Sokutai

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Sokutai" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The sokutai (束帯) is a traditional Japanese outfit worn only by courtiers, aristocrats and the emperor at the Japanese imperial court. The sokutai originated in the Heian period, and consists of a number of parts, including the ho (outer robe), shaku (笏), a flat ritual baton or sceptre, and the kanmuri (冠), a cap-shaped black lacquered silk hat with a pennon.^[1]

The exact composition of the sokutai differs from person to person, and depends on a person's rank and whether they are a civil or military official, with military officers wearing the garment's outermost layers with split front and back panels, and civil officials having fully sewn panels. Colour also varies by rank, with colour symbolism having held great importance in Heian period Japan.

No longer worn as everyday clothing, the sokutai is preserved as formalwear worn by male members of the Imperial court, including the Imperial family and government officials, such as the Prime Minister. The sokutai is typically reserved for the most formal occasions, such as weddings and enthronement ceremonies. On such occasions, women such as an empress or princess wear a jūnihitoe, the sokutai's female counterpart.

The Japanese emperor's court dress is made up of loose-fitting white trousers and a loose yellow outer robe that is styled after a Chinese robe but is tucked in at the waist, and decorated with the textile pattern consist of Fenghuang, Paulownia, Bamboo and Kirin. When wearing the sokutai, the emperor carries an ivory tablet, inspired by the Chinese Hu, which was carried by Chinese emperors as a symbol of imperial power.^[2][3]