Nô is the classical theatre of Japan which was codified in the 14th century by the father and son actors Kan'ami and Zeami under the patronage of the Shogun (supreme military leader) Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Under Yoshimitsu the Zen principles of restraint, understatement, economy of movement and frugality of expression became incorporated into the performance. By the early seventeenth century Nô had become an even more austere and formalised drama reserved almost exclusively for the Tokugawa family, the ruling military elite. This type of robe is called karaori means 'Chinese Weave', although the term came to describe the style of robe itself as much as the technique. The karaori is the basic outer robe worn by a Nô actor in female roles and the predominant red colour of the robe indicates the character of a young woman. The robe is decorated with roundels of chrysanthemums, peonies and irises in coloured silks over a gold lattice pattern. The three layers of the design are simultaneously woven: the ground, the background gold geometric pattern and the top pattern of glossy silk that looks almost like embroidery.