We’ve covered this topic before when it comes to modern usage, but we’ve never really talked about the historical roots!
Anonymous asked:
“At risk of sounding kinda dumb, what is a hagoromo? I Googled it and I mostly got results about a Naruto character lol”
Hagoromo (羽衣), literally meaning “Feather Robe,” is a special cloak that the gods use to fly to and from heaven in Japanese mythology. It comes from the story of “Hagoromo” in that one day a celestial maiden was washing herself in a lake and a fisherman spotted her hagoromo. Enchanted by her beauty and knowing that she couldn’t return to heaven without it, the fisherman stole the robe, stranding the maiden on earth. Depending on who tells the tale, the fisherman either withheld the information that he had the robe or he used the robe to barter for the maiden’s hand in marriage. Either way, after years of being married to the fisherman the maiden finds her robe and flies back up to heaven. There’s a famous Noh play that was later adapted for kabuki called “Hagoromo In The Pines” (松羽衣) that tells this tale on stage.
Now that we know the “why” of things, let’s look at the “what,” specifically what a hagoromo looks like:
Image courtesy of Kyoto Kimono Rental.
For the most part it resembles that of a peacock or even a phoenix. You can tell that it’s a hagoromo because it has no head, instead replacing it with golden “hooks” that would tie around a god’s shoulders or neck.
In contrast, the Noh outfit is always orange with golden feathers embroidered into it. Since it’s sometimes hard to see in pictures of the stage version we have this lovely wall scroll that perfectly illustrates the story: