National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

Garments worn for Shinto rituals or used as offerings during them were modeled on the dress of courtiers. This piece is an outer robe (J., ho) that was prepared for a male deity. As the alternate term, ue no kinu (“top robe”), suggests, the robe was the topmost layer in an ensemble of formal court dress (J., sokutai). This example, having been tailored as festival wear for Shinto religious rituals, is quite large compared to most robes of this type. In accordance with the tradition of courtier dress, its outer fabric is twill damask (J., kata-aya) with a design of small hollyhocks.