(かいきん)

かいきん
noun
open collar; open-necked
clothing
1. open collar; open-necked style
A shirt or garment style with the collar worn open, without a tie or buttoned-up neckline. Refers especially to the open-collar dress shirts commonly worn in summer in Japan.
開襟(かいきん)シャツ()
To wear an open-collar shirt.
In summer, many people go to work in open-collar shirts.
The spread of Cool Biz has established the open-collar style.

Combines (かい) (open) + (きん) (collar). Most commonly seen in the compound 開襟(かいきん)シャツ.

Watch out

Do not confuse with 解禁(かいきん) (lifting a ban), which has the same reading but different kanji and meaning.

Common collocations

Cultural note

The 開襟(かいきん) style became widespread in Japan after the government launched "クールビズ" (Cool Biz) in 2005, encouraging office workers to dress casually in summer to reduce air conditioning use. During the Cool Biz period (typically May–September), wearing an 開襟(かいきん)シャツ without a tie is standard in many workplaces.