Hakama - Women's Hakama

Women's Hakama

Women's hakama differ from men's in a variety of ways, most notably fabric design and method of tying.

While men's hakama can be worn on both formal and informal occasions, except as part of martial arts wear, women rarely wear hakama except at graduation ceremonies and for traditional Japanese sports such as kyudo, some branches of aikido and kendo. Only very rarely are hakama worn by women at tea ceremony. The image of women in kimono and hakama are culturally associated with school teachers. Just as university professors in Western countries don their academic caps and gowns when their students graduate, many female school teachers in Japan attend annual graduation ceremonies in traditional kimono with hakama.

The most iconic image of women in hakama is the miko or shrine maidens who assist in maintenance and ceremonies. A miko's uniform consists of a plain white kimono with a bright red hakama, sometimes a red naga-bakama during formal ceremonies.

While formal men's hakama are made of striped fabric, women's formal hakama are either a solid color or dyed with gradating hues. Hakama for young women are sometimes sparsely decorated with embroidered flowers like sakura. Women typically wear hakama just below the bust line, while men wear them at the waist.