Adorable antique outfit, pairing a lovely mokuren (magnolia) kimono, with an obi depicting a plump niwatori (chicken) on the back, and cute hina (chick) upfront.
Most formal outfits for upper ranks samurai - Sokutai and Ikan formal court dress
(as worn by upper-ranked samurai of the Edo period - great charts by Nadeshico Rin). You can find more about samurai ranks and their regulated attires under the tag "samurai kimono".
The Sokutai
束帯 Sokutai is the most formal attire worn by Edo period samurai of the 4th rank and above.
It first appeared during Heian era as a ceremonial court dress worn by 公卿 kuge (nobility/Imperial court) and 殿上人tenjôbito (courtiers/court officials). Usage was kept well into Edo period by both the Imperial court and the Tokugawa shogunate.
The intricated garb includes:
冠 Kanmuri - hat, with distinctive 垂纓 suiei "tail" hanging in the back. Materials could include silk, lacquer or horsehair and were strickly regulated
袍 Hô - a round-necked robe with large boxy sleeves. Colors and patterns were strickly regulated.
Shown here is a pattern used by the Shôgun, the 葵に丁子唐草 Aoi ni chôji karakusa (cloves with arabesques, and hollyhock leaves - which is the Tokugawa crest)
笏 Shaku - flat ritual sceptre
平緒 Hirao - a wide flat braid wrapped around the body with ties left hanging up front. Colors and weaves were strickly regulated
(飾)太刀 (Kazari)-Tachi - (mock) long sword for ceremonial use
表袴 Ue-no-bakama (or omote-bakama) - white overpants, shorter hakama pants worn over the aka-ôkuchi
赤大口(袴) Aka-ôkuchi(bakama) - red underpants, a tad longer than the overpants
下襲(の裾) Shitagasane(no-kyo) - visible train part of an inner robe worn under the 袍 hô. During Edo period, train lenght got up to 1丈 (around 3 meters/10 feet).
襪 Shitôzu - a type of ancient socks (construction is different than tabi - they don't have a sole for ex.)
石帯 Sekitai - leather belt used in ceremonial court dress, covered in black lacquer, and decorated with stones and jewels
The Ikan
衣冠 Ikan - while still very formal and worn by Edo period samurai of the 4th rank and above, ikan looked much more simpler than sokutai.
First used for nightime duties (夜間宿直) in Heian era, it gradually came to be worm during daytime too. From Muromachi period and onwards, it had become the work uniform of the Imperial court.
Like sokutai, it uses the hô+kanmuri, and wearers were allowed to carry kazari-tachi. Yet, note how the pants differ from sokutai ones: those are large bouffant pants called 指貫 sashinuki (or 奴袴 nubakama).
You can also note that wearer here is not holding a shaku scepter: it's a folded 檜扇 hiôgi (formal folding fan made of cypress also of Heian history. Those were unpatterned as painted ones were for women).
AMAZING reference chart put together by Nadeshico Rin, showing the different attires worn by the men of the buke class in and about Edo Castle. OP stresses the chart is by no means exhaustive - but it helps picturing things SO MUCH!
For easier reading, I have adapted the chart with english translation. Rin has also created illustrations detailing each attire, I'll translate those in coming days under the tag "samurai kimono".
It annoys me unreasonably when you want to ask people "what bird and what mammal would make the worst gryphon" as a fun thought exercise, and people with no joy and no imagination always interpret it as "a gryphon that sucks, is physically impossible, and would hate being alive", and - being predictable and lacking in imagination - always, always answer with "a hummingbird and a blue whale lol".
Like come on. Why do you have to suck the fun out of everything. Why not use a fraction of imagination and delightful whimsy. Imagine the combination of a mouse and a sparrow. That creature would be merciless, burtal, absolutely determined to get into your trash and has the power of both wings and hands to do its will. Or a crow and a cat - that thing is smart enough to fuck with people and not afraid to do it. Imagine the ungodly shriek of the noble fox-seagull, also determined to get into your trash.
A gryphon that is a combination of a kangaroo and a cassowary. The only proof we have of a loving god is the fact that those things do not exist. If hell is real, it's full of them. That thing can't fly, but it will run you down, it will kill you, and you will look stupid the whole entire time you're dying.
Why would the first thing that pops into your mind at the words "the worst gryphon" automatically be "a gryphon that hates being alive". Can you not picture a gryphon that fucking loves being alive, and has both the power and the will to make it everyone else's problem.
the default way for things to taste is good. we know this because "tasty" means something tastes good. conversely, from the words "smelly" and "noisy" we can conclude that the default way for things to smell and sound is bad. interestingly there are no corresponding adjectives for the senses of sight and touch. the inescapable conclusion is that the most ordinary object possible is invisible and intangible, produces a hideous cacophony, smells terrible, but tastes delicious. and yet this description matches no object or phenomenon known to science or human experience. so what the fuck