J-traditions in decline: the kimono

[yanpa]

Can Kate save the kimono?

First the Duchess of Cambridge did it on her first royal tour of Asia, then Prada followed suit just a few weeks ago – both offered a new take on the traditional Japanese kimono. Could this new prominence be a sign that an outfit that means "something that you wear" in Japanese is having a renaissance? Made from a bolt of cloth 12 metres long, the traditional kimono design, with typical geometric square sleeves, has changed little over the centuries. But its recent celebrity resurgence cannot hide the fact that the kimono industry is in decline as, outside a traditional geisha world known as "flower and willow", most Japanese women have switched to wearing western clothes, only bringing out kimonos for formal occasions, if at all.

"In the old days nearly all our customers wore kimonos every day," says Yoshio Hada, who has worked in the kimono section of the Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo for 50 years. "Now there are very few." Cost, practicality and fashion have all had an impact on the popularity of Japan's traditional clothing. There are so many complicated rules for wearing kimonos that many Japanese women today have never learned how to do it properly and are fearful of getting it wrong.

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[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Far more people today wear kimono and other forms of traditional Japanese dress than were wearing it when I first arrived here 25 years ago despite people at that time having more money, the tradition being less temporally distant and the domestic textile trade still being in a comparatively healthy state.

The kimono carries far deeper meaning in this cuntry than is immediately obvious (it was one of the first things to disappear following the war defeat <and I don't mean only in the rush to serve Greji and his mates>).

[Coligny]

+1

especially the youngz...

(meanwhile, 10 years and i have yet to see mominlaw wear a kimono... worse than a teen, it's jean and t-shirt everydays)

[GomiGirl]

I see kimono clad folk daily. I think it is awesome. Plus I personally know a bunch of women (FG and J) who wear them going out to dinner or other events and not just to weddings or funerals. It really depends on the social group though - they seem to travel in packs. But these girls that I know do courses together and get graded on the kimono wearing. It is a hobby and a lovely one too. They seem to have a collection of kimono passed down through families as well which is lovely.

Yukata are certainly not going out of style but having outlets like UniQlo selling mass produced, non-hand sewn garments cheaply are probably horrifying the purists. I personally don't care for the modern embellishments like the big lace obi's that the teenagers are adding to their yukata but I think that the fact they are bothering to make the style their own can only be a good thing. But I am no purist.

But a PITA to wear so that could be a contributing factor to the "decline".

[Samurai_Jerk]

I personally know a bunch of women (FG ...) who wear them

[GomiGirl]

I personally know a bunch of women (FG ...) who wear them

What is the problem? The one friend I am thinking of is married to a J-dude and has done the courses on how to wear them properly. She has lived her for 20 years. She has a collection of beautiful antique kimono passed down through her in-laws and it is a crime if she doesn't wear them. They are artworks. She wears them to the occasional dinner or function where it is appropriate.

It isn't as if she is a fat FOB tourist lining up for "maiko dress-up photos".

[Samurai_Jerk]

It isn't as if she is a fat FOB tourist lining up for "maiko dress-up photos".

Yeah, but that's exactly what comes to mind when I hear "FG" and "Kimono".

[Mike Oxlong]

It isn't as if she is a fat FOB tourist lining up for "maiko dress-up photos".

Yeah, but that's exactly what comes to mind when I hear "FG" and "Kimono".

The Aussie geisha ruined it for everyone.

[gaijinpunch]

Can't help but think the lack-of-ring in the term, "get into her kimono" has not helped.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Well, the Aussie geisha certainly put the "kimo" into "kimono."

[Taro Toporific]

...certainly put the "kimo" into "kimono."

Kinky kimono...

image.jpg

Via

[IparryU]

Ya... Choko's parents learned the hard way what a PITA kimonos are... Sure glad i wasn't obligated to wear one!

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[kurogane]

Far more people today wear kimono and other forms of traditional Japanese dress than were wearing it when I first arrived here 25 years ago despite people at that time having more money, the tradition being less temporally distant and the domestic textile trade still being in a comparatively healthy state.

Yeah, agreed. The selective revitalisation of tradition in response to favourable external attention is hardly unique to Japan, and I would relate at least some of it to the Re-Closing or Inward Turn that has been going on in fits and starts since the turn of the century, AKA the point at which they figured out the post-Bubble recession wasn't a blip, and isn't going away.

It isn't as if she is a fat FOB tourist lining up for "maiko dress-up photos".

Yeah, but that's exactly what comes to mind when I hear "FG" and "Kimono".

GomiGirl,
In fairness to your friend, sure, fair enough. In fairness to Samurai J..............right said Fred.

To paraphrase a classic snippet from Japan Forums of yesteryear:

whenever I hear of white women in Yukata I think of pigs in bathrobes.

the chauvinism is from the original

I tend to condemn it, but purely on aesthetic grounds. Even if your friend knows how to put it on properly (and only Japanese care about that, really) the chances her body type fit that cut are small. I have long refused to have anything to do with any moves to get me in any form of traditional gear, Jinbei included, and Yukata especially, and purely because they simply don't fit my body type. I look like I am wearing a child's Hapi, and aside from looking dorkish, it can cause offence. My ex B-in-Law had to punch out one old drunk at a festival to save me from getting my head bonked by a big Sake bottle.

Much as I like your attitude, there is also an element or aspect of cultural appropriation, though I don't think that is an issue that stands up to argument. And at the end of the day, most white FGs in Kimono or Yukata look stupid, or at least comical. There is a newbie Genki license, to be sure, but it doesn't change the cold, hard facts.

Any Kyoto-ites remember or know the Kimono-fied Canadian of Gion?????? Honestly, some of his outfits have had me rolling in the aisle, and I would say we're probably friends.

[Coligny]

As much as i like to shit on local traditions... In tropical summer jinbei are a godsend (at least until I try on kilts next summer). I send some to friend back home and they quite enjoyed them too.

[IparryU]

As much as i like to shit on local traditions... In tropical summer jinbei are a godsend (at least until I try on kilts next summer). I send some to friend back home and they quite enjoyed them too.

I like jinbei too. More logical than the excessive kimonos.

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[matsuki]

Far more people today wear kimono and other forms of traditional Japanese dress than were wearing it when I first arrived here 25 years ago despite people at that time having more money, the tradition being less temporally distant and the domestic textile trade still being in a comparatively healthy state.

Yeah, agreed. The selective revitalisation of tradition in response to favourable external attention is hardly unique to Japan, and I would relate at least some of it to the Re-Closing or Inward Turn that has been going on in fits and starts since the turn of the century, AKA the point at which they figured out the post-Bubble recession wasn't a blip, and isn't going away.

Spot on....

As for FG in Kimono/Yukata/Jinbei, if it's appropriate attire for the time and place, who gives a fuck what ethnicity the person wearing it is. If we're talking about some dork wapanese wearing it wherever, just trying to show his wapanese status, secondhand embarrassment or distancing yourself from them isn't exactly uncalled for.

[legion]

Can't help but think the lack-of-ring in the term, "get into her kimono" has not helped.

taking one off is kind of fun

[IparryU]

Can't help but think the lack-of-ring in the term, "get into her kimono" has not helped.

taking one off is kind of fun

Haven't done it before... But i would love to try. More work more pleasure...

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[Russell]

Can't help but think the lack-of-ring in the term, "get into her kimono" has not helped.

taking one off is kind of fun

Haven't done it before... But i would love to try. More work more pleasure...

Reminds me of my wedding night...

[kurogane]

As for FG in Kimono/Yukata/Jinbei, if it's appropriate attire for the time and place, who gives a fuck what ethnicity the person wearing it is..

Oh, sure. Like I stated, my reservations are aesthetic: most white people (probably most black and Indian people, too) look funny because of the body type and shape and the cut of the outfit. I actually get a good healthy giggle from watching Wapanese and Weebos rocking their first Yukata or Jinbei. Sure they look and often act like complete tools, but it's a rather endearing dorkiness. I do avoid getting dragged in by them, though, as you said. I've even faked not speaking English to avoid getting roped into a Gion Festival Gaijin Groover Gig.

As for Jinebi, I fully support the right of any and all to wear such delightfully comfortable gear. I will wear the shorts or pants, but usually top it off with a gauzy linen collared casual shirt rather than the top, which I don't really like, and certainly don't fit. It ends up looking like a short-sleeved too short bathrobe. I also find the lack of pockets rather annoying. I suppose that is collateral from the ubiquity of the Man Bag culture.

And I think we all know where we are supposed to stand on that issue

[matsuki]

Body type and shape, at least with the lemurs, are all hidden anyways. They stuff em like a turkey to get that perfect flat chested, no figure look. If you're talking about the extra long torso and short legs, I got nuthin'

[matsuki]

image[1].JPG

I didn't bother reading the article, all I saw was the words "Traditional Japanese dress" and "rice paper" and I was done.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I think that if I ever get married I'll have a Hasidic wedding wear a black hat, fake beard, and fake peyots.

[matsuki]

I think that if I ever get married I'll have a Hasidic wedding wear a black hat, fake beard, and fake peyots.

02021211[1].jpg

[Samurai_Jerk]

I think that if I ever get married I'll have a Hasidic wedding wear a black hat, fake beard, and fake peyots.

02021211[1].jpg

That's different. He probably is a Hasid. There are some black converts in NY.

[matsuki]

I dunno about Hasid but with a wife that big he's probably fla...yeah, you know where I'm going

[Coligny]

Can't help but think the lack-of-ring in the term, "get into her kimono" has not helped.

taking one off is kind of fun

Haven't done it before... But i would love to try. More work more pleasure...

Reminds me of my wedding night...

Remarquable at your age to have such a good memory...

/#highschool_comeback

[Russell]

Can't help but think the lack-of-ring in the term, "get into her kimono" has not helped.

taking one off is kind of fun

Haven't done it before... But i would love to try. More work more pleasure...

Reminds me of my wedding night...

Remarquable at your age to have such a good memory...

/#highschool_comeback

At my age it is first the recent memories that fade...

[wangta]

I don't think the kimono/yukata tradition in decline from what I've seen. If anything they're making a comeback along with tendencies towards nationalism that is a throwback to the one that saw Japanese leaders turn the country into a military state, but is instead glamorised as the good old days that have to be 'restored'.

I'm hearing a lot of younger people 20s to mid 30s expressing support for Ishihara's party and wacky ideas that the tea ceremony should be compulsory for all girls at school etc. Kimono and yukata wearing are part of this even though interest in traditional dress is also a positive reflection of their interest in Japanese traditions per se. I was interested to see propaganda posters in various places including shrines where it's proclaimed how lucky/good it is to be Japanese. There is no context such as in some other countries where these campaigns are used to tell the population that it's a good idea to help countries that don't have their fortunate circumstances.

I agree with the Samurai about non Japanese wearing kimono and yukata. Thin gaijin women can get away with it but others don't look quite right. Enough Japanese men wearing yukata look awkward and that's compunded when the gaijin men do. It's individual choice of course but I've always picked up since my time in Japan before a somewhat patronising attitude even towards gaijin who don't look so bad in Japanese clothing. Have some self-respect, people.

[matsuki]

I don't think the kimono/yukata tradition in decline from what I've seen. If anything they're making a comeback along with tendencies towards nationalism that is a throwback to the one that saw Japanese leaders turn the country into a military state, but is instead glamorised as the good old days that have to be 'restored'.

I'm hearing a lot of younger people 20s to mid 30s expressing support for Ishihara's party and wacky ideas that the tea ceremony should be compulsory for all girls at school etc. Kimono and yukata wearing are part of this even though interest in traditional dress is also a positive reflection of their interest in Japanese traditions per se. I was interested to see propaganda posters in various places including shrines where it's proclaimed how lucky/good it is to be Japanese. There is no context such as in some other countries where these campaigns are used to tell the population that it's a good idea to help countries that don't have their fortunate circumstances.

haha, oh how that may change in the future...

I agree with the Samurai about non Japanese wearing kimono and yukata. Thin gaijin women can get away with it but others don't look quite right. Enough Japanese men wearing yukata look awkward and that's compunded when the gaijin men do. It's individual choice of course but I've always picked up since my time in Japan before a somewhat patronising attitude even towards gaijin who don't look so bad in Japanese clothing. Have some self-respect, people.