Sokutai

sokutai, Japanese emperor’s court dress, worn for coronations and other important ceremonies. The costume, which has many Chinese characteristics, has changed little since the 12th century. It consists of baggy white damask trousers (ue-no-hakama) and a voluminous yellow outer robe (hō) cut in the Chinese style but tucked in at the waist and patterned with the Chinese phoenix (hōō).

The outer and most important of three kimonos worn under the hō is the white damask shitagasane, which has a back panel forming a 12-foot (3.7-metre) train. The cap-shaped headdress (kammuri), of black lacquered silk, has an upright pennon decorated with the imperial chrysanthemum crest. When wearing the sokutai, the emperor carries an ivory tablet (shaku), undoubtedly inspired by jade tablets carried by Chinese emperors as symbols of imperial power.