Japanese Clothing for Men

What Japanese men wore, cut for an ordinary day

Most of what Japan's men wore for centuries still works with jeans and a plain tee. The cut carries it. Nobody needs a costume. This page holds 89 pieces from that wardrobe: hakama pants, haori and kimono jackets, noragi, jinbei and samue sets, yukata, hanten, happi coats and split-toe tabi socks.

Trousers, jackets and sets

Start with the trousers. Hakama pants are the pleated wide trousers once worn over a kimono, cut here with tie, belt or elastic waists. Japanese work pants such as the balloon-leg tobi come from the building site. For the top half, a haori hangs open like an overshirt. A noragi ties at the front, and a kimono jacket sits between the two.

For home and hot nights there are jinbei sets, cross-tie samue and cotton yukata. Winter gets the padded hanten. Under all of it go tabi socks, with the big toe split off for sandals.

Sizing Japanese clothing on a Western frame

Japanese cuts run loose on purpose. Take your usual size. Then read the chest or hip figure in cm on each product page before you trust the letter. Sizes run from XXS to 5XL depending on the piece, and several hakama and haori are one size with ties. Wash cold and hang to dry. Heat is what shrinks cotton and linen.

One page for each garment

Every family above has its own page and guide. Our guide to Japanese clothing for men explains what each piece is and how to wear it. Thirty-six traditional garments and their names covers the rest.

Measurements come from the manufacturer's flat size table for each garment, converted to centimetres and mapped onto one size ladder. Available for 46 of the 89 garments here, last checked 2026-10-23. How we measure.