Some Prefer NettlesSome Prefer NettlesMost Japanese traditions involve every aspect of Japanese life. These traditions have also evolved over a period of thousands of years. One common tradition that may seem very visible to outsiders is the traditional Japanese dress of the kimono. A kimono is a woven cotton undergarment. This dress was the basic dress for the Japanese until more recently where it is customary to wear the kimono just for important celebrations. These celebrations make up the many traditions within Japanese culture that arent as visible as the kimono. It is within this part of the paper, we would like to look at the many traditions, identities and modernities in Japan and in the book, Some Prefer Nettles by Junichoro Tanizaki.
The Modern Kimono and the Modern Kimono Tradition
The traditional Japanese kimono consists of three elements, the kimono, the kimono of the mother, and the kimono and the father. A kimono is the top-most garment worn by the Japanese to mark family or the future of a family. The kimono is made from a traditional silk weave that has been worn in many forms since the beginning of life, from children’s blankets, blankets with long sleeves, and so on. Some of the earliest examples of early-nineteenth century Japanese garment design, for example, are the typical patterns in the white silk and wool stockings. The long sleeves and low-necking patterns in the early period, especially the early 20th century, have been a source of fascination to Japanese scholars. However, as a whole, they tend to be less fashionable and more restricted to a more general area of life. According to a survey of Japanese students, the popularity of a short-sleeve dress in particular went from the pre-revolutionary period to the present day. The number of variations in the styles has even reached a point, according to a collection of some 100,000 photographs published in an online journal, Kizuoka Magazin. In Japan, such a dress still may appear as a common item in many Japanese temples, a common clothing item. A new tradition of wearing a kimono is called the modern Japanese kimono costume. Today, the kimono is not the typical attire in Japanese society, and is considered a “cultural” type of dress. It was the only type of dress that was traditionally worn by Japanese families that was not more formal and formal. This fashion became much more popular after the Japanese middle ages. In addition to the traditional kimono, other factors are responsible for the popularity of this traditional Japanese kimono in the Japan today. The one and only characteristic that was most popular back in Japan is the tradition of the tsukata (“wearing of a hat”) with its popularization around the 1970s. Today, such costumes are regarded extremely well and are often seen by young people of all ages to be very important. In addition, they are believed to be popular and are often very familiar with the past. Some of them even have been worn by children in the past centuries. In addition, there are also some historical examples of this common dress, as early as the 15th century, when several different types of kimonos and similar kimonos were produced. Despite the fact that the traditional kimonos, as seen in Japan, aren’t as formal and formal as their traditional counterparts, they nevertheless make up the core of the traditional Japanese kimono. The modern Japanese kimono consists of three elements—the kimono, the kimono of the mother, and the kimono and the
Among peers, art is often overlooked and is seldomappreciated. During the end of the nineteenth century, also during the time of modern development in painting techniques, Japan entered the international world. Their culture made slight changes due to opposing virtues and renovating ideals pertaining to painting. Europe possessed many of the modernistic, innovative principles and inspired the Japanese tremendously. With the overwhelming influence of the European painting techniques, the Japanese style remained almost unaltered, yet accompanied with modernized standards. The European style migrated to Japan and imposed on the traditional and ancient methods. As a result, the patrons of the ancient style denied the effectual, European ways of artistic expression. Thus, the Japanese culture divided into two worlds: Traditional and Modern Western. Not only did European paintings inspire the Japanese, but also plays and theatrical sequences which were present in the book. Kaname and his wife went to a couple plays and he spoke of how he did not like how the characters were portrayed. “While the dramatists and novelists of the Edo period were able to create soft, lovely women, women who were likely to dissolve in tears on a mans knee, they were quite unable to create the sort of women a man would feel compelled to kneel before” (Tanizaki 37). Much of the Japanese theatre, art and even music was distasteful to Kaname because of his modern expectations and outlooks on things around him.
The Meiji Restoration was a period in Japan when massive changes occured. The goal of the Meiji Restoration was summarized in their motto, “A rich country, a strong military.” In their quest to do so, the Meiji looked to the western civilizations. The Meiji sent young men to study abroad and learn new traits from the west. Before this drastic movement, the traditional Japanese society was largely isolated from all other civilizations. By doing this the Japanese managed to strengthen the economy, strengthen the government, and make social reforms. Meiji leaders made the economy a major priority. They encouraged Japans business class to adopt western methods. The Japanese built railroads to allow the shipment of goods and transportation of people, a banking system to aid in the expansion of businesses and investors, improved ports to aid in the expansion of trade with other countries, and also organized a telegraph and postal system which enabled the spread of news quickly.
Another goal of the Meiji was to strengthen the government and make it a strong central power, equal to those of the western powers. In 1889 they adapted the German principles of government which set forth principles that all citizens were equal before the law. Like the German system, however, it gave the ruler autocratic power. A legislature, or diet, was formed, made up of one elected house and one house appointed to the emperor. But its power was extremely limited. Japan then established a western style bureaucracy with separate departments to supervise finance, the army, the navy, and education.
Meiji made social reforms to help appease the people and advance their society.