Adventures in Japan

Kimono Content

Today was a holiday. That's about all I knew about it. It was a day off of work, and that's good enough for me. But when Carla and I went out for our afternoon constitutional, we noticed a lot of elaborately dressed ladies.


Officially ladies, as of today. Today is Adult's Day/Coming of Age Day. If a boy or girl has turned 20 during this last year, they get all duded up and then stuff happens. I'm not all that keen on the details. Maybe they visit a shrine. I dunno. The guys mainly wear suits (which makes them look much too much like the shady men in suits who stand outside of companionship parlours), although some wear hakama (basically the male version of a kimono). The girls all wear elaborate kimonos.

It was odd seeing so many kimono clad girls/women wandering the streets. There were lines of them waiting to use the photo booths. The kimonos were all so pretty, I just had to snap a few pictures.


But I felt a bit guilty, taking pictures of these girls without their knowledge. On the other hand, I figured that they would also feel a bit weirded out if some strange foreigner came up to them and asked to take their picture. I mulled over this dilemma for a while, snapping some more surreptitious, skulduggerous pictures in spite of my reservations.


But these pictures made me feel like a stalker or some such so I decided/worked up the nerve to just go up and ask permission.

I approached a gaggle of bedecked babes (that's not my favourite turn of phrase, but I'm tired), complimented them on their kimonos and asked if it would be okay if I took their photograph. They giggled and agreed. I took their picture and thanked them.


They giggled. I don't know what I was afraid of.


Also, there's just something about graveyards that makes me take entirely too many pictures.