VIDEO
*Please watch the first 30 seconds of this video and pay attention to the look on the faces of audience.
READ
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/lifestylenews/view/446539/1/.html
When this year’s national costume was first revealed at a press conference (refer to the video) in early July, many Japanese felt that it is inappropriate and that it’s a “national disgrace”. They even felt that it was “crass” and “sleazy”. A ZakZak article (http://www.zakzak.co.jp/gei/200907/g2009072804_all.html) introduces the controversy to its Japanese readers, revealing that many comments have criticized the design. In the same article, they even made comparisons of the national costume of previous years, to show that this year’s national costume is unacceptable.
What mould the Japanese’s perspective on this issue can be explained with the cognitive schemata – the mental framework that we developed over time. It seems to me that many Japanese are “hard-wired” to think that Japanese woman should not carry such an image. This could be explained as they have person prototypes of an idealized Japanese lady, where she should be elegant and poised, as opposed to the image reflected by national costume which they found “revealing”, “vulgar” and “perverted”. Thus, they are quick to ignore the individual details such as the designer’s effort to inject modern fashion elements and are led to stereotyped and radical responses towards the national costume. Moreover, traditionally a kimono is used to express the spirit of the woman, and in turn gives the kimono its beauty and character (http://www.hanamiweb.com/kimono.html#whatsignify) instead of making a mark on the fashion runway.
Also, I would say that Miss Emiri Miyasaka is acting out of her script. Many would expect her to be apologetic with regards to the national costume, according to the script of a well-mannered and reserved Japanese lady. However, she rebuked those who criticized the design of the national costume on her personal blog by saying, “The conservative and fashion dinosaurs are criticising my costume, meanwhile the fashionistas love it. I care only about the movers and shakers in the fashion industry."
Thus these are reasons why it has caused such a furore in Japan.
What interests me out of this whole drama is the fact that an increasingly westernized culture group still has made strong opposition with regards to this. The first reactions of the Japanese present at the press conference were also stunning (refer to video and the fourth photo). Who would think that people whose popular culture such as music, which is largely influenced by western cultures, would react this way? Even the fashion and entertainment company which organizes the Japanese part of Miss Universe competition feedback that they “are just surprised by the harsh comments from many people”. It seems that the Japanese are still very protective when it comes to preserving their traditions and culture. They are also very much concerned with how foreigners would form wrong perceptions of the country based on the national costume (since that’s the only representative of the country at an international pageant). This could be seen as a pretty Asian response, where they are “afraid to lose face”.
Then it draws my attention to note the stark difference in perception between the two parties – majority of the Japanese population versus Miss Emiri Miyasaka and her co-workers. An interesting point to note is that Miss Emiri Miyasaka has received overseas education at California for a year. Thus I would think that her real experiences and exposure to other cultures result in her being more individualistic and daring (which could be explained by the cultural studies perspective – where a given culture exerts power over people who consume them). Therefore, is it the breach in experiences that resulted in this controversy?
All in all, I think that it is largely dependent on the cognitive schemata which we developed that alter perception and helps us determine whether or not this is a national disgrace or a daring creation.
FYI: In the end, Miss Emiri Miyasaka wore a less revealing kimono on the 23 August finals (they lengthened the kimono).
What mould the Japanese’s perspective on this issue can be explained with the cognitive schemata – the mental framework that we developed over time. It seems to me that many Japanese are “hard-wired” to think that Japanese woman should not carry such an image. This could be explained as they have person prototypes of an idealized Japanese lady, where she should be elegant and poised, as opposed to the image reflected by national costume which they found “revealing”, “vulgar” and “perverted”. Thus, they are quick to ignore the individual details such as the designer’s effort to inject modern fashion elements and are led to stereotyped and radical responses towards the national costume. Moreover, traditionally a kimono is used to express the spirit of the woman, and in turn gives the kimono its beauty and character (http://www.hanamiweb.com/kimono.html#whatsignify) instead of making a mark on the fashion runway.
Also, I would say that Miss Emiri Miyasaka is acting out of her script. Many would expect her to be apologetic with regards to the national costume, according to the script of a well-mannered and reserved Japanese lady. However, she rebuked those who criticized the design of the national costume on her personal blog by saying, “The conservative and fashion dinosaurs are criticising my costume, meanwhile the fashionistas love it. I care only about the movers and shakers in the fashion industry."
Thus these are reasons why it has caused such a furore in Japan.
What interests me out of this whole drama is the fact that an increasingly westernized culture group still has made strong opposition with regards to this. The first reactions of the Japanese present at the press conference were also stunning (refer to video and the fourth photo). Who would think that people whose popular culture such as music, which is largely influenced by western cultures, would react this way? Even the fashion and entertainment company which organizes the Japanese part of Miss Universe competition feedback that they “are just surprised by the harsh comments from many people”. It seems that the Japanese are still very protective when it comes to preserving their traditions and culture. They are also very much concerned with how foreigners would form wrong perceptions of the country based on the national costume (since that’s the only representative of the country at an international pageant). This could be seen as a pretty Asian response, where they are “afraid to lose face”.
Then it draws my attention to note the stark difference in perception between the two parties – majority of the Japanese population versus Miss Emiri Miyasaka and her co-workers. An interesting point to note is that Miss Emiri Miyasaka has received overseas education at California for a year. Thus I would think that her real experiences and exposure to other cultures result in her being more individualistic and daring (which could be explained by the cultural studies perspective – where a given culture exerts power over people who consume them). Therefore, is it the breach in experiences that resulted in this controversy?
"Perception is the process of selecting, organising and interpreting information in order to give personal meaning to the communication we receive."
Seiler & Beall
Communication Making Connection 1999:31
All in all, I think that it is largely dependent on the cognitive schemata which we developed that alter perception and helps us determine whether or not this is a national disgrace or a daring creation.
FYI: In the end, Miss Emiri Miyasaka wore a less revealing kimono on the 23 August finals (they lengthened the kimono).
Other references:
erm. theres a darker side to the japanese culture. their sex fantasies and so on. the porn industry is thriving. and i guess this is one side of Japan that ppl are not that proud of. ppl can say this is a controversy because it hints at this darker side of japan that ppl dont want to admit. japan is q a conservative society, and it is this suppression that leads to all their bizarre sex fantasies. not everyone finds these fantasies appealing, and a fusion of both may be hard to accept for everyone, at least on the outside.
ReplyDeletei dont mean to go into the sex issue, just it was the first thing that came into my mind: fusion of both.
-v
hi shuling,
ReplyDeleteanyway in the first place i believe that the costume was not designed by the Japanese, in fact the french. lets take a look at the fashion trends from the past to the present. skirts have been getting shorter and shorter throughout the ages, its only natural that they remove it in the near or present future - just kidding.. anyway we see the model being lamblasted for this outfit. however i guess that tradition being tradition should have some sense of decency and stick back to tradition rather than pursuing modernism and what not.
my final take - tradition and modernism mix like water and oil
National disgrace?
ReplyDeleteHm...Perhaps? But remember Bikini? It used to be deem as a disgrace but as times passes, people are accepting them and making fashion show out of them. kimono start a fiercer debut because it is a tradition invented at the same age as the nation Japan. Perhaps it also takes time before people accept changes as the new social norm.
I feel that it's just a daring act. And it's part of art.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, there is an underlying meaning to the design of the costume. The designer may have wanted to tell the world about the culture of japan, usually not shown to the world. And that is a world of sex fantasies. Afterall, japan produces most of the world's pornographic shows, though mostly are only circulated within japan itself.
well i guess it's a daring act? I wont think it's a national disgrace cos im not a japanese.. but thinking of how Japan as a whole portray the country, this definitely differ very much from most traditional, conservative japanese women. especially when the kimono should be a symbolic representative of japanese tradition. if they want to incalcate fashion into a national costume, they can probably allow small changes each time.. such a sudden change would definitely raise lots of criticism, as the ppl were not warned and find it hard to accept it..
ReplyDeletein a country where nationalism and tradition is strongly instill the lives and culture of the society, it is no wonder they consider it as a form national disgrace.
ReplyDeleteespecially when the traditions of kimono making that they are so proud of and being held as a sacred form of art. so much so that the kimono itself is an icon that represents japan. with an kimono being design in a such a way, to the japanese with a stronger sense of nationalism would definately think that this design is desecrating the their culture to the point it may be more of an insult than a expression of modern art.
im not sure if the fashion trend is gonna carry on reducing cloth and increasing prices (reducing cloth probably due to global warming.. maybe..but increasing prices for less cloth?) in the next 10 years, but this design i would say would be a little extreme and the designer would probably be interpreting "sexiness" as "sexual".
whatever the designer wanted the express through this piece, definitely lead people to interpreting it in a very negative way.
I think it would be disgracing to the Japanese as Japanese women are indeed supposed to be traditionally gentle, reserved and of good etiquette. Not to say that being in fashion means the opposite, but the traditional costume - kimono should not depart from the traditional image of Japanese women. Women who choose to be westernised in their dress sense are free to wear what westerners wear, but kimono should preserve its traditions and values. It's probably why the final kimono is lengthened.
ReplyDeleteA country which still holds on to its tradition would definitely consider this as a national disgrace, but I feel that its really daring form of expression.
ReplyDeleteGlobally, change is constant, and somehow everyone is striving to adopt to these changes. Fashion designers these days are also always constantly changing their designs, trying to provoke the minds of its consumers, or its admirers. Its not really surprising for the designer to fuse two aspects together, as many people are still trying to fuse tradition and modern ideas together. The issue is about moving forward to the future while holding on to the past. Its no surprise that many people want to do this.
Is there a limit to creativity? Its not easy for people to express themselves so truthfully, but the designer has managed to achieve it, maybe. Some people would appreciate the design, while others won't.
I believe that reaching a general consensus when it comes to such a controversial issues is highly unlikely. Though, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, I think that one should be able to express themselves openly, as long as its not against the law.
I see yet another interesting post.
ReplyDeleteWell, i would say that it's more of a national disgrace rather than a daring expression. The kimono is a symbol of the traditional japanese style and culture, but the pictures and video kind of portray otherwise. Making it look like something along the lines of 'sexy' or 'sleazy' rather than a piece of finely crafted formal clothing.
Though it is good to know that people want to create a modern fashion culture nowadays, many traditional ideas might be lost because of it.
Perhaps the designer was trying to stand out? Individuality.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that Miss Universe is more than a beauty pageant. Then, contestants should not be selected simply based on their looks as they will become a representative figure of theirr home country. The audience will associate the contestant with their home country culture, people and way of thinking. (Which reminds me of Ris Low and how Singapore should revise her searching criteria for Miss Singapore)
Hey, a very interesting point of view! Personally I think that it is actually not shocking to see how the Japanese react to this "fashion-sense". As we all know, Japanese are more conservative and they could have been taken aback by the daring and new designs.
ReplyDeleteI think that this issue could have been dealt better with, perhaps Japanese should start changing their mindset and have a different view of fashion. I know it's not going to be easy, but I think that if the people's mindset are changed slowly and not so sudden in this case, PERHAPS it would be easier to accept it.
Fashion is interpreted in its own ways by individuals. But to join a worldwide beauty pageant representing their country, I somehow feel that it is rather inappropriate. Would you want Miss Singapore Universe to wear something so revealing in the World Miss Universe Finals? I doubt so. What about you?
I feel that there are different ways to look at it and it a very subjective matter.
ReplyDeleteThe designer of the costume, like what many others had commented and gave feedback, it would be an expression of individualism and how he perceive Japan to be like. Instead of the traditional, modest design of a kimono, it becomes contemporary and "sexy" as a reflection of the modern day Japanese culture.
On the other hand, I would look at the nature of the event which the costume went on the runway. Like if it's a 'fashion week', or an event for designers to share and exhibit their designs, I feel that it wouldn't be a problem. But if it's a formal event and specially to say having it termed as a "national costume", personally I would feel that it's inappropriate as I don't think any Japanese would be proud of such a piece of "national costume" and even wearing one.
its really hw ppl see it. some may think its ok, but the conservative ppl will detest it. for myself, its really nth much. if we really want to talk abt clothes itself, i think no one cld foresee wat ppl wld wear now as compared to say, 200 yrs ago. can u imagine the princesses wearing low cut dresses or dresses that reveal the back. i dont think so. its all part of evolution. ppl begin to accept ladies wearing revealing dresses as a form of elegance instead as a form of insult.
ReplyDeleteas times go by these traditional costumes wld lose its roots as ppl like us wld try to modernise the clothes. therefore its still impt for us to preserve the traditions too.
honestly, 20 yrs down the road, i cant imagine the qipaos and saris being the focus in fashion industry.
HI SHULING!
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, i think that this costume is definitely more of a national disgrace. I disagree that the Japanese wrong to think that a Japanese lady should be elegant and poised. Furthermore this is a national costume. There is a difference between fashionable (credit to "designer’s effort to inject modern fashion elements") and sleazy. The suspender (?) is too much.
I agree with you that the reason Miss Emiri Miyasaka is willing to parade this costume, is because of her westernised influence and education she received in California.
Great post! :D
cforceleste.blogspot.com
National disgrace, yes indeed it is. In my opinion, it is a strongly-rooted thinking or culture that Japanese women should be posed and elegant. No doubt, the designer is not wrong to attempt to inject modern fashion elements but this is far too revealing when you consider the person who wears it is a representative of a country and her culture, traditions etc and she is parading herself in front of the whole world. What does it shows about the country if she were to wear this. Are they trying to tell the whole world that it is fashion to wear a kimono which covers basically only the top part of the body? I simply cannot agree to it. Can you imagine Miss China wearing a Qi Pao that is similiar to this kimino? It will be a disgrace to the 5000 years of fine culture of China.
ReplyDelete-Pearly
wrt to the'daring expression or national disgrace', though i agreed tt is an ingrained cognitive schemata developed in the societies overtime tt cause an uproar among the public, tt we have to follow an appro. model. but feel that the focus of their fury is more on the fact tt it is a national costume, it represent a country's pride and long established traditions. individualistic character and expression should be secondary.
ReplyDeleteI would say people tend to have objections to new things introduced, i mean it just takes time for people to learn to accept them. But then, since it is a national thing, perhaps they shouldn't have been this daring. I think maybe they can be more daring with their expression bit by bit? I guess by doing so, it will make it easier for the people to accept.
ReplyDelete@v
ReplyDeleteI agree that there is a darker side of Japan, but every country has it. Japan is still a largely high context culture, where they really pay attention to things that are unspoken. This is probably one of the aspects they cannot tolerate because they feel that their culture is downplayed by such a portrayal. Moreover, since it was going to be seen by people from many countries, they would not want what Miss Japan wore to mislead them to think that Japan is so “vulgar”, in a sense.
@Luke
ReplyDeleteOk, I Googled just to make sure I got the facts right. The outfit was designed by a French and a Japanese. I know fashion trends are always in a state of flux, but seriously, skimpy is by no means fashion (at least to me). I agree with you that they were trying to achieve both at the same time – modernism and tradition (culture). However, they may not be a good mix because there are inherent conflicts!
Good analogy used, they’re just like water and oil.
@Anonymous
ReplyDeleteI think comparing what she wore to bikini is not a fair comparison. When a Miss Universe candidate steps on the stage, her bikini does not reflect the home culture, in fact nothing close. However, for this segment, what she wears is supposed to represent the home country and culture. That is it was such a big issue in Japan. I feel strongly that it would never become a social norm, unless they totally discard their home culture.
@kai ting
ReplyDeleteWe can’t know for sure what the intentions of the designers are. But I think due to the lack of common experiences and understanding, the message communicated to the masses was definitely not positive. If the designers’ intention was really to reveal the ‘kinky’ and dark side of Japan, I still think that this is the most inappropriate occasion to do so!
@Anonymous
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you that perhaps little changes made to the traditional costume would not have resulted in such a negative feedback from the people. And indeed, many Japanese hold pride to their traditional costumes because just from that piece of intricate garment, it communicates many messages of the Japanese to people who are studying and observing their culture.
@J-Hong
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you! Putting yourself in the shoes of the Japanese, you would really see how this revamp of the kimono becomes insulting to the home culture.
@Elisa
ReplyDeleteYou pointed out something very true and similar to Luke’s! The two elements just cannot be mixed together because they’re largely in conflict. Again, bring in the analogy of water and oil. No good mix!
@fatinizzah
ReplyDeleteI think what the designers expressed were definitely not against the law. And I do agree that imposing some “rules” and “guidelines” would in turn restrict their creativity and limit it in a box. However, I think they are important in preserving a home culture, isn’t it? There could be new elements to the traditional costume but not one that would distort the original. You can compare this year’s to the past years’. Designers also added in fashionable elements, but they did not distort how the national costume should be presented.
@E.Ee
ReplyDeleteI’m glad you found my posts interesting! Your points coincide with mine! ^5! I think what the Japanese fear most is that the so called fashionable elements would corrode the traditional idea and really, the kind of misleading message that she may be potentially sending to the people from other countries.
@Ke Li
ReplyDeleteYes, a familiar someone who created a hoo-ha as well! Miss Universe is definitely more than a pageant! It is an international platform where the flag the candidate is holding becomes synonymous with her. That is why we should really pay attention to selecting! For Japan, they chose the right candidate, wrong outfit. For Singapore… there’s no need for me to elaborate since we all know :)
@itswithinme
ReplyDeleteI think the Japanese are actually quite open to fashion, but they become uncomfortable with it when that piece of design is going to be representative of the country. Changing their mindsets would be rather difficult! Well, they hold really strongly to their own culture despite the influence from the West.
Of course I would not want Miss Singapore Universe wear something that too suggestive and provocative. I’m fine with Rachel Kum in the Vanda Miss Joaquim outfit.
@bings
ReplyDeleteYou’ve pointed out something very relevant! Indeed, the nature of the event matters. It determines the tone and the unspoken rules that follow. We’re on the same sides. That costume is inappropriate!
@torresisking09
ReplyDeleteIt is important to keep our traditions! Some may argue that traditions may get obsolete as people try ways to modernize them, but I strongly feel that there is a intricate value in them because that is what makes a culture unique.
@Celeste
ReplyDeleteWe’re on the same sides! I think it is more of a national disgrace as well. No one on the land of the rising sun would want to be represented by someone who resembles a porn star (though some may be obsessed with the fantasies…).
@Pearly
ReplyDeleteI agree with you! I think that it is inappropriate to don that outfit when the whole world sees it. It is definitely not flattering to the Japanese. If I were in their shoes, I’ll be so embarrassed! I’m glad Rachel Kum only transformed into a flower, and that’s about it.
@libbyliz
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely right! I totally agree to what you’ve mentioned.
@Anonymous
ReplyDeleteYour comment is rather similar to the previous anonymous author! Indeed, little changes may be easier to accept over drastic ones. For this case, it was such a drastic change that it totally backfired.
Interested people, you may want to read this extra article:
ReplyDeletehttp://bionicbong.com/japan/only-in-japan/fashion/miss-universe-japan-covers-up/
It is what happened in the end.