hakama

{{short description|Type of traditional Japanese trousers/skirt}}

File:Hihakama.JPG}} wearing {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}]]

File:A Japanese lady wearing a Hakama at the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu.jpg]]

File:Shinto Priests (31539867015).jpg wearing {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}; note lack of {{nihongo||腰板|koshi-ita}}]]

{{nihongo||袴|Hakama}} are a type of traditional Japanese clothing. Originally stemming from Ku ({{Lang-zh|s=裤|t=褲|first=t|p=Kù}}), the trousers worn by members of the Chinese imperial court in the Sui and Tang dynasties, this style was adopted by the Japanese in the form of {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} in the 6th century. {{transliteration|ja|Hakama}} are tied at the waist and fall approximately to the ankles. They are worn over a kimono specially adapted for wearing {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}, known as a {{transliteration|ja|hakamashita}}.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IBdpE-aUchkC&q=hakama+sui+tang&pg=PA84|title=The Politics of Dress in Asia and the Americas p.84|isbn=9781845193997|last1=Roces|first1=Mina|last2=Edwards|first2=Louise P.|year=2010|publisher=Sussex Academic Press}}{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

There are two types of {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}: divided {{nihongo3|"horse-riding {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}"|馬乗り|umanori}} and undivided {{nihongo3|"lantern {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}"|行灯袴|andon bakama}}. The {{transliteration|ja|umanori}} type have divided legs, similar to trousers. Both of these types appear similar. A "mountain" or "field" type of {{transliteration|ja|umanori hakama}} was traditionally worn by field or forest workers. They are looser in the waist and narrower in the leg.

{{transliteration|ja|Hakama}} are secured by four straps ({{transliteration|ja|himo}}): two longer {{transliteration|ja|himo}} attached on either side of the front of the garment, and two shorter {{transliteration|ja|himo}} attached on either side of the rear. The rear of the garment may have a rigid trapezoidal section, called a {{nihongo||腰板|koshi-ita}}. Below that on the inside, there may be a {{nihongo||袴止め|hakama-dome}}{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} (a spoon-shaped component sometimes referred to as a {{transliteration|ja|hera}}) which is tucked into the {{transliteration|ja|obi}} or {{transliteration|ja|himo}} at the rear, and helps to keep the {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} in place.

{{transliteration|ja|Hakama}}, especially those for martial arts, may have seven deep pleats, two on the back and five on the front. Although they appear balanced, the arrangement of the front pleats (two to the right, three to the left) is asymmetrical, and as such is an example of asymmetry in Japanese aesthetics.

Historically, a boy would start wearing his first pair of {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} from the age of five, as commemorated in {{transliteration|ja|Shichi-Go-San}}; a similar practice to this, called "breeching", was seen in Europe up until the Victorian age, where boys would from then on start to wear breeches instead of dresses, as a recognition of coming of age.

Men's {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}

While {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} used to be a required part of menswear, nowadays typical Japanese men usually wear {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} only on extremely formal occasions and at tea ceremonies, weddings, and funerals. {{transliteration|ja|Hakama}} are also regularly worn by practitioners of a variety of martial arts, such as kendo, iaido, taidō, aikido, jōdō, ryū-te, and kyūdō. Sumo wrestlers, who do not wear {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} in the context of their sport, are, however, required to wear traditional Japanese dress whenever they appear in public. As {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} are one of the most important parts of traditional male formal dress, sumo wrestlers are often seen wearing {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} when attending appropriately formal functions.

In addition to martial artists, {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} are also part of the everyday wear of Shinto {{transliteration|ja|kannushi}}, priests who maintain and perform services at shrines.

{{transliteration|ja|Hakama}} are worn with any type of kimono except {{transliteration|ja|yukata}}{{cite web |title=Japanese hakama: Past and Present |url=https://kyotokimono-rental.com/en/column/japanese-hakama-past-present.html |website=Kyoto Kimono Rental Wargo |date=24 May 2016}} (light cotton summer kimono generally worn for relaxing, for sleeping or at festivals or summer outings). While glossy black-and-white striped {{transliteration|ja|sendaihira hakama}} are usually worn with formal kimono, stripes in colours other than black, grey and white are worn with less formal wear. Solid and graduated (ombré) colours are also common. For casual wear, men sometimes wear {{transliteration|ja|haori nagashi}} (kimono with just a {{transliteration|ja|haori}} and no {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}) or {{transliteration|ja|kinagashi}} (kimono alone, as for {{transliteration|ja|yukata}}).{{cite web |last1=Mimi |title=【Male Article】Type and Difference of Kimono |url=https://mangadejapan.com/articles/detail/1010 |website=Manga de Japan |language=ja}}

={{transliteration|ja|Sendaihira hakama}}=

File:MoriokaStudenten.JPG]]

The most formal type of men's {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}, {{transliteration|ja|sendaihira hakama}}, are made of stiff, striped silk, usually black and white, or black and navy blue. These are worn with black {{transliteration|ja|montsuki}} kimono (kimono with one, three, or five family crests on the back, chest, and shoulders), white {{transliteration|ja|tabi}} (divided-toe socks), white {{transliteration|ja|nagajuban}} (under-kimono) and various types of footwear. In cooler weather, a {{transliteration|ja|montsuki haori}} (long jacket) with a white {{transliteration|ja|haori-himo}} ({{transliteration|ja|haori}}-fastener) completes the outfit.

Traditionally made of silk, {{transliteration|ja|sendaihira hakama}} are sometimes made with blends.{{cite web |title=Canadian Iaido Association » Apparel Rules |url=http://www.iaido.ca/regulations/clothing/ |language=en}} {{transliteration|ja|Sendaihira}} is woven with a dense warp. Traditionally, the weft is woven wet, and beaten firmly into place to make it denser. The silk strands are not twisted, and are treated in lye. These techniques makes the cloth glossy and the pattern very small-scale and precise.{{cite web |title=Handbook for the Appreciation of Japanese Traditional Crafts |url=https://www.nihon-kogeikai.com/TEBIKI-E/2.html |website=Nihon Kogeikai |access-date=17 July 2021 |archive-date=17 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717184639/https://www.nihon-kogeikai.com/TEBIKI-E/2.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |title=袴地の最高峰ブランド「仙臺平」―合資会社仙台平販売について |url=https://sendaihira.jp/english.html |website=sendaihira.jp |access-date=17 July 2021}}

={{transliteration|ja|Ōguchi-hakama, Uenobakama}}=

Both {{transliteration|ja|ōguchi-hakama}} and {{transliteration|ja|uenobakama}} are simultaneously worn with the courtly attire of {{nihongo||束帯|sokutai}}. The {{nihongo||大口袴|ōguchi-hakama}} are red under-pants, with closed crotch, tied off on the wearer's left. The {{nihongo||表袴|uenobakama}}, white and with an open fly, is then worn over the {{transliteration|ja|ōguchi-hakama}}, tied off on the right. These {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} designs can be traced to the Nara period.{{cn|date=June 2022}}

={{transliteration|ja|Kamishimo: kataginu}} and {{transliteration|ja|naga-bakama}}=

{{multiple image

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| image1 = Kimono-hakama-p1000698.jpg

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| caption1 = An Edo-period {{transliteration|ja|kamishimo}} ensemble, with the {{transliteration|ja|kataginu}} and kimono on the left and the {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} to the right

| image2 = Yoshitoshi - 100 Aspects of the Moon - 92.jpg

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| caption2 = {{transliteration|ja|Kataginu}} with {{transliteration|ja|naga-bakama}}, 1800s court dress

}}

{{transliteration|ja|Hakama}} traditionally formed part of a complete outfit called a {{nihongo||上下/裃|kamishimo}}. Worn by samurai and courtiers during the Edo period, the outfit included a formal kimono, {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}, and a sleeveless jacket with exaggerated shoulders called a {{transliteration|ja|kataginu}}.

Samurai visiting the {{transliteration|ja|shōgun}} and other high-ranking {{transliteration|ja|daimyō}} at court were sometimes required to wear very long {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} called {{transliteration|ja|naga-bakama}} ({{lit|long {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}}}). These resemble normal {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} in every way except their remarkable length in both the back and front, forming a train one or two feet long and impeding the ability to walk normally, thus helping to prevent a surprise attack or assassination attempt.{{Cite web|url=http://www.iz2.or.jp/english/fukusyoku/kosode/9.htm|title=Warrior in ceremonial costume; kataginu (=sleeveless jacket) and naga-bakama trousers, popularly known as kamishimo dress}} {{transliteration|ja|Naga-bakama}} are now only worn particularly in Noh plays (including {{transliteration|ja|kyōgen}}), kabuki plays, and Shinto rituals.

={{transliteration|ja|Karusan-bakama}}=

Some {{transliteration|ja|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 {{transliteration|ja|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 {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}. This variety of {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} was also commonly known as {{transliteration|ja|tattsuke-hakama}}.

={{transliteration|ja|Sashinuki hakama}}=

File:Temple Shinto Meiji-jingū à Tokyo J (1).jpg

{{nihongo||指貫|Sashinuki}}, also called {{transliteration|ja|nu-bakama}}, are a type of {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} that are meant to be worn blousing over the leg and exposing the foot. To accomplish this, they are somewhat longer than normal {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}, and a cord is run through the hem and drawn tight, creating a "ballooning" effect. To allow for the body required, more formal {{transliteration|ja|sashinuki}} featured six panels rather than four. Technically, this cord around the ankle makes {{transliteration|ja|sashinuki}} a type of {{transliteration|ja|kukuri-}} (tied) {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}. The earliest form of {{transliteration|ja|sashinuki}} were cut like normal {{transliteration|ja|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. {{transliteration|ja|Sashinuki}} were worn by court nobles with various types of leisure or semi-formal wear.

={{transliteration|ja|Yoroi hakama}}=

Image:Kikko ko-bakama.jpg

{{transliteration|ja|Yoroi hakama}} (armored trousers) had small armor plates or mail armor sewn to the cloth of the {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}. They were worn by samurai warriors.

Women's {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}

Image:Mariko's Graduation '96.jpg

Women's {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} differ from men's in a variety of ways, most notably fabric design and method of tying.

While men's {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} can be worn on both formal and informal occasions, women rarely wear {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}, except at graduation ceremonies and for traditional Japanese sports such as kyūdō, some branches of aikido and kendo.{{cite web |url=http://photozou.jp/photo/show/105169/2174266 |title=Tooshiya |access-date=2008-04-20 |author=Noririn |date=2007-01-15 |work=Casual Walk '07 photo album |publisher=Photozou}} Women do not wear {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} at tea ceremony. The image of women in kimono and {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} are culturally associated with school teachers. Just as university professors in Western countries don their academic caps and gowns when their students graduate, many female school teachers in Japan attend annual graduation ceremonies in traditional kimono with {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}.

{{transliteration|ja|Hakama}} are worn by {{transliteration|ja|miko}} or shrine maidens who assist in maintenance and ceremonies. A {{transliteration|ja|miko}}'s uniform consists of a plain white kimono with a bright red {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}, sometimes a red {{transliteration|ja|naga-bakama}} during formal ceremonies.{{cite web |url=http://photozou.jp/photo/show/105169/2302310 |title=Imayou Hounou |access-date=2008-04-20 |author=Noririn |date=2007-02-03 |work=Casual Walk '07 photo album |publisher=Photozou}} This look stems from the attire worn by high-ranked aristocratic woman in the Heian era, as well as court performers such as {{transliteration|ja|shirabyōshi}}.

While formal men's {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} are made of striped fabric, women's formal {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} are either a solid colour or dyed with graduating hues. {{transliteration|ja|Hakama}} for young women are sometimes sparsely decorated with embroidered flowers such as cherry blossoms. Women typically wear {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} just below the bust line, while men wear them at the waist.

=Dress reform and scholastic use=

{{transliteration|ja|Hakama}} have traditionally been worn as school wear. Before the advent of school uniforms in Japan, students wore everyday clothes, which included {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} for men. In the Meiji period (1868–1912) and Taishō period (1912–1926), Western-style wear was adopted for school uniforms,{{cite web |title=From Tradition to Today: Japanese School Uniforms |url=https://learnjapanese123.com/japanese-school-uniforms/ |website=LearnJapanese123 |date=23 December 2020}} initially for both male and female uniforms.{{cite web |title=History of Gakushuin |url=https://www.gakushuin.ac.jp/ad/kikaku/english/history/ |website=www.gakushuin.ac.jp |publisher=The Gakushuin School |access-date=18 July 2021 |archive-date=20 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020171353/https://www.gakushuin.ac.jp/ad/kikaku/english/history/ |url-status=dead }} However, at the time, Western women's dress was fairly cumbersome.

Utako Shimoda (1854–1936), a women's activist, educator and dress reformer, found traditional kimono to be too restrictive, preventing women and girls from moving and taking part in physical activities, harming their health. While Western dress was being adopted at the time, she also believed corsets to be restrictive and harmful to women's health. Shimoda had worked as a lady-in-waiting to Empress Shōken from 1871 to 1879.{{cite journal |last1=Suzuki |first1=Mamiko |title=Shimoda's Program for Japanese and Chinese Women's Education |journal=CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture |date=1 June 2013 |volume=15 |issue=2 |doi=10.7771/1481-4374.2212 |access-date=|doi-access=free }} She adapted the clothing worn by ladies-in-waiting at the Japanese imperial court to make a uniform for her Jissen Women's School. During the Meiji period and Taishō period, other women's schools also adopted the {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}.{{cite thesis |title=Finding their Place in the World: Meiji Intellectuals and the Japanese Construction of an East-West Binary, 1868-1912.|last1=Racel|first1=Masako N. Thesis|institution=Georgia State University|year=2011|url=https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_diss/26}} Source says: "See Shimoda, "Honbō joshi fukusō no enkaku本邦女子服装の沿革 [The Historical Development of Women’s Clothing in Japan]," Part I, Onna, 31 January 1901, in Shimoda Utako chosakushū, vol. 1, 1-3; "Joshi no tainin no han’i ni tsukite," Nihon Fujin, 25 April 1900, in Shimoda Utako chosakushū, vol. 4, 107-127." It became standard wear for high schools in Japan,{{cite web |title=History of Gakushuin |url=https://www.gakushuin.ac.jp/ad/kikaku/english/history/ |website=www.gakushuin.ac.jp |publisher=The Gakushuin School |access-date=18 July 2021 |archive-date=20 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020171353/https://www.gakushuin.ac.jp/ad/kikaku/english/history/ |url-status=dead }} and is still worn for graduation ceremonies.

The image of women in {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} is also culturally associated with school teachers. Just as university professors in Western countries don their academic caps and gowns when their students graduate, many female school teachers in Japan attend annual graduation ceremonies in traditional kimono with {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}.

File:Shimoda Utako in hifu and hakama.jpg|Shimoda Utako, women's activist, educator and dress reform advocate, in {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}

File:Jogakusei in Taisho period.JPG|A Taishō-era student

File:德川多惠子.jpg|An imperial princess in {{transliteration|ja|furisode}} and {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}

File:Print from the series Streaked Mist by Ikeda Shōen 04.jpg|Wearing {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} as reform dress, 1906

File:Schoolmarm on the graduation ceremony 1953.jpg|Teacher in 1953

File:Bowing-students-waseda-graduation2015.ogv|Two students (first and third from the left) wearing {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} over {{transliteration|ja|obi}} at Waseda University graduation ceremony, 2015

Tying {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}

File:音曲比翼の番組小波力弥-Rikiya and Konami, from the series A Program with Music about Loving Couples (Ongyoku hiyoku no bangumi) MET DP135577.jpg).]]

There are many ways for men to tie {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}. First, the {{transliteration|ja|obi}} is tied in a special knot (an "under-{{transliteration|ja|hakama}} knot") at the rear. Starting with the front, the ties are brought around the waist and crossed over the top of the knot of the {{transliteration|ja|obi}}. The ties are brought to the front and crossed below the waist, then tied at the back, under the knot of the {{transliteration|ja|obi}}. The {{transliteration|ja|hakama-dome}} is then tucked behind the {{transliteration|ja|obi}}, the {{transliteration|ja|koshi-ita}} is adjusted, and the rear ties brought to the front and tied in a variety of ways. The most formal method results in a knot that resembles two bow-ties in a cross shape.

The method of tying the ties is also different, with women's {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} being tied in a simpler knot or a bow. As with men's {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}, the front ties are first brought to the back, then to the front, then tied at the back in a knot. Then the back {{transliteration|ja|himo}} are brought around to the front. At this point, they may be tied with a bow at the left hip, just in front of the opening, with the ends of the ties at equal lengths. For more secure fastening, the ties may be wrapped once at center front, then tied inside at the back.

Folding {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}

Image:Hakama, folded.jpeg

Like all types of traditional Japanese clothing, it is important to fold and store {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} correctly to prevent damage and prolong the life of the garment, especially those made of silk. With {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} this is particularly important, since {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} have so many pleats which can easily lose their creases; re-creasing the pleats may require specialist attention in extreme cases.

{{transliteration|ja|Hakama}} are often considered particularly challenging to learn to fold properly, in part because of their pleats and in part because their long ties must be correctly smoothed and gathered before being tied in specific patterns.

Various martial arts traditions in which practitioners wear them have prescribed methods of folding the {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}. This is often considered an important part of etiquette.

In some martial arts it is also an old tradition that the highest ranking student has the responsibility to fold the teacher's {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} as a token of respect.{{cite book|last=Yamanaka|first=Norio|title=The Book of Kimono|year=1982|publisher=Kodansha International, Ltd.|isbn=978-0-87011-785-5|pages=35–39,102, 103,111–115}}{{cite book|last=Dalby|first=Liza|title=Kimono: Fashioning Culture|year=1993|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-0-09-942899-2|pages=32–8,55,69,80,83,90,149,190,214–5,254}}