Hakama - Men's hakama

Men's hakama

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

Hakama can be worn with any type of kimono except yukata (light cotton summer kimono generally worn for relaxing, for sleeping, or at festivals or summer outings). While striped hakama are usually worn with formal kimono, stripes in colours other than black, grey and white may be worn with less formal wear. Solid and graduated colours are also common.

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

In addition to martial artists, hakama are also part of the every-day wear of Shinto kannushi, priests who maintain and perform services at shrines.