After WWII, Japanese culture became increasingly Americanized. As cloth rationing persisted until 1951, people stopped wearing kimono as they had to be made at home from repurposed fabrics. The Japanese government feared the decline of historic techniques, so in the 1950s, laws were promulgated to protect cultural properties, such as particular techniques of weaving and dyeing.
Tourist agencies started to us the image of kimono wearing woman to promote a nostalgic mood for a mythical, traditional Japan. Events like the imperial wedding in 1959 promoted the kimono again into the role of a national costume, and as example of Japanese craft and art. As the younger generation did not know how to wear a kimono properly, many kimono dressing schools emerged across the country in the 1960s. At this time the particular way of wearing a modern kimono was new codified. By the time Japan hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the kimono had become also international one of the country’s national symbols.
In 1974, Issey Miyake presented a collection based on the essential concepts of Japanese clothing. His inspiration was not the silk kimonos worn by the elite, but the everyday clothes of working people. Together with Kenzo Takada, Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake and Rei Kawakubo they pioneered modern Japanese fashion design around the world.
In modern times, the kimono has been a topic of discussion in identity politics, for example during the “Kimono Wednesdays” event at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston in 2015. The event allowed the public to try on a replica of a red uchikake depicted in Claude Monet’s painting. This sparked protests and criticism of cultural appropriation. Slogans such as “Stand Against Yellow Face” and “Decolonise Our Museums” led to a two-hour discussion after the exhibition, during which the museum director apologised. At a visit of the exhibition, Japan’s consul told the press that to him, the protest did not make sense from a Japanese perspective.
01 Artwork: ca 1960 – Advertisement for the government sponsored Japan Airlines, featuring female flight attendants wearing kimonos in their first-class cabins, catering to international businessmen.
02 Artist: Chiyo Tanaka (1906-1999) Artwork: 1966 – First modern kimonos presented in Paris by designer Chiyo Tanaka. Star model Iroko Matsumoto (1935-2003), who actually worked for Pierre Cardin was the only one in Paris to wear this kimono properly.
03 Artist: Miyake Issey (1938-2022) Artwork: 1976 – A piece of Cloth. Knittwear
04 Artwork: Exhibition poster – Fashion in Japan 1945-2020, The National Art Center, Tokyo, Jun 9 2021-Sep 6 2021
05 Artwork: 2015 – photography of a visitor at the Boston museum, wearing a copy of the kimono painted by Claude Monet.
06 Artist: Alexander McQueen (1969-2010) Artwork: 1997 – Portrait of singer Björk, wearing a kimono from the designer
07 Artwork: Japanese woman in ceremonial kimonos at the presentation of medals for winners of the men’s Olympic 100-meter race, on Oct. 16, 1964, in Tokyo.