The Japanese Clothing Glossary

Most of what is sold as Japanese clothing online is one silhouette repeated under five names. The real vocabulary is more precise, and knowing it is the difference between buying a costume and buying a garment you will wear. Forty-two words, each with its kanji, its pronunciation and what it actually means.

Index

Asanoha  ·  Daruma  ·  Eri  ·  Furisode  ·  Furoshiki  ·  Geta  ·  Hakama  ·  Hanao  ·  Hanten  ·  Haori  ·  Happi  ·  Jika-tabi  ·  Jinbei  ·  Juban  ·  Kimono  ·  Kimono Jacket  ·  Koshihimo  ·  Maekake  ·  Maneki Neko  ·  Michiyuki  ·  Migoro  ·  Noren  ·  Obi  ·  Obiage  ·  Obijime  ·  Ohashori  ·  Okumi  ·  Omamori  ·  Samue  ·  Sashiko  ·  Seigaiha  ·  Shibori  ·  Sode  ·  Sukajan  ·  Suso  ·  Tabi  ·  Ukiyo-e  ·  Wafuku  ·  Waraji  ·  Yukata  ·  Yuki  ·  Zori

Garments: the named shapes of Japanese clothing

Wafuku 和服

wa-fu-ku

Japanese clothing as a whole, literally "Japanese dress", coined only in the 1870s to distinguish it from yōfuku — Western dress — once Western clothes arrived. Before that there was no need for the word: clothing was clothing. Everything else in this glossary sits under it.

Kimono 着物

ki-mo-no

Literally "the thing worn". A full-length wrap garment closed with an obi, lined and worn year-round. It is cut from a single bolt of cloth in straight panels, which is why it fits a range of bodies Western tailoring does not. Always wrapped left over right. Explore kimono — 42 pieces →

Kimono Jacket 着物風上着

ki-mo-no fū u-wa-gi

The open, hip-length layer cut on the same principle as a haori but finished for daily wear — quilted, belted or cardigan versions included. Not a traditional term; it is how the shape travelled into Western wardrobes. Explore kimono jacket — 48 pieces →

Yukata 浴衣

yu-ka-ta

An unlined cotton kimono worn in summer, at festivals and after the bath — the name comes from yukatabira, the robe worn in the bathhouse. No lining, no silk, no under-kimono. The easiest wrap garment to put on and the coolest to wear. Explore yukata — 15 pieces →

Haori 羽織

ha-o-ri

The jacket of the wafuku family. Hip or thigh length, worn open over whatever is underneath, with no obi and no fastening — which is why it is the easiest Japanese garment to wear in a Western wardrobe. Originally a men's overgarment; women were forbidden one until geisha in Fukagawa broke the rule in the early 1800s. Explore haori — 36 pieces →

Jinbei 甚平

jin-bei

A two-piece cotton set — short-sleeved wrap top and shorts — worn at home and at summer festivals. Stitched at the sides with open lattice work so air moves through it. Built for heat, not for ceremony. Explore jinbei — 31 pieces →

Hakama 袴

ha-ka-ma

Wide pleated trousers worn over the lower half of a kimono, tied at the waist with four straps. Seven pleats, each traditionally assigned a virtue. Still worn for kendo, kyudo and graduation ceremonies. Explore hakama — 12 pieces →

Happi 法被

hap-pi

A straight-sleeved festival coat, usually indigo, carrying a crest across the back that identifies the wearer's district, guild or shop. Worn open, over anything, and never tailored to the body. Explore happi — 14 pieces →

Hanten 半纏

han-ten

A short padded winter coat, cotton-wadded and quilted, worn indoors. Close to the happi in shape but thick, and domestic rather than ceremonial. The garment a household wore rather than one a guild displayed. Explore hanten — 8 pieces →

Samue 作務衣

sa-mu-e

The work clothes of Zen monks: a jacket and trousers in sturdy cotton, designed for sweeping, cooking and gardening. Adopted outside temples as everyday wear because nothing about it gets in the way.

Sukajan スカジャン

su-ka-jan

The embroidered satin souvenir jacket, made in Yokosuka after 1945 for American servicemen who wanted something to take home. Reversible, embroidered front and back — dragons, tigers, koi, eagles, maps of Japan. The name is a contraction of Yokosuka and jumper. Explore sukajan — 38 pieces →

Michiyuki 道行

mi-chi-yu-ki

A square-necked coat worn over a kimono outdoors, closed with hidden snaps. Its name means "going along the road": it exists to protect the kimono in transit and is removed indoors.

Layers and closures: what holds a kimono together

Juban 襦袢

ju-ban

The under-kimono, worn next to the skin so the outer garment never touches it. Its collar shows deliberately at the neck — often white, sometimes embroidered — and is the only part of it meant to be seen.

Obi 帯

o-bi

The sash that closes a kimono. Not a belt: it is a structural element, up to four metres long and thirty centimetres wide, and the knot at the back carries as much meaning as the print of the kimono itself. Explore obi — 23 pieces →

Obijime 帯締

o-bi-ji-me

The decorative cord tied over the obi to hold the knot in place. Flat or round, plain or braided in kumihimo silk. The last thing put on, and the first thing an experienced eye looks at.

Obiage 帯揚げ

o-bi-a-ge

The strip of silk that covers the obi pillow at the top edge of the sash. Barely visible, and chosen to echo a colour already present in the kimono.

Koshihimo 腰紐

ko-shi-hi-mo

The plain cotton ties used to hold the kimono closed before the obi goes on. Invisible once dressed, and the reason the whole construction stays put.

The anatomy of a kimono: every part has a name

Eri 襟

e-ri

The collar band that runs from the back of the neck down both front panels. It is never folded flat: it stands slightly away from the nape, and the width of that gap is the single clearest sign of whether a kimono has been put on well.

Sode 袖

so-de

The sleeve. Cut as a deep rectangle and left open at the underarm on women's garments — the opening is called furi. On men's kimono it is sewn closed.

Furisode 振袖

fu-ri-so-de

The long hanging sleeve, reaching nearly to the ankle, worn by unmarried women on formal occasions. Literally "swinging sleeve". Historically, a woman answered a proposal by the movement of them.

Yuki 裄

yu-ki

The measurement from the centre of the back neck to the cuff — the single figure that decides whether a kimono fits you. It is not a sleeve length: it includes half the shoulder width. If you take one measurement only, take this one.

Migoro 身頃

mi-go-ro

The main body panel, front and back. Everything else — collar, sleeves, overlap panel — is attached to it.

Okumi 衽

o-ku-mi

The narrow overlap panel sewn down the front edge, which makes the wrap possible without a fastening. Its lower corner is the point that should sit on the centre of the body when the kimono is closed.

Suso 裾

su-so

The hem. On a kimono it should clear the floor by the thickness of a finger — which is what the raised platform of a geta was invented to guarantee.

Ohashori お端折り

o-ha-sho-ri

The fold of excess length tucked under the obi to adjust a kimono to the wearer's height. It is the reason one garment can fit several people, and a neat ohashori is the mark of someone who dressed themselves properly.

Japanese footwear: tabi, geta, zori and waraji

Tabi 足袋

ta-bi

Ankle-high socks split between the first and second toe, fastened at the back with metal clasps called kohaze. The split exists so the thong of a sandal can pass through. Explore tabi — 2 pieces →

Jika-tabi 地下足袋

ji-ka-ta-bi

Tabi with a rubber sole, invented in 1922 for construction and farm work. Still worn on building sites in Japan, and the direct ancestor of the split-toe running shoe.

Geta 下駄

ge-ta

Raised wooden sandals on two supporting teeth, worn with tabi. The platform lifts a kimono hem clear of wet ground — that is what it was for, not decoration. They announce their wearer: the sound they make on stone has its own word, karankoron. Explore geta — 22 pieces →

Zori 草履

zo-ri

Flat formal sandals, worn with tabi and with formal kimono. Where geta are wood and everyday, zori are covered in cloth or leather and belong to the occasion. Explore zori — 3 pieces →

Waraji 草鞋

wa-ra-ji

Sandals woven from rice straw and tied around the ankle with rope, worn for travel and by foot soldiers. The oldest footwear on this list and the one that shaped every shape after it. Explore waraji — 3 pieces →

Hanao 鼻緒

ha-na-o

The thong that passes between the first and second toe on geta, zori and waraji. It should sit loosely: the foot grips it rather than the other way round, and a new pair is expected to be uncomfortable for a week.

Patterns and techniques: what the cloth is saying

Seigaiha 青海波

sei-gai-ha

Literally "blue sea wave". Overlapping concentric arcs forming a repeating wave. One of the oldest patterns in Japanese textiles, taken from a Chinese map motif of the 6th century. It means good fortune and peace — and it is the pattern most often mistaken for a fish-scale print. Explore seigaiha — 49 pieces →

Asanoha 麻の葉

a-sa-no-ha

The hemp-leaf geometric: a six-pointed star repeated across the cloth. Hemp grows fast and straight, so the pattern was put on children's clothes as a wish for growth.

Shibori 絞り

shi-bo-ri

Resist dyeing by binding, stitching or folding the cloth before it enters the indigo. Every piece differs, because the binding can never be repeated exactly. Kanoko shibori, the dappled fawn pattern, can take a year for a single kimono.

Sashiko 刺し子

sa-shi-ko

Running-stitch reinforcement in white thread on indigo cloth, originally used to patch and strengthen work clothes. Repair became decoration, and the geometry is now the point.

Ukiyo-e 浮世絵

u-ki-yo-e

"Pictures of the floating world": the woodblock print tradition of the Edo period. Hokusai's wave and Hiroshige's road stations come from it, and most of what is printed on Japanese-inspired clothing today is a descendant. Explore ukiyo-e — 63 pieces →

Objects: what a Japanese room is marked with

Noren 暖簾

no-ren

A split curtain hung in a doorway, originally to keep out sun and dust and to carry the crest of the shop behind it. Hung out at opening and taken in at closing — "to take down the noren" still means to close a business for good. Explore noren — 24 pieces →

Furoshiki 風呂敷

fu-ro-shi-ki

A square wrapping cloth, tied rather than sealed, used to carry anything. The name means "bath spread": it began as the cloth bathers stood on while changing, then became the cloth they wrapped their clothes in. Explore furoshiki — 18 pieces →

Omamori お守り

o-ma-mo-ri

A cloth charm pouch sold at shrines and temples, each for a specific purpose — travel, study, health, love. It is not to be opened; opening it releases what it holds. Returned to the shrine after a year and burned. Explore omamori — 3 pieces →

Daruma 達磨

da-ru-ma

A round red figure modelled on Bodhidharma, founder of Zen. It arrives with both eyes blank: fill one in when you set a goal, the other when you reach it. Weighted at the base, so it always rights itself. Explore daruma — 12 pieces →

Maneki Neko 招き猫

ma-ne-ki-ne-ko

The beckoning cat. Right paw raised calls money, left paw calls people — which is why shops raise the left and homes the right. The gesture is a Japanese beckon, palm out and fingers down, which reads as a wave to Western eyes. Explore maneki neko — 21 pieces →

Maekake 前掛け

ma-e-ka-ke

The merchant's waist apron, tied with a cord wrapped twice around the body, carrying the shop's name in large characters. Worn by sake brewers and rice sellers, and designed to support the lower back when lifting. Explore maekake — 2 pieces →

How to use this glossary

If you are buying your first Japanese piece, three words are enough to start: haori, because it needs no obi and goes over a t-shirt; yuki, because it is the one measurement that decides fit; and eri, because the collar is where a well-worn kimono shows itself. Everything else can wait.

If a shop describes a haori as a kimono, or a yukata as silk, it has told you something about itself. That is the practical use of a glossary.