benkan (square ceremonial crown)
A type of formal crown with a flat, square top, used in ancient East Asian court ceremonies. The term is highly specialized and appears mainly in historical or academic texts; cross-referenced with 冕冠.
See also: 冕冠
The benkan is a type of ceremonial crown from ancient China.
The kanji 冕 is a Chinese character historically used for ceremonial headgear. The Japanese reading べん derives from the Chinese reading. The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the character is conventionally associated with the meaning 'crown'.