Can Foreigners Wear Kimono? What Japanese think of Cultural Appropriation

[yuiyoshida]

[Kali]

1. that was a beautiful contrast to the news of the day and the shit show that is the rnc

thank you

[yuiyoshida]

3. When I saw that I thought about conversations I have had

about Cultural Appropriation. Not saying its right, but if the Japanese are impressed with Americans adopting Japanese style .. how wrong could it be in this case?

[fierywoman]

2. This was wonderful and fascinating!

I was very privileged to live in Japan for seven months while playing in a string quartet in a ritzy hotel in Hokkaido. While we were there, we ( the quartet) decided to make 1,000 origami cranes as a way to wish ourselves to get good work back in the US when the hotel gig was over. We did it and I figured out how to string them up around the room that was ours in the hotel between performances. The Japanese loved to come by and see what the gaijin had made. It was very sweet.

[Kablooie]

4. My daughter ordered a custom made Kimono from Kyoto in February.

She went to a fitting and picked out all the material and accessories here in Los Angeles.

The Kimono maker said that it's finished but they can't ship it to her right now because of the pandemic.
She will be taking classes on how to put it on when it finally arrives.

(She's half Japanese.)

[yuiyoshida]

6. How to put on a Kimono...

[Kablooie]

7. Thanks. I'll let her know about this.

[Skittles]

5. I called it, I guessed that they would not mind at all

I'm curious though why they did not question any older Japanese folk, these people all seem very young

[rpannier]

8. Most Japanese seem to like when foreigners wear Kimonos

I have two. One I received from friends shortly after I arrived here in Kanagawa. I has a Yukata made end of last year just before I went to the hospital
They're nice.
My Japanese friends call it Cultural Appreciation

[Warpy]

9. I own a patchwork jacket made from kimono silk from worn-out kimonos

and I've made myself a couple of haoris, one with Japanese fabric I found in a specialty store. They're good transitional season jackets and I especially love the haoris and how you can stash things in the sleeves--shuttles, knitting notions, a small car.

I got the patchwork jacket because it is beautiful and it's one of the few beautiful things I've ever owned. The kimonos were beyond repair and their second life in a jacket is appropriate but not appropriation. The haoris I made are simply practical jackets and extremely comfortable as they're traditional work clothing.

I'd never do the full kimono because they're heavy and too hard to walk in. I can admire them on other people. However, it's clothing, beautiful clothing, and no more cultural appropriation than the jeans and t-shirts worn by the kids being interviewed in that video.

(Kimonos had a good fashion run in the 1920s when they were used as at home leisure wear over silk pajamas. That wasn't cultural appropriation, either)

[yuiyoshida]

10. I mostly have Yukata but I live close by to Japantown and there are several stores that sell

(well, they did sell.. probably closed now because of the pandemic) Men and Women Kimono. Alot of them are lovely and very expensive.. The problem I might have is with the GETA... the wooden sandals where one can wear Tabi socks or go barefoot. They are difficult to wear ...hard to walk in..

[Warpy]

12. I suppose they make more sense with full dress kimonos

because one can't take decent sized strides in a kimono, anyway. Those do keep your feet dry when it's been raining. I used to wear European clogs in Boston for the same reason, but I found I could run in those if I absolutely had to.

I love the old kimono silks in my jacket, they are beautiful. I can also source shredded silk from the parts that had gone to rags for use in my spinning, but I haven't done that, I get enough fuzz up my nose from wool and alpaca!.

[Laha]

11. I've had arguments like this

Some white dudes were trying to say it was inappropriate, cultural appropriation for white people to have a totem. I had some fun(I was a bit rude) pointing out that people with totems as part of their culture don't think like that. Interestingly enough, one of them was someone from Russia who forgot to take off their geotag. Didn't get much of a response when I asked who the hell are you to tell us what to think of how our culture is shared.

[sl8]

13. K&R n/t

[DFW]

14. At our wedding, my sister-in-law wore a kimono

But she is a native of Japan, so it didn't look at all out of place.

[amcgrath]

15. I know I've seen a video of Yasuharu Konishi

Wearing a kilt on stage, it looked great.

There are items of clothing/accessories which can or do offend, but they are usually on the grounds that they are wither sacred or an unearned symbol of status



16:13, awesome band