Two toothed geta with woven hanao straps Geta (下駄) are traditional Japanese sandals: a flat wooden base held on the foot by a fabric thong and lifted off the ground by one to three wooden teeth, most often two. The…
Formal montsuki, haori and striped hakama sets A hakama is a pleated Japanese garment for the lower body, tied at the waist with four long cloth straps and falling to roughly the ankles. A hakama is worn over a kimono,…
Kimono types ranked by formality, from bridal shiromuku and furisode down to yukata, plus the montsuki hakama combinations men wear.
A gusoku suit with helmet, face mask and cuirass A suit of samurai armor is an assembly of separately made pieces, not a single garment, and nine of them carry the main coverage: the kabuto (helmet), mengu (face armor), dou…
Fujin means wind god, written 風神. The deity behind the name: his birth story, his bag of winds, his brother Raijin, and his image’s Silk Road journey.
Ryujin meaning comes from two kanji: dragon and god. Here is what the name says, who the Japanese sea deity is, and how Ryujin is used today.
Ryujin, the dragon god of Japanese myth, rules the sea from a coral palace, commands the tide jewels, and counts Japan's first emperor among his descendants.
Japanese folklore masks, from oni and hannya to kitsune and tengu: the recurring faces, their Noh theatre origins, carving craft and ritual meanings.
Japanese folklore spans creation myths, kami, yokai, and ghost stories. Here is where the tales came from, who the major figures are, and why they endure.
Traditionally, a haori is worn over a full kimono and juban, not a Western shirt. Here is what people actually wear underneath a haori, then and now.
