Thursday 13 May 2010

Asian Studies Conference Japan






In mid June, I will be giving a presentation at The Asian Studies Conference Japan. I have put together a panel of four people, who can speak about issues related to Japanese fashion. Toby Slade, who has recently published, "Japanese Fashion, a cultural history", Elizabeth Kramer, who researches on the way that Victorians introduced bits of Japanese textiles and designs into their fashion, in England, Michael Furmanovsky, who writes about Japanese popular and country music, and I, will be presenting. The reader will be Yuniya Kawamura, from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She researches about aspects of Japanese street style. Whilst Toby Slade and Elizabeth Kramer will be speaking about more historical issues, Michael Furmanovsky and I will be discussing more contemporary ones. I am very excited and nervous about this conference, and today I have been preparing my power point presentation. My theme is how kimono is changing in Japan, now. I will be talking about new businesses and also about the way kimono interacts with technology, namely, the internet.
Looking back, when I arrived in Japan, the only way to learn kimono was to go to the kimono school. When I wanted a yukata, I went and chose a roll of cloth and I was measured, and waited three weeks to go and get it. Everything was made to measure. All the accessories at the kimono school had to be white. Other colours were rarely seen. People thought that kimono was just a hobby for rich housewives, along with ikebana and English conversation. It sort of gave you cultural brownie points. Those pastimes were nicknamed the "marital arts". If a girl could do those things she could find a desirable husband.
Even whilst Dalby was writing that kimono was not going to change any more and was a fixed system, I could see that things were beginning to change. I began to see new kimono books on the shelves and I noticed that coloured tabi had arrived in the shops. Now there are not only coloured, but patterned, lace, and made to order tabi. Then you wore zori or zori, but now geta are popular too, and even boots are coming in for casual wear. Kimono were silk or silk, but now they are silk, cotton, polyester or wool. Then we used white collars but now we use embroidered or coloured ones, or cut our own from old kimono. Creativity has returned, and kimono schools will have a hard time surviving, when people can learn to dress from Youtube, in America or Amsterdam. Kimono is being democratized like it was in the Edo period, when Japanese were fashion crazy, and like the Taisho period, when girls were collar crazy! Here's to democracy. I am all for a bit rule breaking, in an appropriate situation!

5 comments:

  1. How exciting for you - shame the conference is so far away. Hope it all goes well.

    I love that black kimono at the top of the post with the sho chiku bai design - lovely.
    And the purse hung roung the neck in the next photo - what a cool idea.

    jane

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  2. Heck yes! ^ ^ I love the changes that have appeared in kimono! Oh that checkered collar with that blood red kimono rocks!
    YAY for youtube it helps make kimono earier and more apporachable.

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  3. Yes the internet has been (I feel) essential in a revival of the traditional kimono and bringing it into a more modern and "edgy" world. Yet I think I will leave all the new trend setting to the youger generation. I will stick to the white tabi and haneri and leave the lace and pattern tabi for others more daring. As for the kimono's pictured, my favorite has to be the shou-chiku-bai on top. The contrast of the red with the black&white collar is a bit too much for me. But I must say that I really do love the bright shibori women's amageta. Those are fabulous. I will leave the combat boots for the punk rockers. :)

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  4. Glad that you are enjoying the pictures. The internet must be great if you are living outside Japan, but want to wear kimono. I am wondering how many people there are out there, who are wanting to wear kimono, but are away from Japan and depend on computer or published materials for information. It must be quite a few people. I think getting accessories must be a little difficult, but most things are available on the internet.

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  5. It's not difficult at all of me there are so many stores in person and web that I shop at or browse that are kimono related it just depends on how much some one wants to spend.

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