Now to me, a lot of this sounds well... like a bunch of nonsense. I don't see why it's such a horrible thing for a foreigner who's in Japan to walk the streets wearing kimono. I don't see why it's such a horrible thing for a foreigner who's not in Japan to walk the streets wearing a kimono. The responses that some people give to this are so far fetched, it kind of amazes me.
Here a just a few of the things I've seen people say as to why it's 'wrong' for a foreigner to wear kimono:
- 'It's a Japanese cultural outfit, therefore it should only be worn by Japanese people.' So you're saying it's wrong for someone who isn't Japanese to appreciate Japanese culture?
- 'People are only wearing kimono because they want to be Japanese.' Oh, so because I think kimono are beautiful and want to look beautiful in one, I want to be Japanese? Okay, that makes perfect sense.
- 'You should only wear one if you're invited to by a Japanese person.' What? So the only way I can wear a kimono is if a Japanese person comes up to me and says it's okay? So if I were to go up to a random Japanese person and ask if I can wear a kimono, if they said yes does that count? Or what? What does this even mean? I don't get this one...
- 'If you don't know the history of kimono, you shouldn't wear it.' Okay, so let me just stop you right here. There are some Japanese that don't know much about the history of kimono, so why in the world should I, a foreigner need to known in dept details about kimono history just to put one on?
- 'Foreigners only wear it to look cool.' So do a lot of Japanese people, especially with Yukata. And besides, it's a beautiful outfit. If it makes you feel beautiful and confident, why not wear it?
- 'It's racist to wear kimono if you aren't Japanese.' And it's intolerant for you to complain so much about foreigners wearing kimono.
- 'Because you aren't Japanese.' Really? Really? I mean... really? That's all you've got to say? I can't wear kimono just because I'm not Japanese? Really? That's it?
In my opinion, the only people who truly have a problem with non Japanese people wearing kimono are intolerant jerks. It's okay to like Japan and it's okay to like kimono and more importantly it's okay to wear one. What's not okay is for you to prance around in it like it's a costume. I think that as long as you're wearing kimono for the right reasons (ie. not wearing one to look Japanese, try to be Japanese, think it's a 'cute costume', are making fun of Japan) you should feel confident. Just try to wear it correctly okay? Put the kimono on the right way, pay attention to the way you're wearing it. If you want to accessorize, just don't do anything that'll take away from the beautiful kimono you're wearing. Because that's the whole point of wearing one, right?
And just to remind you of exactly how beautiful kimono really are...
Please enjoy these pictures!
