An upper, outer garment worn by courtiers and performers. Hō have open, tube-shaped sleeves (tsutsusode), cross in front, cover the hips, and the collars are secured with a tie (tsumeeri). In fact, the exact tailoring of hō varied considerably, until sometime in the Heian period when they increased in bulk and size of sleeve. Government clerks wore hōeki no ho, while military service men wore ketteki no hō.