Susoyoke petticoat (裾除け)
Susoyoke petticoat is an inner wear that is worn under wafuku (Japanese traditional clothes). It is also called as kedashi petticoat. It is a cloth of length down to ankles, which is put on top of koshimaki (wafuku wraparound slip). A female mainly wears susoyoke petticoat, but occasionally a male also wears it.
Commonly it is a rectangular cloth, which can wrap the waist one and half way round, and has a string attached to it (as an exception, yujo (a prostitute) used the one without a string). It is used to protect lower half of the body as well as to avoid cling of wafuku to legs, and usually it is made with smooth fabric that causes less static electricity, such as Crepe Kimono.
Origin
Present nagajuban (a long undergarment) was not widespread in the early Edo period and that time, hanjuban (a short undergarment) of a waist length, and koshimaki (wafuku wraparound slip) were used as a set for inner wear.
After nagajuban covering down to ankles became widespread instead of hanjuban, susoyoke petticoat was divided to yumoji (koshimaki), an inner wear, and susomawashi (lining at the bottom of a kimono) (or hakkake (inside cloth used around cuff and hem)), which are sewed on behind hem to stop hem cling.
Koshimaki styled cloth made with beautiful fabric, such as silk, was called 'susoyoke' and 'kedashi' that they were sewed on yumoji as a part of fashion (so that it shows when hem is tucked up).
Presently most of susoyoke petticoat is relatively simple as nagajuban is a formality.