The Colour That Tells a Visitor the Priest's Rank

A kariginu is made of silk, and its color is not a matter of taste but of rank within the Shinto priesthood, following a scheme descended from the Heian court's own color coded hierarchy of office. Higher grades of priest are entitled to specific colors reserved to them, so that a visitor familiar with the code can identify a priest's standing at the shrine at a glance, before any word is exchanged or any title given. The garment is worn over an underrobe and paired with wide trousers and the priest's headwear appropriate to the occasion, and it is one of several graded vestments a shrine priest owns, selected according to the formality of the rite being performed that day rather than worn identically at every service.

Ono's account of Shinto practice describes vestment choice at a shrine as itself a form of communication, telling worshippers something about the character of the rite in progress before the liturgy has said a word, which is part of why the kariginu, originally secular hunting dress, has proved durable as a working vestment across many centuries of continuous use. A senior priest may own several kariginu in different permitted colours, selecting among them according to the specific rite of the day, much as a Christian priest chooses among a set of liturgical colours keyed to the church calendar.