Page:Occult Japan - Lovell.djvu/232

214 for it is most serviceably all of them as occasion requires, the pilgrim wears a handkerchief in fillet round his brow. A long white tunic comes next, which theoretically is the pilgrim's only garment, except of course the ubiquitous loin-cloth. Practically he usually has on something beneath it, first in the shape of a shirt and then of tight-fitting trouserdrawers. The tunic is thoroughly stamped with ideographs; some of them being the names of the gods of the mountain, some those of the pilgrim club. Girdling this is a long belt-sash, round which often runs a row of transmogrified Sanskrit letters, quite illegible to the wearer or to any one else, so caricatured have they been by successive ignorant transmission. Their illegibility of course enhances their religious effect; just as the word "amen" sounds incomparably holier than "so be it." White gaiters, white cloven socks, and straw sandals complete the more intimate part of the costume. The gaiters are sometimes lavender for the ladies.

But the most peculiar portion of the dress is the wing-like mat (goza) which the pilgrim wears over his shoulders by a strap across the breast. As it extends beyond his arms