Is the Emperor of Japan mocking the West? When the Imperial family appears at events wearing formal Western wear, does this represent cultural appropriation? This question occurred to me while discussing the Kimono kerfuffle at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. A second question would be why the change in dress? Did any country and…
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If Claude Monet ever imagined that his 1876 painting “La Japonaise” (his wife Camille in a “Kimono”) would be called racist, he and his fellow painters influenced by Japanese art and culture would be flabbergasted. To make a small correction, the painter’s wife is dressed in an “irouchikake (打掛)”, a gorgeously embroidered and very heavy…
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