Happi

{{short description|Traditional tube-sleeved Japanese coat}}

{{About||the Bollywood film|Happi (film)}}

{{distinguish|Happy (disambiguation){{!}}Happy|Hapi (disambiguation){{!}}Hapi}}

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Image:Festival4.jpg wearing a {{transliteration|ja|happi}}]]

File:Edward VIII with his staff wearing Happi 1922.jpg (centre), later Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, wearing a {{transliteration|ja|happi}}]]

A {{nihongo||法被/半被|happi}} is a traditional tube-sleeved Japanese coat, usually worn only during festivals. {{transliteration|ja|Happi}} typically feature symbols and/or text on the lapels, with a larger design on the back of the coat, typically the name or the festival or the participating association; the kanji for ({{nihongo|'festival'|祭り|matsuri}}) may also be present.

Originally worn for display of the {{transliteration|ja|mon}}, or family emblem, {{transliteration|ja|happi}} were worn by house servants as a uniform. Firefighters also wore {{transliteration|ja|happi}} coats, with the crest on the back of the coat displaying the group with which they were associated;Drazen, Patrick. Anime explosion!: the what? why? & wow! of Japanese animation. Stone Bridge Press, 2003. {{ISBN|1-880656-72-8}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=wkrgvKvsvYAC&pg=PA322 Page 322]. "In time, these groups of fire-fighters, adopting uniforms consisting of the short jackets called happi emblazoned with the mon (crest) of the particular group, so that one gang could be distinguished from another." these were distinct from the {{transliteration|ja|hikeshi sashiko banten}} ({{lit|embroidered fireman's jacket}}) also worn by firefighters, constructed from heavily-quilted cotton layers designed to hold a large quantity of water and thus protect the wearer. In the Edo period, firefighters were paid not only for actual firefighting activity but also for promptness and presence at the scene of a fire. Thus, wearing conspicuous {{transliteration|ja|happi}} and dancing on intact roofs near fires with {{transliteration|ja|matoi}} was essential for them.{{cn|date=December 2021}}

In English, the term {{transliteration|ja|happi}} is most often translated as "happi coat" or "happy coat". {{transliteration|ja|Happi}} are typically blue, with designs in red, black, and white, though variations with a number of different colours are also seen in modern day Japan. Modern {{transliteration|ja|happi}} coats may be made of cotton or polyester fabrics.