Sokutai

Common card · No. 232885

The sokutai (束帯; traditional form: 束帶) is the full formal attire worn by men at the Japanese imperial court from the Heian period (794–1185) onward. It was worn by the emperor, male members of the imperial family, and the court nobility at court ceremonies and while performing official duties. Among the warrior class, the shogun and other men holding the Fifth Court Rank or higher also wore it on major ceremonial occasions. The sokutai developed from the male court dress known as chōfuku under the ritsuryō system, which was gradually adapted to Japanese court practice during the Heian period. It was classified as formal ceremonial attire (hare no shōzoku) and was also called hi no shōzoku, literally “daytime attire”. The latter name distinguished it from simplified forms of court dress, such as hōko (布袴), and from garments worn by courtiers remaining overnight on duty at the palace, particularly the ikan. The term sokutai refers to the complete ensemble rather than to a single garment....

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