Attire and equipment with

means to wear clothes, to decorate one’s appearance, to install machinery, and to pretend to be. In every case, it is about what gets put on or arranged outwardly.

Etymology

This kanji is as a phono-semantic compound built on 衣 (clothing) with a sound-bearing element related to 壮. Its oldest sense centers on dressing and outward appearance.

Clothing and Appearance

(Costume)

衣装(いしょう) refers to clothing in general, particularly special attire used in theater and dance, as well as formal wear worn for specific occasions.

It combines 衣 (clothes) with 装 (outfit) to show clothing worn as an outfit.

Manga panel from カードキャプターさくら showing example of Costume for catching a Clow Card with 衣装.
カードキャプターさくら » Volume 1 » Page 80

A magical bird appears at Sakura’s school and causes trouble with strong winds. Recognizing it as a Clow Card, Sakura returns at night to try to capture it. After she fails, she returns the next night to try again, sporting a new Cardcaptor outfit designed by her friend Tomoyo.

知世(ともよ):
今日(きょう)衣装(いしょう)(とり)さん捕獲(ほかく)()わせて(はね)をイメージしてみました」
“For today's outfit, I went with a feather-inspired look to match the bird-catching theme.”
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Equipment and Setup

(Device)

装置(そうち) refers to the act of combining and installing the machinery and equipment necessary to fulfill a specific purpose, or to the entire facility itself.

It combines 装 (arrange) with 置 (place) to show arranging and positioning machcinery.

Manga panel from 名探偵コナン showing example of Power switch pulled by a timing device with 時限装置.
名探偵コナン » Volume 3 » Page 79

Two murders on a yacht leave the passengers on edge. A blackout occurs followed by another attempted murder. This should narrow down the list of suspects to those who weren’t gathered in the dining room. However, Detective Kogoro finds the power switch had a weight tied to it by rope, with a candle having burned the rope to drop the weight. This allowed the power to be turned off unattended.

小五郎(こごろう):
一種(いっしゅ)時限(じげん)装置(そうち)です」
“It's a timing device of sorts.”
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