Choosing hakama pants
What are hakama pants?
Hakama pants are wide, pleated Japanese trousers cut on the hakama, the garment samurai wore over a kimono and that kendo, iaido and aikido students still wear today. A traditional hakama has seven pleats, a stiff back board and long ties. Hakama pants keep the width and the pleats but close with a tie, a belt or a drawstring, so they go on like ordinary trousers. The difference from harem pants is the leg: a hakama stays wide all the way to the hem, while a harem pant gathers at the ankle. Amaji sells seventeen pairs of hakama pants, cut unisex, from $59. Most pairs are one size with an adjustable waist, and the sized pairs run XXS to 2XL. Fabrics on file run from polyester to linen. Orders ship to 33 countries, free over $45 USD, and returns are accepted within 30 days of delivery.
What is a hakama
A hakama is a pair of wide, pleated Japanese trousers worn over a kimono. Samurai wore them to ride and for ceremony. Hakama in Japan today are worn for kendo, iaido and kyudo, an aikido hakama goes over the white gi, and women's hakama are still the outfit for university graduation. The traditional cut has seven pleats, a stiff back board and long ties, and the hakama guide covers the history. When people ask for a kimono with pants, this is it: the hakama goes on over the kimono and ties at the waist. The pairs here keep the width and the pleats and swap the long straps for a tie, belt or drawstring, so they go on like ordinary trousers.
Hakama pants for men and women: the cuts
There are seventeen pairs here. They fall into three shapes, and hakama sets pairs them with kimono shirts and haori.
Wrap fronts come closest to the kendo original. The samurai hakama wraps a smooth panel across the front, runs knife pleats down one side and ties at the waist.
Belted cuts add a buckle. The Linen Hakama Pants buckle a self-fabric belt over pleated front panels, in 100% linen. The belted A-line hakama for men opens into an A-line leg that stops above the ankle, and the pleated hakama trousers keep the buckle but run the leg full length to the shoe.
The widest pairs are about volume. The widest male hakama measures 245 cm around the hip. The hakama style pants put a pleated panel on a high tie waist. Two pairs go long: the long wide hakama pants run to the floor with a belted front, and the lightweight grey hakama pants also come in black and army green.
Three pairs push the shape further from the original. The pants that look like skirts are pleated all the way round, the origami pants fold and stitch the cloth at the knee, and the men's culottes drop the pleats for a plain drawstring leg cropped above the ankle. The double layered hakama pants hang an asymmetric skirt overlay over wide trousers, and the hakama skirt pants for men cut the legs so wide they hang like a skirt. For summer, the hakama shorts cut the pleats off just below the knee.
Two newer pairs sit between the wrap fronts and the skirt shapes. The Japanese hakama pants set wide straight legs under a pleated skirt panel on a high waist, and the women's hakama pants use deep box pleats that read as a skirt, with a buttoned waist and pockets, in unisex sizes.
For warm days there is a linen pair: the mens pleated linen pants button a pleated hakama panel at each hip over a wide full-length leg, with a buckled self-fabric belt, in gray or black.
Most pairs are black hakama. The kendo hakama comes in white, black or navy, so it is the pair to pick for white hakama pants. The linen pair comes in gray or black, and the lightweight pair in grey, black or army green.
Hakama, harem and samurai pants
These names get swapped constantly and they are different cuts. A hakama is wide the whole way down. A harem pant is wide at the hip and gathers back in at the ankle. Samurai pants is what people search when they mean hakama, and the wrap-front and kendo pairs are gathered in samurai pants.
Hakama vs harem pants takes the two shapes apart, and what are samurai pants called covers the naming.
What to wear with them
The trouser is the whole outfit. Keep the rest plain. Black works. A plain tee or a fitted crew keeps the shape readable, and a loose top over a loose bottom loses it.
A short jacket works because it ends above the pleats. A haori or a noragi finishes it. At the other end, split-toe tabi socks are what hakama were worn with.
Hakama pants for men, from the dojo to the street
Most hakama pants men wear outside Japan are modern hakama: hakama inspired pants that keep the width and the pleats and drop the long straps. One pair here is japanese martial arts pants cut for practice: the kendo hakama with seven pleats. Umanori hakama pants divide the leg, so they walk and sit like wide trousers. Andon hakama are the undivided kind, one wide skirt with no split, and the skirt-panel pairs here come closest to it. The skirt-panel and double-layered pairs are the japanese skirt pants of the range. Tattsuke hakama, the work version that narrows below the knee, is closest to the tobi and monpe trousers. For a male hakama to wear every day, start with a pleated wide pair in black.
Sizing the one-size pairs
Most pairs here are one size. A tie, belt or drawstring covers a waist from about 62 to 115 cm, and each page lists the exact range. The linen hakama comes in XS to XL, and the seven-pleat kendo hakama in XXS to XXL. Most of the one-size pairs are 80% polyester and 20% cotton, so they hold a pleat and wash cold on a gentle cycle without losing shape. Hang them to dry.
Length matters more than the waist. The chart on each product page is the supplier’s table, transcribed. The looser Japanese shapes are in Japanese baggy pants, and the rest of the Japanese range is in Japanese pants.
Measurements come from the manufacturer's flat size table for each garment, converted to centimetres and mapped onto one size ladder. Available for 13 of the 17 garments here, last checked 2026-11-04. How we measure.
Read the guide: What Is a Hakama? Parts, Pleats, Fit and How to Tie One
More guides:
Frequently asked questions
Which pair should I choose?
For the kendo look, pick a wrap front. For a sharper line, pick a belted cut. For the most volume, pick the wide pleated pairs.
What sizes do they come in?
Most pairs are one size with an adjustable waist of roughly 62 to 115 cm. The wrap-front pair runs XS to XL, and the seven-pleat kendo hakama XXS to XXL. Each product page gives the exact range.
What is the difference between hakama and harem pants?
A hakama stays wide the whole way down. A harem pant is wide at the hip and gathers back in at the ankle. Below the knee they are opposite shapes.
Are these traditional martial arts hakama?
Most are not. They are cut on the hakama silhouette for everyday wear, with a tie, belt or drawstring waist in place of the traditional straps and koshiita. The exception is the seven-pleat kendo hakama, which is made for practice.
Are hakama pants for women too?
Yes. Every pair here is cut unisex. For most women the wrap-front pair is the easiest choice: XS to XL, with a size chart by height and weight in our hakama pants for women guide.
What should I do if my hakama pants are too long?
Hakama usually sit with the hem near the ankle bone, a little higher at the back. If yours pool on the floor, wear the waist higher or have a tailor take up the hem. Most of our pairs come in several sizes, so a smaller size also shortens the leg (and narrows the waist), while the one-size styles rely on how high you wear them.
How long does delivery take?
Orders leave within 1 to 3 business days and usually arrive 5 to 9 business days after dispatch, with tracking. Shipping is free over $45, and returns are open for 30 days from delivery.
Can I wear hakama pants casually?
Yes. Apart from the seven-pleat kendo hakama, every pair here is cut for everyday wear: a tie, belt, drawstring or elasticated waist replaces the long straps and stiff back board of a martial arts hakama, so they wear like wide trousers with a T-shirt, knit or jacket.
Is it OK to wear hakama pants if I am not Japanese?
Yes. These are everyday trousers in a hakama cut, not ceremonial dress, so they read as clothing rather than costume on anyone. Wear them as you would any wide-leg trouser.
Is Amaji a Japanese brand?
No. Amaji is an online store for Japanese-style clothing with a US business address in New Castle, Delaware, and our pairs are made in China in traditional Japanese cuts.
What fabric are they made of?
Every pair here except the wrap-front pair is polyester or a polyester-cotton blend, most often 80% polyester and 20% cotton, which keeps its pleats and dries quickly after a hand wash. The fibre content of the wrap-front pair is being confirmed with the maker. The table below lists each pair's fabric.
Do you ship to my country, and how much is it?
We ship to 33 countries: the 27 EU member states, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Australia, Canada and the United States. Shipping is $7.90 USD to the US and Canada and $9.90 USD to Europe and Australia, free on orders over $45 USD, and you pay in your own currency at checkout. Duties and import fees, where they apply, are paid by the customer.
Can I return my order?
Yes, within 30 days of delivery if it is unworn and still tagged. EU customers also have the 14-day right of withdrawal. Return shipping is paid by you unless the item arrived faulty, damaged or wrong.