Question:
I know for women it's a Kimono, but for men...I have no idea. I'm writing a story, and long story short, I need traditional Japanese culture. What would you find a "traditional" Japanese man wearing on the street, to work, at home, and to bed?
Same applies for the women. Do some traditional Japanese wear, for lack of a better word, normal clothing?
Answer:
Kimono is not a gendered term. Both men and women can wear kimono, yukata, obi, haori, and hakama. The styles are usually different though. For example, men's kimono and yukata are typically in much more subdued colors and patterns than women's, the sleeves of men's kimono are sewn completely to the side of the garment while women's swing freely, and men's obi are very narrow and sit more on the hips while women's can be much wider and sit around the waist. Within the category of women's kimono, there are many different types, ranging from the very casual to the very formal. For super-casual wear people also have the option of jinbei (or jimbei). There are actual kimono for sleeping, which I have seen called "yogi" but that may not be the term for all kind of sleeping kimono.
And yes, most Japanese today wear Western clothing (yofuku, in contrast to traditional Japanese clothing which is called Wafuku). It's pretty rare to find a person going about his or her life entirely in wafuku. Even many maiko and geisha, who are about as traditional as it comes, sleep in Western-style pajamas and wear Western-style clothing on their days off.
