47470
浴衣{ゆかた} is a very common word. Why is it pronounced ゆかた, and why the
corresponding pronunciations for the kanji 浴 and 衣 are not listed in 国語辞書?
Pronunciation of 浴 「yù」 is mentioned only in 中日辞書, but I cannot find
pronunciation 「かた」 for 衣 explained anywhere.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-15T20:28:38.223
47466
2017-05-15T22:46:08.420
3371
question
etymology
Why 浴衣 is pronounced ゆかた, and why pronunciation ゆ and かた for kanji 浴 and 衣 are not listed in 国語辞書?
It seems 浴衣 is a kind of 当て字 and originally was a short of 湯帷子(yukatabira).
It's also read as よくい(yokui) when it's read by 音読み(on). But I doubt this
reading is used except for the kinds of bathrobe today.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-15T22:35:26.243
47469
2017-05-15T22:35:26.243
22087
47466
answer
Well, it's ateji. 浴 (bathing) + 衣 (clothes) = 浴衣 (bathing clothes).

ゆかた (the pronunciation itself) is actually an abbreviation for the word
湯帷子{ゆかたびら}, which of course is a compound of 湯{ゆ} + 帷子{かたびら}. Etymologically,
帷子 is from 片{かた} + 枚{ひら} (a cognate of 平{ひら}), but its kanji too are ateji.

A 帷子 was an unlined bast fiber worn by the rich in the summer. 湯帷子 was from
the Heian era and was used to dry off the body, since bath towels weren't used
in Japan at the time. By the Edo period, cotton became preferred over hemp and
ramie (the original bast fibers used) because it was softer, more absorbent,
and was abundant. It was at this point that ゆかたびら was abbreviated to ゆかた and
was given its new ateji characters, 浴衣. Nowadays they are used for more than
just bathing, but that was their original purpose.

Sources: [1](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B9%AF%E5%B8%B7%E5%AD%90),
[2](http://www.encyclopedia.com/fashion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-
and-maps/yukata),
[3](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%B8%B7%E5%AD%90#Japanese),
[4](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%B9%AF%E5%B8%B7%E5%AD%90#Japanese),
[5](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%B5%B4%E8%A1%A3)
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-15T22:46:08.420
47470
2017-05-15T22:46:08.420
9749
47466
answer