A little History Behind The Nudity Issue...
I have discussed in brief (albeit on several occassions) the baffling cultural paradox between the apparent acceptance of nudity and avoidance of intimacy in Japan.
I just came across this website, which I think gives an excellent overview of the issue, or at least the history behind it, with an interesting slant. They also address the 1932 fire at the Shirokiya Department Store in Nihombashi, Tokyo that I mentioned in my previous "underwear" post (saying that in addition to introducing underwear into mainstream culture, the fire is believed to have been 'the catalyst for the decline in kimonos as everyday wear').
Enjoy: http://www.east-asian-history.net/textbooks/MJ/ch4.htm
I just came across this website, which I think gives an excellent overview of the issue, or at least the history behind it, with an interesting slant. They also address the 1932 fire at the Shirokiya Department Store in Nihombashi, Tokyo that I mentioned in my previous "underwear" post (saying that in addition to introducing underwear into mainstream culture, the fire is believed to have been 'the catalyst for the decline in kimonos as everyday wear').
Enjoy: http://www.east-asian-history.net/textbooks/MJ/ch4.htm
posted by Brenda Ann Elizabeth McKinney @ 5:40 AM
1 Comments:
At 10:37 PM,
Michael said…
Fascinating. I loved the bit about naked Japanese running out of a bath house to gawp at the exotically dressed foreigners...
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