Hakama
袴
Wide pleated trousers with seven pleats, worn in kendo, iaido, aikido, kyudo and other Japanese arts.
Quick Facts
Term typeClothing
LanguageJapanese
Formnoun
Pronunciation[hah-kah-mah]
Alternative Namespleated trousers
Readings and romanizations
Reading (kana)はかま
Hepburn romanizationhakama
Word breakdown
袴hakamawide trousers
Definition
Hakama (袴) are traditional wide Japanese trousers tied around the waist. In the martial arts they have seven deep pleats: five at the front, divided asymmetrically into two and three, and two at the back. Two kinds are distinguished: umanori, hakama with legs divided like trousers, and andon, an undivided skirt. At a glance the two kinds look similar. Hakama are worn in kendo, iaido, aikido, jodo, kyudo and other arts. In the dojo it is often said that the seven pleats represent the seven virtues of budo, but we have not been able to establish the origin of this interpretation.