, aged at about 14 or 15 years old in "human years". Once again, it is of solid white, with full swinging sleeves that sweep in lengths just above his ankles. The lower quarter of each sleeve is dyed a deep-bright reddish-rose pink, more accurately called a shade of magenta.

On the front and back of each sleeve, floating just above the boarder of the dye, is painted three very large and bold lotus flowers (twelve in all). The flower pattern is repeated with yet another large lotus flower on the neck and shoulder of the left side extending down to the sleeve.

Beneath his Kimono Sesshomaru wears a white (or sometimes lavender flower print) Nagajuban.

With this version we see Sesshy wearing his purple armor, and dark blue velvet Heko-obi.

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UPDATE ADDED: June 4, 2008:

If you've been reading my blog, you know by now that my silk has arrived from Japan (was lost by our local post office) and after much debate over how to handle said silk, work is now underway on the construction of this pink furisode kimono.

This being Lord Sesshomaru's Court Outfit, which he wears at home in his palace, I am taking a more dramatic road with this one, and embroidering it in the 16th century Noh Theater style.

The white sections are going to be completely embroidered in an overall pattern of chrysanthemums and butterflies, embroidered all in white.

Because Lord Sesshomaru's palace is in China and not Japan, and because Sesshomaru is a Prince, I am taken a huge leap of liberty and turning the blocks of rose color on the sleeves and hem, into the traditional "ocean wave" pattern seen on the Dragon Robes worn by Chinese Emperors. These will be done in multiple shades of rose and mauve.

I have found a picture of a real medalion of a lotus flower, which looks an awful lot like the one on Sesshy's kosode, and have traced the design, and am going to use that for the giant lotus blossoms, changing the colors from the original medalion, to deep magentas and rose for Sesshy's fuisode.

All in all this is a majorly advanced embroidery project and will take me at least 3 or 4 month to complete before I well be able to begin constructing the kimono. (Historically, the cloth is embroidered, before being cut and sewn, so that is how I am making this one.)

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UPDATE ADDED: June 21st, 2008

I still have quite a ways to go on the pink flowery Court Robes. The cloth was cut out and the pieces pinned together, so that I could hand draw (in pink tailor's chalk) the giant lotus blossoms, and butterflies (in blue chalk). The butterflies are being done tone on tone, the same color as the silk, so can only be seen up close. I ran out of floss today, so had to go the Micheal's to buy more.

Right now I am working on the collar of the kosode, which has butterflies along the edge, and the partial piece of one of the pink flowers at the shoulder. Starting at the lower left side and working up to the top and down to the right, I am right now, 3/4 to the top of the left side. Each butterfly is approx. 2" x 4" and takes 3 hours to fill in using the satin stitch and the long & short stitch. I have been sewing approximately 1 1/2 butterflies per day (that's me hand sewing 4 1/2 hours per day!), so I'm guessing that my original estimate that it'll take me 3 to 4 months to embroider the entire kimono, was pretty darned close! I just started my 7th butterfly today.

Alternate Kimono #4:

I have only seen this one in VIZ's promotional "Chibi-art" These pictures show Sesshomaru as a Chibi, or a small child. This kimono is the one he wore when he was very young, aged at about 7 or 8 years old in "human years". This one is of Kosode style, with smaller sleeves than we normally see him wearing. The fabric is a pale mint green.

On the front and back of each sleeve, near the boarder are embroidered three family crests (twelve in all). The crest is repeated on the neck and shoulder of the left side.

Each crest consists of a triple hexagon with a six petaled white plum blossom in the center of each green hexagon, surrounded by a white boarder.

With this one we see Sesshy wearing a hakama made of the same mint green cloth. He wears neither armor, nor shoes, with this, but is shown wearing a yellow unpatternd Heko-obi.

Interestingly in these Chibi pictures we see VIZ portraying him both as a demon with a tail, and as a demon wearing a fur stole.

Well, this started out as me just planning a simple "CosPlay" costume. I originally planned just to do a quick, "once-over-look-like-the-guy" costume, like I normally would do for any other character. You know, the average type of CosPlay costume.

Than I started planning. And planning. And studying. First thing I realized, is that I picked probably the worst nightmare of a costume I could have picked to make. This costume, consists of a kosode, a furisode, a hakama, an 8 foot long "tail-thing", a suit of armor that's absolute hell to recreate, and all kinds of little weird details and things, that most other characters would not have had. So I started writing up a list of all the things I needed, (which was the start of this lens, BTW), and the next thing I know, not only am I planning this costume, but now I'm surrounded by huge library books on the history of Japanese clothen in the 1500's.

Next thing I know, my goal is no longer to make a Lord Sesshomaru costume for CosPlay.... no, now I'm going to recreate his entire wardrobe, 0_O including all 4 of the different costumes we see him wearing... no wait... did I see a fifth costume? He was wearing head to toe green in an official VIZ corp calendar I saw the other day: green kimono, green hakama... must look into this new costume. Thing is, I'm not just creating the wardrobe we see on the anime and mangas anymore, now I'm recreating what he WOULD have worn, had he been a REAL lord in ancient Japan.

The end result of this is a costume that is going to cost me a fortune and take about 3 or 4 years to make, because I'm doing the whole thing by hand, including the embroidery of the 4 kimonos.

My Lord Sesshomaru costume has gone from a CosPlay costume, to a historical reenactment costume fit for the SCA! LOL!

When I get done, it'll still be easily recognized as Lord Sesshomaru, but it'll be changed from the norm, being less fantasy and more real and will more closely resemble a real nobleman's outfit than a CosPlay one.

Oh yeah... and when I get done with his wardrobe, I'm planning to do Rin's, Inu-no-Tasho's, and SesshyMom's too. Hey, I'm doing this much already, I might as well do the whole family right?

How you choose to make your Lord Sesshomaru costume and it's various parts well depend upon many factors, including where you live, where you plan to wear this outfit, and how often it well be worn. An additional factor to consider is: will any parts of this outfit be worn separately from the rest?

As for myself, I wear kimono as part of my daily wear and I can not see making something that will only be worn once. Since this outfit is not all together different from what I wear every day anyways, it well become part of my daily wear as well. Taking this thought into consideration, means that I will not be making this as a costume quality outfit but rather a daily wear quality outfit. For my personal costume I will require the construction to be made to withstand the rigors of being worn every day in my active lifestyle.

Next I must consider where it is that I live. I live in Maine. Right now during the 4th of July week, it is hard to think about the temperature and weather we have during the rest of the year, because right now it is 97F. It has been in the 80's and 90's F all week. Here I am dieing from the heat, and thinking about making a double lined kimono. Nice. However, as I said, I live in Maine, and for 7 months of the year the temperature doesn't rise over 60F, and 3 months of the year it stays well below 20F, with the temps going to -15F for a few weeks each year. It's rare that we get temps over 70F. It's a heat wave when it hits 80F, and weeks like right now, I'm wishing I lived on the North Pole, because I really can't take it when the heat gets over 60F. I am not used to the heat and I do not like it one bit. I love our nippy cold weather and can't wait for it's return. I live in Maine. Our winters are long. Our winters are cold. Our winters last for 4 to 6 months of the year. And so, taking our weather into consideration, I am planning to make my Lord Sesshomaru kimono double lined, which got me to thinking: Does Lord Sesshomaru wear a double lined kimono?

I for one think that he does. Why? Well, for one thing we are talking about a mountain dwelling nobleman from the Momoyama Era who hails from "The West" (China).

1) Historically a lord would wear more layers of fabric than a commoner, just because he could afford to do so.

2) The mountain regions are cold, some of them snow capped. Mountain dwellers, historically wore double lined kimono, because it was a practical thing to do.

3) In the Momoyama Period, bling was king and wearing multiple layers of bright colored linings inside your kimono was the "in thing to do" and thus would be historically accurate for Lord Sesshomaru. The linings tended to be brighter colored, fancier, and much more elaborate than the outer layer of the garment.

4) Sesshomaru , Lord of the West, wears an outfit that tells us he has lived in China, and that some mountain range in China is very likely to be the "Western Land" which he rules over. (When one lives in Japan and one speaks of "The West" one is usually referring to the Qinghai or Tibet region of China.) The mountain range in this area is of course the Hymalayas, which in the lower levels has weather patterns that are nearly the same as Maine: from October to March we both have snow, blizzards, and very cold temps, and during our warm seasons our warm days are not really that warm. Sesshomaru dresses for and grew up in weather that closely mimics weather I dress for and grew up in here in Maine. Higher levels on the mountains are unthinkable to live on, with the highest peak of course being Mount Everest itself. Logic tells me that Sesshomaru wears a double lined kimono, because he roams around in mountain regions prone to snow and hash temperatures.

Well, that is my logic and how it is I came to the conclusion that Lord Sesshomaru wears a double lined kimono.

I have written more detail about what a double lined kimono is and how they are made. That info is posted on my "How to Sew a Kimono" lens (see link below or click here to read it.)

~~ EK (July 8, 2008)

......

The answer to this question lies in the thread you plan to use. All threads have varying thicknesses. Machine spun thread is going to have a much more even consistency of strand thickness, than hand spun threads will. Likewise, cotton thread from one company will have thicker strands than another company, just as cotton threads may be thicker or thinner than silk threads.

Another factor will be the amount of strands you use per stitch. Most embroidery floss is sold "6 strand" which means that for most of your projects (including kimono embroidery) you will be dividing the strands up, and sewing with a single strand. In other words, when you cut an 18" thread off of your skien of floss, you now have six 18" strands to sew with, not 1.

Your design choices will also affects how much thread you'll need to buy, as well you stitch choices. For example, a raise bullion stitch, takes from 4 to 7 times as much thread to cover the same amount of area as the satin stitch would use.

Here is how I determine how much to buy:

I am currently sewing up my Lord Sesshomaru costume, starting with his pink flowered court robes. These robes, being the ones he wears at home around his palace, are much more elaborate than the ones he wears while traveling, and will require much more floss than the other kimono will and as such, I started on this one first. On this particular kimono there are 31 very large lotus blossoms, each blossom approximately 8" across. These blossoms are scattered at precise points across the kimono, to give the appearance of be swirled up and around it by a gust of wind. Running down the collar is a row of tone on tone butterflies the same color as the delicate silk being used as the body of the kimono. Along the bottom of the kimono hem and sleeves is a band of "dragon robe" ocean wave stripes.

The blossoms are being made in 3 color patterns: a deep magenta (for 16 blossoms), a dust rose (for 5 blossoms), and a dark-toned pink (for 7 blossoms). Each blossom uses 6 different colors of floss. I am using DMC 6 strand cotton and 6 strand rayon/satin floss and DMC light effects precious metals for this project. All of these are sold in 8.7 yard skeins. The cotton and satin threads are being divided into single strands, while the gold metal floss is not being divided and the entire 6 strand thread is being couched down.

The silk I am using is very thin and very close woven, so no more than 2 strand thickness could be used at all, and 2 strands have a hard time going through the weave.

I started by buying one of each of the 6 colors needed for one of the blossoms, and than mounting up the cloth and stitching one blossom. Each 2"x4" petal took 4 hours to fill in using a single strand in long and short stitch. When I got done I had used the following:

one entire skien of 3607
one entire skien of 917
one half skien of 915
one half skien of 30915
1/4 skien of E3821
one 18" strand of 30744

In other words it took 3 1/2 skeins to make one flower for this kimono. However, 3 1/2 skeins are the total of 6 different colors, so it actually took 6 skeins to finish one flower.

I took how many flowers I need to make, by how many colors needed and came up with the following total:

16 DMC 3607
16 DMC 917
8 DMC 915
8 DMC 30915
4 DMC E3821
2 DMC 30744
5 DMC 3806
5 DMC 3687
3 DMC 3805
3 DMC 30899
2 DMC (# not decided on yet)
7 DMC 718
7 DMC 915
4 DMC 3687
4 DMC 33607
2 DMC (# not decided on yet)

That is the list of floss I will be taking with me to JoAnne's when I buy my floss.

That list considers only the large flowers that make up most of the design. It does not consider the butterflies, which are sewn at a rate of 2 butterflies per skien, nor does it take into consideration the large expanse of background covered in the dragon-robe stripes.

The flowers alone, require 95 skeins of floss, butterflies will add another 20 to that list, while the dragon robe stripes will add an addition of no less than 180 skeins to the list, for a grand total of more than 300 skeins of floss to be used on this one kimono. And this is not even a fully embroidered kimono. The colors I am using cost from .35c to $2.09 per skien, bring my cost for thread total for this kimono to just under $200.

When you look at a fully embroidered kimono (one that has every inch of the cloth embroidered), and think you want to make one, consider how much floss it requires to make and how much said floss costs. If I was making this kimono fully embroidered, I would need 4 times the amount of floss I am using now, some 1,200 skeins at a cost of nearly $800.

OMG! I can finally get started on my Lord Sesshomaru costume. YAAA! All these weeks of talking about it, and I'm finally getting the fabric to make it! (picture at right --->)

OMG! You have no idea how hard it is to locate historically accurate 15" wide handwoven white silk, like what would have been used in the 1500's to make Lord Sesshomau's costume! I'm so happy! It's coming from Japan though so will take about 5 weeks to get here! Must find something to do to keep myself busy while I wait.

I was just planning on making one costume, but hell, I bought 5 bolts of the fabric, so now I'm making ALL FOUR of them! WOO-HOO! I only need to make one hakama to use with all 4 costumes, but each costume has a different kimono. I bought enough fabric to make all four kimonos and the hakama. I have never bought so much fabric all at once like this before. I don't even know where I'm going to keep it once it gets here!

High Quality White Tetron (Traditional)Hakama

Hakama are a type of wide, skirt like pants worn by men. There are many types of Hakama, wore during various periods throughout history by different classes at different time.

Lord Sesshomaru is both a warrior and nobleman, a wealthy and powerful Feudal overlord (daimyo) and much feared aristocrat and as such wears a style of ceremonial Hakama which is only worn by the elite few of his social standing. The type of Hakama worn by Sesshomaru is known as the Karusan-bakama or Sashinuki Hakama.

Karusan-bakama

Some hakama during the Sengoku period had the hems made narrower than the body in imitation of the ballooning trousers worn by the Portuguese. This style carried on into the Edo period and became called Karusan-bakama. In addition to the taper, they had a secured band of cloth - looking rather like a pants cuff - sewn around each leg's hem, so the ballooning fabric would not open out like regular hakama.

Sashinuki Hakama:



Traditional Hakama




Sashinuki are a type of hakama that are meant to be worn blousing over the leg and exposing the foot. To accomplish this, they are somewhat longer than normal hakama, and a cord is run through the hem and drawn tight, creating a "ballooning" effect . To allow for the body required, more formal Sashinuki were six-panel hakama rather than four panels. Technically, this cord around the ankle makes sashinuki a type of Kukuri- (tied) hakama. The earliest forms of sashinuki were cut like normal hakama (albeit a bit longer) and have a cord running through the hem of each leg. These cords were pulled tight and tied off at the ankle. This was the form commonly worn during the Heian period. Sashinuki were worn by court nobles with various types of leisure or semi-formal wear.

If you've scrolled down through this lens, you may have noticed by now, that though there are several pictures of Lord Sesshomaru costumes made by various fans, but most of them are not actually wearing a hakama. Still, with or without the hakama, all have pulled off the correct look, and so it is not necessary to wear a hakama, if you don't want too.

As I mentioned, hakamas are not exactly easy to wear, especially not if you are someone used to wearing khakis and jeans. It can ruin your day if you are all dressed up but not comfortable and thus can not have any fun. Since wearing a hakama is something that does require a bit of practice, most CosPlayers are content to just wear a pair of wide legged white pants. Harem pants are another common option. Your best bet, if you want to look like you are wearing a hakama without actually wearing one, is to wear a Tribal wear Belly Dance Tribal Pants. (I have included a link to the best pattern of this type below.)

There are many reasons why a CosPlayer would wear pants instead of a hakama:

1.) Pants are going to be cheaper to make, requiring only 2 yards of fabric as opposed to the 5 to 7 yards needed to make a hakama.
2.) If you are buying instead of making, you could buy white pants from your friendly neighborhood Wal-Mart for $10 - $20, as opposed to the having to search high and low for a specialty shop that sells hakamas which typically sell for $60 to $400.
3.) When wearing pants there is no worrying about a hakama's inconspicuous openings or inadvertently flashing the crowd, a definite problem for CosPlayers who partake in battle scenes re-enactments.
4.) Unless you wear hakamas, palazzo pants, or floor length skirts on a daily basis, pants may be just plain easier for you to walk around in.

Well, whatever your reason may be, for most CosPlayers who take on the role of Lord Sesshomaru, wearing pants instead of a hakama may be a better option.

So, should you choose to wear pants or a hakama? That is a choice that is entirely up to you.

What am I going to do, you ask? Well, considering that I haven't worn pants in over 20 years, and that my daily wear consists largely of ethnic costumes and medieval gowns, you know that for me, pants are NOT an option! I'm going with the hakama. As a general rule, everything I wear, was worn in a time before pants were invented, and since I am a living re-enactor (meaning I wear re-enactment clothing 24 hours a day 7 days a week), for me, wearing anything that is not historically accurate is not an option. I won't even consider it.

The difference between re-enactment and CosPlay is re-enactors wear the cloths as their normal daily wear, while CosPlayers wear the cloths only one or two days a year to parties and conventions.

So when considering which route you should take in making this costume, you need to ask yourself, why are you making it? When will you be wearing it? How long will you be wearing it? What will you be doing while you are wearing it? And how important is it to you personally, to be historically accurate? There is no right or wrong answer here, and the only answer you should go with, is the one that is best for you.

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EDIT ADDED: June 26, 2008

It's no longer a case of what will I do, but what did I do, as today I made my hakama, out of crepe-backed-satin; crepe side out, satin side in. From start to finish (including cutting fabric into 17" wide strips and hemming the sides before starting) it 8 hours to make. This leaves yet another step closer to being finished. These are very comfortable made out of crepe-backed satin reversed like this, I think I'm going t go back to JoAnne's and get some more of that fabric in every single color and make a bunch more hakama and start wearing them every day.

Over his Kimono, Sesshomaru wears a very formal Hakama, a black obi, battle armor, and an obi-sash called a Heko-obi. We shall know take a look at the Heko-Obi and it's multiple variations.

Heko-Obi

The Heko-Obi is a thin, highly decorative, brightly colored silk sash, a type of Obi worn by men. It generally serves no purpose other than formal decoration of ceremonial wear. Sesshomaru's is distinctively longer and fancier than that normally worn by men and it tied at the waist to form a flower-like bow. Long fancy Obis of this type, were generally worn by women, not men, as a man's Obi is generally much short and has no long drape to it. Sesshomaru's Heko-obi is therefor highly unusual, and more resembles the belted sashes worn by Chinese noblemen, rather than those worn by Japanese noblemen. Though highly decorative, Sesshomaru's heko-obi does serve a purpose, as he uses it to sheath his swords to his side.

Samurai:
An Illustrated History

More than one Heko-obi has been seen to be worn by Sesshomaru. The Heko-obi is the item with see with the most variations, to date I have counted 8 different versions of it. As with the alternate kimono styles, the alternate heko-obi styles could be taken as a mistake on the part of the anime artists or manga inkers or as the fact that Sesshomaru owns multiple heko-obis. For my own costume I am going to assume the later and make all of the alternate styles and colors. Here is a list of the different versions he has been seen wearing:

Heko-Obi: Anime Version:

The anime version of Sesshy's Heko-Obi is by far and without a doubt the most popular version of it. This is the one most people quickly identify as being his "standard" Heko-obi, and the one used by most costumers, when making a Lord Sesshomaru costume.

Sesshomaru's anime Heko-Obi is a brilliant eye-popping shade of yellow, embellished with purple trim. See the many pictures of him on the page, to see a detail of this ocean wave pattern. It is uncertain if the purple designs are painted on, dyed, or embroidered onto the heko-obi.

If you wish to make one of the alternate heko-obis, here are the details:



Alternate Heko-Obi #1: Original Manga Version

Alternate Heko-Obi #1 is the same as the one he usually wears, except for the color. This one is a pale pastel petal pink or a shade commonly called "bubble gum pink", and the designs on it are red instead of purple. (See picture at upper right, in this section, of Sesshomaru's debut picture. This is the cover of the manga that introduced the world to the fact that InuYasha had an older brother named Lord Sesshomaru. This picture was one of the few manga pictures done in color, and shows him in hammered bronze armor and a pink Heko-Obi. --->)

Sesshomaru was originally introduced as InuYasha's older sister, not older brother. The color of his Heko-obi changed from pink to yellow after the story was rewritten and republished with him as a boy instead of a girl.

Alternate Heko-Obi #2: Anime Version; Not Common

Alternate Heko-Obi #2 is the same as the one he usually wears, except for the color. This one is the same brilliant shade of yellow, but the designs on it are royal blue instead of purple.

Alternate Heko-Obi #3: Anime Version; Not Common

Alternate Heko-Obi #3 is also the same as his usual one, except for the color, which is a dark gold-yellow, possibly metallic, and has navy blue designs on it.

Alternate Heko-Obi #4: Movie Version

Alternate Heko-Obi #4 is completely different from his usual wear. We only see this one once, in the movie flashback, when Sesshomaru was a young teenager, about 14 or 15 years old (human equivalent). This one is made of a dark blueish-purplish cloth, which resembles a velvety material. The lower edges of it have a gold banner-like pattern which appears to be embroidered in. This Heko-obi is shorter than the one he normaly wears, and the side drapes on it are shorter as well.

Alternate Heko-Obi #5: Manga Version (Japan Only)

Alternate Heko-Obi #5 is the same as the one he usually wears, except for the color. Though not seen in the United States, this one is fairly common in Japanese editions, and has been seen used a few times used in Japanese costumes, as well as being used quite often in Japanese fan-art. Instead of being yellow, this one is a pale whispery shade of sky blue, and the designs on it are royal blue instead of purple.

Alternate Heko-Obi #6: VIZ Promotional Product "Chibi" Version (Japan Only)

I have only seen this one in VIZ's promotional "Chibi-art" These picture show Sesshomaru as a Chibi, or a small child, about 7 or 8 years old. In this picture he was shown wearing a much more traditional Heko-obi, without both side drapes and the long flowing drapes at the front. Alternate Heko-Obi #6 was made of a plain bright yellow cloth.

Alternate Heko-Obi #7: VIZ Promotional Product Version (Japan Only - very rare)

I have only seen this one once, on a rare promotional art picture, which shows Sesshomaru "at home" and out of his normal nobleman's outfit and wearing a drabber set of "house cloths". In this picture he was shown wearing a much more traditional Heko-obi, without both side drapes and the long flowing drapes at the front. Alternate Heko-Obi #7 was made of a stiffer (possibly brocade) fabric, and bright red.

Obi

Once we see Sesshomaru not wearing his usual battle armor. He is seen wearing neither his Haramaki nor his spiked plates. From this episode we know that underneath his battle armor and over his kimono and hakama, Sesshomaru wears a very wide, plain black obi, most likely to have been made of silk brocade.

One of the world's worst, most terrible, all time horrors to ever rear it's ugly head into fashion history finds it's way into this costume. Bound feet! OMG! I am so not making Sesshy's shoes historically accurate and would never recommend any one else do so either.

Much of Sesshy's costume is influenced by the continent and not the island . . . keeping in mind that in the 1500's China and Japan were still basically one country, with the continent dwellers in constant war with the island dwellers, and according to his creator Rumiko Takahashi, unlike the other characters in the series, Seeshy grew up on the continent. In other words, he grew up in China, not Japan, which explains the slight differences in his hakama, battle armor, and shoes, from the other characters in the series. None of those differences is more obvious than his shoes.

On first appearances, we assume Lord Sesshomaru is wearing boots, but than if we look at the shoes from that time period we do not see real Samurai wearing boots. If fact, what we do see is what all the other characters in the series are wearing: rope sandals, leather sandals, tapi socks and rope sandals, or just going barefoot.

To find Sesshomaru's shoes in the history books we must leave the island (Japan) and head to the continent (China) where we find the most astounding and horrifically painful atrocity in fashion history: binding shoes.

In the feudal era, binding shoes were all the rage. It was the "in thing" to do. To hell with the pain, everyone wanted smaller feet. Worn by women, children, and nobles, binding shoes were as their title says, very small, very tight, and very painful shoes meant for the sole purpose of binding the feet to stop their growth and literally force them to become progressively smaller. It is known today, that the long term wearing of binding shoes can cripple your feet, but in the 1500's if you were of high rank, you wore them, and so it seems did our Lord Sesshomaru.

Binding ones feet involved, wrapping silk cloth around your ankles and feet, in a manner reminiscent of wrapping an Egyptian mummy. These wrappings were pulled as tightly as possible to constrict your feet, thus allowing you to be able to force your feet into the tiny shoes, which did in fact resemble low ankle boots. The binding shoe itself was made of embroidered silk and/or soft deer skin; often the soles were of carved wood.

Sesshomaru's appear to be made of a deer skin dyed black, with soft leather soles and a closer that is trimmed with a band of silver tooling around the edges.

Now, since I'm not even going to begin to consider (or recommend) the use of binding shoes, I shall now look at the alternatives.

What I would recommend is to find a pair of black soft suede ankle boots, which you could leave as is, or decorate with silver ribbon or silver embroidery to mimic the wrapped edges. It's simple, it's quick, it's easy to find at most shoe stores, and more importantly, it's painless!

Bound feet, it's no wonder Lord Sesshomaru has a short temper!

Winkle Pickers are thin, pointy toed shoes, that get their name from the fact that they resemble Winkle Sea Shells. Like Binding Shoes, they are a fetish thing, worn on a daily basis by only a select few, however, in resent years, the Goth culture has brought them back into style and they are not too hard to find if you know where to look.

The type of Winkle Picker you are going to want to look for, is the type that resemble Binding Shoes: they are a low ankle boot style of soft suede, silk, or leather, and have "mock-binding straps" which are closed with silver clasps just as Binding Shoes are.

The pair shown in the picture at the right are almost exact duplicates of the shoes worn by Lord Sesshomaru. ---->

Oooh! Such lovely shoes! I'd buy these even if I wasn't making this costume. These are the ones I'm going to be wearing with this costume. I'm ordering them just as soon as I figure out how to translate UK sizes into USA sizes, so I know which size to order. See the link below to find out more info about these shoes or to see more pictures of them.

Though Sesshomaru is one of the world's most powerful and deadly demons, he is still subject to injury and can be killed if badly wounded. Being a demon of death,(or angel of death depending on how one looks at it) makes him one of the most feared demons known to man, which in turn means that humans gather up armies against him. If being a demon wasn't bad enough, being a warrior besides has made him even more enemies who seek his demise. All things considering, Sesshomaru often find himself pitted in battle against his many foes, and as such, the wearing of battle armor is constantly required to protect himself from harm.

It is important to note, first and foremost, that Sesshy's armor is very fantasy based and far from historically accurate, so I'm comparing it here as best as I can to what was actually worn. The instructions and advice I have written thus far on the armor, is assuming that you are making this costume accurate to the anime or manga and not historically accurate. I plan to make a set of armor accurate to the manga/anime, however, I also plan to make a second set that is historically accurate, and I'll write up some info on that to add here later on, but for now I'll focus on what is seen in the book/show.

Samurai Arms and Armor
(Dover Colouring Book)

Haramaki

Haramaki was a component of the samurai class attire primarily during the Sengoku period (16th century) of Japan. Haramaki are belly protectors, which obviously made them rather important. Haramakis were generally made of silk, and lined with various materials. Haramakis contained chain mail or articulated plates of iron. When the haramaki is worn, it is to be put on from the front and then fastened behind with cords.



Samurai Sourcebook




Sesshomaru's Haramaki is made of a stiff black fabric, with unknown lining. It is skirted with four attached peplums resembling lotus flower petals and trimed with a tooled silver metal.

More than one Haramaki has been seen to be worn by Sesshomaru. As with the alternate kimono styles, the alternate Haramaki styles could be taken as a mistake on the part of the anime artists or as Sesshomaru owning multiple Haramaki.

If you wish to make the alternate Haramaki, here are the details:



Alternate Haramaki:

The alternate Haramaki, appears to be exactly the same as the one he usually wears, except that it is made of a rich purple instead of black, and the peplumes are longer and more fluid and drapible and not as stiff as the black ones are.

The Haramaki was known as an Iron Corset in Europe. The reason for this was quite simple: it was made out of iron. It was worn to protect the wearer from being stabbed, shot, or otherwise slay by their opponent. It was also, very, very heavy. The picture at the right, shows an example of a real one, similar in design to the one worn by Lord Sesshomaru. --->

There is an interesting discrepancy in exactly what type of Haramaki Lord Sesshomaru wears. In the earlier drawings of him in the books, his Haramaki is quite clearly the type also called an iron corset. This is the same type we see him wearing in the early episodes of the TV show as well. We know this because three times we see the iron corset shattered.

The first time is when at his father's grave dueling InuYasha. InuYasha is able to shatter the iron armor just before cutting off Sesshomaru's left arm.

The second time was after taken a human arm to replace his own, during a fight with InuYasha, when Kagome shot a sacred arrow at Sesshomaru, and it hit and shattered his armor.

The third is during the battle with InuYasha that left Sesshomau crippled and near death, when InuYasha used the Wind Scar for the first time. The Wind Scar shattered Sesshomaru's iron armor and tore through his chest and fluffy tail. The badly bleeding, Sesshomaru fled into a nearby forest where he collapsed and remained in a near paralyzed state for several weeks until he recovered his wounds. It was during this time that he meet Rin. She was the girl who saved his life and took care of him, while he was in this crippled state.

It is interesting to note, however that after this, (in both the books and the show) Sesshy's armor looks different, and appears to be of the type that is made of silk and lined with metal plates on the inside.

We particularly notice this change in the TV episode where Sesshomaru battles the Sun God and his armor is easily slashed and torn by the Sun God's claws. Note that though the older iron Haramaki shattered when destroyed, the new fabric one tears instead.

Sesshy's Armor: The Variations:

It should also be noted, that in the book, Sesshy's metal armor is a greenish-gold plated cast iron, while on the TV show it is a matte black cast iron; and later on his silk covered armor is black in both the book and the show. In the show his armor continues to be black, but in the book it is shown as black, purple, or sky blue.

When Sesshomaru was first introduced, this armor looked to be made of hammered bronze. Again, this was only seen in the book and not the show.

So just exactly how many different suits of armor does Sesshy have? Apparently too many to count, or at least, so it would seem. However, as with the self-regenerating spike plates, it would seem that Sesshy is only casting illusions once again, and that he has only one set of armor, but can change it's appearance at will.

So which set of armor should you make for your costume? Well, it depends on which of Sesshy's costumes you are making.

First off, go back and decide which of his kimonos you plan to make, because that will determine what choices you have as to which armor to make , because it seems that Sesshy only wear certain armors with certain kimonos. Here are the choices you have, so far as I have seen them. If I find more choices, I'll add them later on:

All versions are shaped the same, with the breastplate panels and the skirted panel made of 4 lotus petal shapes. How long the skirt should be, is in question, as it seems to change from hip length to knee length from one picture to the next, but knee length is the generally accepted length. When made of cast or forged metal, the breast plate as a stiffer and slightly rounded look to it. When made out of metal lined fabric, it has a more body-hugging, fitted "corset" look to it. The color variations are as follows:

Sesshy's Armor: Version #1: Anime

Version #1 is by far the most common, and the one nearly all costumers are going to try to make. It is seen in both the cast metal and metal lined fabric versions. The body and skirt are both solid black, usually somewhat shinny, though at times appearing to be quite matte. Each petal of the skirt is trimmed in tooled silver.

This one is worn with:

the red kimono and yellow sash
the purple kimono and yellow sash
the blue kimono

Sesshy's Armor: Version #2: Original Manga

Version #2 is the least common, and I have only ever seen one CosPlayer make this version. It is seen in only the cast metal version. The body and skirt are both a mottled greenish gold, somewhat shinny, and appears to made out of hammered bronze. Each petal of the skirt is trimmed in tooled silver.

This is what Sesshy originally wore, when he made his debut. We only see this in the books, never on the show.

This one is worn with:

the red kimono and pink sash
the purple kimono and sky blue sash

Sesshy's Armor: Version #3: Movie Version

Version #3 is only seen once, and I have never seen this one made for CosPlay. It is made in the metal lined fabric version. The body and skirt are both solid very dark, very rich blackish velvety purple. It appears to be made of a smooth velvet, and has a much softer and more feminine look to it, than any of his other armors. The skirt does not seem to be lined with metal plates, and drapes easily, blowing in the slightest breeze. Each petal of the skirt is trimmed in tooled silver.

This one is worn with:

the pink kimono and blue velvet sash

Sesshy's Armor: Version #4: Manga (Japan only)

Version #4 is the most common alternate version and looks almost identical to Version #3. It is seen in both the cast metal and metal lined fabric versions. The body and skirt are both solid purple of a deep plum shade, usually quite shinny, it appears almost metal flaked and gives off a silver sheen. Each petal of the skirt is trimmed in tooled silver.

This one is worn with:

the purple kimono and yellow sash
the blue kimono and yellow sash

Sesshy's Armor: Version #5: Manga (Japan only)

Version #5 is the least common, and only rarely used by costumers, and only by those in Japan. This armor is never seen in any of the English edition mangas, so most US fans are completely unaware of it's existence. It is seen in both the cast metal and metal lined fabric versions. The body and skirt are both solid pale sky blue color, appearing to be quite matte. Each petal of the skirt is trimmed in tooled silver.

This one is worn with:

the purple kimono, purple hakama, sky blue sash, and a pair of dainty sky blue shoes

This final version, is by far the most beautiful, as well as most feminine version. This entire purple and blue ensemble is quite regal, and gives Sesshomaru the air of royalty. This extremely fancy and lavish looking outfit, is completely for show, and not worn in battle, and suggests that Lord Sesshomaru is a Shogun or Emperor of very high standing.

The easiest way to make Sesshy's Haramaki, is to use a corset as a base. To the upper edge and left shoulder would be added the silver spike plates. Rather than attach the lotus flower peplums to the lower edge, it would be simpler to attach them to a wide waist-cincher-type belt, worn under the corset.

Using this method you have two options:

The first would be to buy a ready made corset, which is what I would recommend. A good quality corset costs from $85 - $300.

The second is to actually make the corset from scratch, which is an art form all of it's own, and should not be undertaken by someone new to sewing.

Corsets are lined with metal plates called a "busk" and metal, wooden, ivory, or plastic panels called "bones", in order to stiffen them. There are many ways of making them, but usually the bones are padded, and inserted into a muslin inner-corset, which is in turn sewn into another stiffer layer; this being sandwiched between the outer layer and the lining. The corset is cut from many tiny strips of fabric sewn together to mimic the shape of the body.

A well made corset will be very stiff and hold it's shape, thus forcing your body to mold to the shape of the corset.

A poorly made corset is not as stiff and will mold to the shape of your body, rather than the other way around.

It should be noted that if you have never worn a corset before, that you may want to consider buying a training corset to wear for a few weeks or even months, before you make an attempt to wear a real corset. The training corset well get your body used to being forced out of it's natural shape, without the extreme pressure of a real corset.

The advantage of wearing a corset-style Haramaki is multi-fold. For one thing, it'll look more accurate than any other method, as it is the style Haramaki worn by Sesshomaru throughout most of the series.

For another thing it is going to have a very dramatic effect on how you walk, and this for an actor who want to get into character, is a big plus. For those who've paid much attention to Sesshomaru, you know how he walks: very stiff, very straight, very proud, with his shoulders thrown back, in a manner that says: "I'm the greatest, best looking , most powerful demon you've ever seen, now grovel at my feet." A corset when worn correctly, is meant to improve your posture, which is why they are so stiff. Wearing a corset is going to throw your natural posture out of whack, and cause you to walk the same way Sesshomaru does wither you like it or not!

For my anime accurate version, I am using the ready-made corset-as-a-base method. The link below is for the corset I am ordering for use with this costume.

If you want to build the armor using a ready made corset as a base, I would recommend you use this one from Drac-in-a-Box. It closely resembles the Haramaki he wore later in the series, and is made of black Chinese Silk, very much like his would have been made of.

When buying a corset of this type, measure your waist, and than buy the size 2 inches smaller than your waist measurement. For example I have a 28" waist, and thus have ordered corset size 26.

This corset is designed to be worn by women, which for most actors playing Lord Sesshomaru, is not a problem, as due to his highly feminine appearance, Lord Sesshomaru is usually acted out by a woman and not a man.

This corset is not ready-made, as Drac-in-the-box, custom makes them to order, and could take from 6 to 12 weeks to arrive after placing your order, so be sure to allow for that time frame and order it well in advance of the event date when you will need the costume to be finished!

Corsets can be made for men, but they can be a bit harder to find, usually you will have to get them custom made. Drac-in-a-Box, does custom made items, so you could ask them if they make male corsets.

Spiked Plates

This is an unusual piece, and one that CosPlayers curse more than anything else, both because it is very difficult to wear and also because it is next to impossible to recreate without the help of a blacksmith. Most CosPlayers make do with cardboard and silver spray paint.

I can find no historical referance to Japanese warriors ever actually wearing such a piece, and must therefor assum that it a piece of complete fictional fantasy, created to give Sesshomaru a fierce and foreboding look.

Code of the Samurai

The spiked plate consists of a large horseshoe shaped strip of silver colored metal that rises up above Sesshomaru's left shoulder, presumably to protect his injured (dismembered) arm. This plate has large sharp curving spikes somewhat resembling claws, protruding out of it. The is an descrepancy as to how many spikes are on this shoulder plate; in most pictures we see 6 spikes approx 4" long each. However in a few early images we see 8 spikes instead of 6. In the picture shown above, there are only 5. I have also seen it with 7 spikes. Most fan art and most costumes use 6 spikes, and that is generally considered to be how many there are.

What exactly these spikes are made out of is never said, but they are a shinny silver colored (white) metal, and are able to regenerate themselves when broken or damaged. The fact that they regenerate when broken, could also be a clue as to why the number of spikes keeps changing, it seems to be a possibility, that Sesshomaru can change the appearance of his battle armor at will, this would also explain how his armor can be made of hammered bronze one day, black cast iron the next, and than later be covered with black, purple, or sky blue fabric, without his ever needing to go back home to China to change his armor.

A second metal plate is attached at the top of his Haramaki running along the breastbone and acting as a breastplate. At each end of this plate are arrow shaped designs decorated with red silk tassels. The breastplate has two upward-turned claw-like spikes.

A third metal plate is attached at the upper edge of the back of his Haramaki running along the top edge of the Haramki and just below the shoulder blades. At each end of this plate are arrow shaped designs decorated with red silk tassels. There are no spikes on the shoulder plate.

Way to Make The Spike Plates:

There are multiple ways in which you can make these plates, varying from simple to extremely complex. Here are a few of your options:

Option #1

The quickest and nearly easiest option, is to purchase 1" - 3" wide dog collars, 15" - 24" long, and encrusted with silver metal studs on top and bottom edges, and a row of 2" spikes down the middle.

While this is the quickest method, it is the second most expensive method. You will need two dog collars for this method, keeping in mind that a cheap spiked collar is $25 to $30 a piece, while fancy ones with longer spikes can cost well over $200 each.

It would not be very difficult for you to fasten one to the front and one arching over the left shoulder, and just leaving the back plain, as it would not be seen through the fur tail and long wig anyways.

Doing this, you will in effect has created a very realistic spike plate, which uses both real leather and real metal spikes. This method would also be relatively lightweight and moderately comfortable to wear.

Option #2

Most CosPlayers find it easiest to take a sturdy cardboard box, and cut it to the shape of the three panels, than spray paint them silver.

For the spikes they may use Styrofoam cones, shaped cardboard, polymer clay, or screw-on metal spikes.

While this method is the cheapest and easiest method to do, it also is the least realistic, and can be quite uncomfortable to wear.

Option #3

If you have experience in soft sculpture and cloth doll making, you may want to try using silver lame fabric, cut to shape, and than stuffed and sculpted.

This method, can create the illusion of real metal, an accurate shaping of the plates, and is relatively lightweight and easy on the wearer.

Option #4

The best and most accurate method, but also the most expensive method, is to actually make (or have made) real battle armor.

For this method, you will need to know the craft of black-smithing, silver-smyth, or some other form of metal working and you would be creating the real thing: the silver metal, spike encrusted plates.

If you do not know anything about being a metal smyth, but still want the real thing, you have the option of contacting someone who is a metal smyth and commissioning them to build these metal plates for you. Be warned, however that this will cost anywhere from $200 to $5,000, depending on the metal used and the amount of detail that goes into it and the commission asked.

While this method is the best looking and most accurate, it does have a major drawback (other than cost). It is very, very, very heavy. I repeat: REAL METAL ARMOR IS HEAVY! This can not be over stated.

The real warriors of feudal Japan, were very fit and had a great upper body strength. They trained for years and years, starting at very young ages. They started out with light weight bark armor, moving on to heavier weight wood armor, and than step by step up from light weight metal plates, to the final heavy battle armor. They did not wake up one day and say: "I want to dress up like a warrior." They trained for many years, and as a result had the physical strength needed to wear heavy metal armor plates.

Before you go through the expense and trouble of making or having made, a real metal plate, you need to consider this fact: Will you be able to actually wear it? Unless you work out and lift heavy weights on a regular basis, the answer is more likely than not, to be no.

This is not saying that you can not start training and working up to wearing real armor. If that is you goal and you have 7 or 8 months or more, before you have to wear the costume, than you can certainly set a goal of exercise and training and building up enough upper body strength to wear the armor.

All I'm saying is, know what you are getting yourself into before you spend the money to have real battle armor made. While you may be able to put it on and walk around for a few minutes, consider how hard it will be for you to walk or even breath, 3 or 4 hours later. You don't want to be half way through a show and have to drop out from fatigue, or stop wearing sections of your costume. It is better that you know this now, because you do not want to find out the day before the show, that you are unable to wear part of your costume.

Trying to convert Sesshy's very fantasy-styled armor into historically accurate armor is a pure nightmare and a half, and though I have never heard of anyone attempting to do this, I am certain it can be done, and am going to make an attempt at it with my own costume.

As you may have figured out by now, reading this site, you probably have come to realize that I am making much more than a simple costume, but rather I am recreating Lord Sesshomaru's entire wardrobe in both anime accurate, manga accurate, and historically accurate versions. Every single piece of every part of his wardrobe is being made. And that mean I have to make an attempt to completely redesign Sesshy's fantasy armor to resemble historically accurate armor, while still being recognized as Lord Sesshomaru's armor.

Okay, for the past couple of weeks I've been mulling over what to do for the armor, and yesterday I got out this book from the library:

Arms and Armor of the Samurai by I Bottomley

It doesn't really tell you how to make armor per say, but it goes into great detail about the armor of ancient Japan, and there are loads of close ups and details about how is was made.

Anyways... the armor I wanted to make was scale armor, but when I looked on the internet for scale armor how to's all I found was sites on hand forged metal scale armor, and I really don't want to make metal armor. But than I found this Samurai book and it has a whole chapter on scale armor! OMG!

He shows all sorts of close up pictures of scale armor in Japan, and than shows drawings of what the scales looked like before they were assembled, and than shows how they laced the scales together. And get this, the whole thing was made out of 2" pieces of suede leather laced together with silk! OMG! I can actually make that! All I have to do is cut out a bunch of suede leather squares, punch holes in them, and than lace them together with silk ribbon. I can have it finished in about 3 days.

Well, I don't know if that of any help to you or not, but I thought I'd let you know what I found in case it might help you out anyone making armor.

~EK (June 4, 2008)

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I did what most crafters think insane and went to Jo-Ann's 3 hour one day sale, to buy the costumer limit of 30 DMC floss. I hate the 3 hour sales cause every one gathers at the register at the same last 5 minutes before the sale ends, but .25c for floss is a deal I couldn't pass up, not when I'm needing about 200 skeins to finish this project. Anyways, while I was their I asked about their special order fabric, told them I was looking for some fake leather that could pass off for real leather. (I hate the thought of using real leather). They showed me the upholstery section, which I never go into, and now see that I really should do so more often, cause the special order upholstery fabric is just amazing! Well, they had a whole section of imitation leathers. Everything from regular plain leathers, to tooled leathers, to exotics like croc, emu, and rattlesnake. Wonderful! I can make Sesshy's armor without using real leather. Now to figure out which one I'll use, and how much I need. I guess my next step is to make a plan/pattern for what to do. I'll update again, once I know what I'll be doing with this.

~EK (July 6, 2008)

. . . I'll have words to put here soon, please check back later . . .

Not all the demons in the InuYasha series have fangs, but the ones that do, seem to have what looks like vampire teeth. Lord Sesshomaru is one of the demons with these pointy vampire fangs. They are easy enough to duplicate, simply by buying a set of theatrical dental teeth and having then fitted to your own teeth. (You can do this yourself in a couple of hours.)

For Sesshomaru you will need 2 sets. The upper set should be longer than the lower set. You can get them here:

For those not in the know, early in the series, Seshomaru lost his left arm in battle, which posses an interesting question for CosPlayers who take on the role of Lord Sesshomaru: How do you deal with acting out a one armed character?

If you are not familiar with the series than you may end up confused when one day you see an episode where Sesshomaru has both arms: answer, his lord demoness has wizard-like powers and had made a few strange attempts at cutting off human arms and useing them as his own, but this never works for long and soon he's back to being a one-armed demon again. Eventualy he does grow his arm back by the end of the series, but that's like 130 episodes later.

So the question placed on the CosPlayer is this: When playing Lord Sesshomaru, and you have two arms, how do you explain this to the mobs of crazed fangirls that hunt you down at the conventions?

Do you tell them you are acting Sesshomaru before the battle that lost him his arm?

Do you really get into character and tell them you've stolen yet another human arm, and that if they don't get their sorry pathetic human bodies away from you, you may take their arm too just in case this one doesn't work out?

Or do you tell them you are playing Sesshomaru after having regrown his arm?

Or is it that the fangirls are just so out of it that they forgot all about the fact that Sesshomaru only had one arm 90% of the time so they never noticed and thus never asked you about it anyways?

I guess the question really is, just how far into character do you really get, when you are in character as Lord Sesshomaru, and if all the little details are so very important, than why don't more Sesshomaru CosPlayers, have their left arm, bound and hidden within the folds of their costume?

I know, I'm weird, but like I said, I obsess over details when I make a costume, and dealing with a one armed character played by a two armed actor is one of those details that I find myself obsessing over.

Any thoughts on this?

Well, than one unexpected thing happened after another today, mostly boring stuff, but not planned, and while one thing lead to another, for some odd reason, I ended up in Dick's Sportswear today. Not a store I normally go to as I have no interest in sports what so ever, but my brother needed a new bar for his weights so I was in there to pick it up for him, and while I was waiting in the super long line, I noticed an elderly woman holding the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. I have no idea what the thing is exactly or why a sports supply store would have it, but it sure as hell looked like a Saimyoushou Hive. OMG! I can't believe I found a Saimyoushou Hive for my costume!

I went over to the woman and asked her what it was, and she said she had no idea but it was pretty and so she was buying it, and she showed me the box where she had found it and there were a whole bunch more of them. It is apparently some kind of weighted exercise ball, to tone your muscles. It's made out of a clear rubbery plastic and filled with gold glitter suspended in oil. At the slightest movement the glitter swirls furiously around inside of it, like a shimmering snow globe. It's utterly stunning to see the way the lights bounce off of it and radiate around the room. I have never seen anything like it before. Once I had it in my hand it was like it was attached there and no force on earth could pull it from my grasp. When I bought it the girl at the counter said she and the other workers had been playing with them all day, that they had just gotten them in this morning and everybody was buying them. I can see why. I didn't let go of the thing for almost 3 hours, and now it's sitting on the shelf while I type.

But anyways, it solved the problem as to what to do with my costume, which episode should I make it to match. And also ended my fussing over making a costume for a one-armed character. In the episode "Sesshomaru and Naraku Join Forces" Sesshomau has two arms, and he's seen carrying around a gold swirling Saimyoushou Hive. I never even considered doing this episode because I didn't think there would be anyway to make an accurate looking Saimyoushou Hive. I was wrong, and now I have a Saimyoushou Hive!

Granted this does change my costume some, since the second arm Sesshomaru had in this episode was of course not his own, but rather that of a human's, and on it was a black leather gauntlet with silver trim, so I'll be adding that to my list of things to buy or make now as well.

When a couple or a pair of best friends want to CosPlay together, and one is going to be Lord Sesshomaru, often the other will automatically play InuYasha. Granted Sesshomaru and InuYasha are brothers, and are a good pair to go as, if you plan on re-enacting battle scenes, but with InuYasha the hero and Sesshomaru the villain, do they really make a good pair for the CosPlaying couple to go as? Unless they are at each others throats in an attempt to kill the other one, you do not see Sesshomaru and InuYasha together very often. I think a better matching would be Lord Sesshomaru and his little girl Rin.

Rin is the 8 year old orphan human girl who was adopted by Lord Sesshomaru, becoming the only living being for whom he cares about and is willing to protect.

I was transferring some of the data from here, to Part II (having loading troubles on this page still, too much info on one page!. This lens has been cut and divided so many times now, that there are now 14 lenses made out of the info that was originally here, and it's STILL having trouble loading! ACK!)

Anyways, Since my Historical Accuracy lens got attacked by flamers, all of my Sessho costume lenses took a big leap in rankings, esp this one, which is now getting hundreds of visits daily. Well, you know what that means: time for me to check my stats and find out what happened so I can keep it going!

My stats page tells me that more than half of my traffic is now coming in from Google! OMG! You non-lensmasters won't understand the significance of this, but all you fellow Squids reading this sure will! It's really really hard to get Google to send traffic to a Squidoo lens.

Google is not only sending me traffic, it has placed this site on page one. I'm stunned, because Google has not only placed this on page one, but it has placed it in the #1 slot on page one! To shock me even farther, it's being featured at the top of the page, ABOVE the search results, in ADDITION to being #1 in the search results!!!!! OMG! I thought you had to buy ad space to get in the featured slot! How did this page get on the featured slot? No idea how it got there, but wow! I'm glad it's there!

Here's the current Google "page 1" stats:
keyword: rank # of how many results found

sesshomaru: 10 of about 1,210,000
lord sesshomaru: 2 of about 99,700
lord sesshomaru costume: 1 of about 8,540
sesshoumaru cosplay: 10 of about 63,700
sesshomaru dress up: 10 of about 36,700
sessho maru: 3 about 1,180,000
sesshoumaru mokomoko: 6 of about 1,300
why does sesshomaru have that fur thing: 2 of about 26,300
sesshomaru's kimono: 4 of about 28,900
how to make a sesshomaru costume: 1 of about 134,000
sesshomaru's boa: 9 of about 27,700
what does sesshomaru wear: 1 of about 153,000
what does sesshomaru look like in real life: 7 of about 61,100
becoming a costumer: 2 of about 7,120,000
costume sewing plan: 9 of about 182,000
how to make a demon with armor costume: 3 of about 37,700
sewing pattern feudal japan: 8 of about 9,040
sesshoumaru cosplay fluffy: 5 of about 8,950 for sesshoumaru
how to create a costuming portfolio: 1 of about 306,000
what does sesshomaru do when the show is not on: 1 of about 339,000

These stats where taken from Google on August 17, 2008.

Well, now I know what keywords, tags, and phrases people are using to search on Google and end up here. It's interesting that many of them were not searching for Sessho Maru to get here either! I also find it interesting to note, that many of the people coming to my page here, seem to be searching for info about Sesshy's Mokomoko/fur/fluff/fluffy/boa thing. Cool! Considering how much time and money I've put into obsessing over making mine.

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