Haori

The haori (羽織) is a traditional Japanese hip- or thigh-length jacket worn over a kimono. Resembling a shortened kimono with no overlapping front panels (okumi), the haori typically features a thinner collar than that of a kimono, and is sewn with the addition of two thin, triangular panels at either side seam. The haori is usually tied at the front with two short cords, known as haori himo, which attach to small loops sewn inside the garment.

A formal haori with two crests visible from the front.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu wearing a formal black haori with crests (a kuromontsuki haori); it is tied at the front with two white haori himo.

During the Edo period, economic growth within the wealthy but low-status merchant classes resulted in an excess of disposable income, much of which was spent on clothing. It was during this period that, through various edicts on dress mandated by the ruling classes, merchant class Japanese men began to wear haori with plain external designs and lavishly-decorated linings, a trend still seen in men's haori today.[1]

During the early 1800s, geisha in the hanamachi of Fukagawa, Tokyo began to wear haori over their kimono. Haori had until that point only been worn by men; the geisha of Fukagawa, well-known for their stylish and unusual fashion choices, set a trend that saw women wearing haori become commonplace by the 1930s.[2] In modern-day Japan, haori are worn by both men and women.