Seven column kesa with choji tatewaku (wavy lines) design

For Buddhist monks and nuns, a robe or mantle called a kesa. This kesa is a symbol of austerity. They wear a kesa during formal ceremonies, draped like a shawl over the left shoulder.

Kesa originated in India, where Buddhist monks wore a robe composed of scraps of fabric called kasaya in Sanskrit. When Buddhism came to Japan in the mid-500s C.E., the kasaya tradition traveled with it. As a reminder of the original practice, Japanese monks and nuns cut pieces out of fine fabrics and sewed them together.