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This is a pic of me and J-Auntie at Tanabata last Saturday night. J-Auntie who studies kimono every week and owns a couple of very expensive ones does not own a yukatta or geta (the dreaded shoes). As it was it took me two hours to convince J-Mum to wear a yukatta - she protested that only young women wear them and felt she would look silly. She also protested that they look better on gaijin than Japanese women. I finally won though and she didn’t look silly at all in a pastel yukatta with a rather delicate pattern. She was not the oldest woman I saw in a yukatta either.

Look closer at the photo past our dazzling smiles - notice anything odd? If you don’t know Japan well maybe not - here’s a hint the only person wearing a yukatta is me the Australian.

Of course there were other girls wearing them too - and many little kids running around looking adorable. But the majority of revellers were in Western clothes.

On Sunday we went again this time dragging Kristen, Tod, Sexless Drummer and Shingo along with us. Kristen and Tod were also dressed up in the traditional gear. It was a complete reversal. The Boy who owns 15 pairs of jeans and collects Levi catalogues would not be caught dead in the comfy pajama-style traditional men’s clothing (jinbe). Sexless Drummer and Shingo are both rockabilly freaks and dress accordingly (SD complete with quiff).

SD did comment though that he felt a little ashamed and awkward about not wearing anything J-style. But we didn’t have time to go into that as a train was hurtling down the tracks towards us.

Recently though yukattas have made a bit of a comeback for those in their early twenties. Both girls and boys. They are also more accessible now - many cheaper clothing stores stock them - even with those dreadful clip on obi bows so you don’t have to need to know how to tie one. You have to be no more than 160 cms tall to wear these though. My yukatta is a special tall person one - and set me back 40,000 yen at the time. I have worn it abut 8 times though - and they keep for years and years - the style doesn’t change. And they look fabulous.

So it does seem a little odd to me that people wearing them were in the minority at an event such as the Tanabata Festival, which people from all over Japan attend.

As each generation passes more and more older traditions fade into the background as Japan becomes part of the generic world community. It’s a little sad - and possibly one reason why the concept of world community scares me a little - a homogenous culture would be dreadful. It has been commented that some of the people who are the keenest at preserving traditional Japanese culture are not Japanese. I don’t think that’s so strange to be honest - Kristen and I were discussing how we (she’s American) both come from countries with short histories from a European perspective, and that possibly we feel something is lacking because of that. Which is why we are awed by the thousands of years of history that Japan has, and the traditions that go along with that.

Now that I’ve dribbled all of this I have a feeling of displacement - culturally speaking. It’s not so uncommon for Australians to be a little at odds with our culture - most of us come from a mixture of backgrounds to begin with. And my family has been involved a lot with traditional aboriginal culture too for years - which is a whole other topic to rave about.

Now of course I’m in a Japanese family and part of that requires me to be involved on a level deeper than just wearing a yukatta to a festival. Sometimes J-Mum asks me to put an offering on Grandfather’s little shrine at home. They are all dreading next year when I turn 33 (an unlucky year for women) and even though I’m not 32 yet visits to temple have been organized - gotta go 3 times before, during and after just to be on the safe side, and keep an envelope up in the corner of a room in the house and probably need to carry a good luck token with me at all times. Already I have a good luck thingie sitting next to my computer and in the corner of this room another thingie to bring wealth on the household.

Show me the money Kamisama!

Do I believe this stuff? Erm no - but I’ll do these things to keep family harmony. They’ll feel better knowing I’ve been blessed and therefore protected during my unlucky year. I suspect too that out of respect when I’m an old lady I will make offerings at their little household shrines I will have. Maybe I’ll even have them for my own family too. On the other hand I’ve never believed in Christmas either yet wrap pressies for everyone each year.

I guess this is the long winded way of saying that while there is mass culture and tradition, the one you are most likely to be involved in is the one that is made up by your own family. And as families break up or people pass away some are lost - but then when you marry or become involved in another family you gain some.

Sometimes I do feel that I am just playing at this Japanese culture thing. But at the family level I’m not. And I don’t mean to say that other foreigners who are not in Japanese families are playing at it - I think that you can’t help but absorb what is going on around you when you live here.

The best part of this situation is that you can adopt the good bits and leave the bad bits behind.

Which is why I don’t get up at 5:30am to make the Boy a bento before he leaves for work at 6:30am.

• hmmm

  UltraBob
  03/07/07 09:20 PM

• I thought the funny thing about the picture was that there was an Australian without a drink in her hand

  The Gion Festival is coming up, and several foreigners get in on the action, pulling the big “Hoko” wagons in the parade. It’s good to see lots of foreigners in yukata going native and getting involved, but I have mixed feelings about seeing them playing big roles. It starts to look like a reenactment of the Gion Festival, rather than the festival itself.

  When my wife turned 33, she and her best friend since childhood went to some mountain temple (in Shiga, I think) and paid

  nils
  03/07/07 11:19 PM

• eeeek I will be turning 33 in a few weeks.. and I am unmarried. Is this is doubly unlucky for me..

  GG
  03/07/07 11:57 PM

• Although I do feel gypped at being an American and having crappy holidays and no real history, I love living abroad and being able to pick and choose which celebrations and traditions to make mine. You’re definitely right about holidays and traditions being personal/familial. We celebrate the spring equinox and the winter solstice and whatever else seems right at the time.

  kristen
  03/07/08 01:25 AM

• Very ereganto.
  Why doesn’t the comment box remeber my personnal info? Do I have to keep typing my email address?

  Meenoo
  03/07/08 11:30 AM

• Thanks for the picture.

  I concur. It is rather elegant.

  Suggestion: If the Boy enchews traditional jinbe, why not make/get a twisted version. For example, a jinbe made of leather or mesh. Or else the usual cotton printed with a rock and roll motif (skulls/bones/guitars/babes/band logo)
  Or is that veering too close to cosplay?

  Sepia
  03/07/10 07:30 AM

• Ooooh, yeah, a jinbe with guitars for Yoshi, that would work, surely!!!!  Can we try?

  j-ster
  03/07/10 11:54 PM

• Ooooh, yeah, a jinbe with guitars for Yoshi, that would work, surely!!!!  Can we try?

  j-ster
  03/07/10 11:54 PM