Yukata (Japanese: 浴衣) is a type of
clothing worn by the Japanese, especially women, at firework festivals and other summer events. It is a kind of casual
kimono, also commonly worn after the bath at Japanese-style hotels. The word literally means bath robe or bath clothing.
A yukata is a cooling garment to wear. It consists of one big piece of cloth with two wide sleeves. It's not always obvious how to wear a yukata properly. An obi (belt) is used to keep the yukata from falling open. Also, a special type of sandal, geta, which only has one strap, is worn with the yukata.
Traditionally yukata were mostly made of blue-printed cotton but today there is a wide variety of colors and designs. Many young women wear yukata today, arranging them in various ways.
Amongst men, the most common use of yukata in public is when it is worn by sumo wrestlers. Junior ranked sumo wrestlers are expected to wear yukata when out in public, irrespective of the weather conditions or time of year. During the summer all wrestlers tend to wear this attire.
Japan Clothing Industry
Kimono Definition
Geta Definition
Hakama Definition
Clothing Definitions