There is a controversy which the Boston Museum of Art removed the Kimono Wednesday because of protest by Asian Americans and PoC. If you read the story, written by Mia Nakaji Monnier  from the Boston Globe, you get a glimpse of what one feels. Yet the comments below the story lack the understanding of why people are sensitive to this and the painful history of why kimonos are considered near and dear to us. I wrote the reason why I was happy that Kimono Wednesday was removed on Facebook and below is my reason:

Jaye, I'll be glad to explain. It's about the commercialization of what one holds dear to the culture we were raised. As I said at the workshop at the G.A. (talking about race and promoting our future book: www.tinyurl.com/uuofcolorbook) about Yuri and me, both Yuri and I are Japanese, but we are worlds apart. The struggles she felt being Japanese and the struggles I feel being Japanese are two different issues (though as an immigrant, Yuri and her family are experiencing what I felt more than 45 years ago and are feeling today).

I am assuming, because I am not in Japan, that many of the Japanese folks in Japan would feel nothing about the commercialization of people wearing kimonos, when my people, hold the kimono to high reverence. Kimonos are broken down into several parts and they are:

Dōura (胴裏?): upper lining on a woman's kimono.
Eri (衿?): collar.
Fuki (袘?): hem guard.
Sode (袖?): sleeve below the armhole.
Obi (帯?): a belt used to tuck excess cloth away from the seeing public.
Maemigoro (前身頃?): front main panel, excluding sleeves. The covering portion of the other side of the back, maemigoro is divided into "right maemigoro" and "left maemigoro".
Miyatsukuchi (身八つ口?): opening under the sleeve.
Okumi (衽?): front inside panel on the front edge of the left and right, excluding the sleeve of a kimono. Until the collar, down to the bottom of the dress goes, up and down part of the strip of cloth. Have sewn the front body. It is also called "袵".
Sode (袖?): sleeve.[5]
Sodeguchi (袖口?): sleeve opening.
Sodetsuke (袖付?): kimono armhole.
Susomawashi (裾回し?): lower lining.
Tamoto (袂?): sleeve pouch.
Tomoeri (共衿?): over-collar (collar protector).
Uraeri (裏襟?): inner collar.
Ushiromigoro (後身頃?): back main panel, excluding sleeves, covering the back portion. They are basically sewn back-centered and consist of "right ushiromigoro" and "left ushiromigoro", but for wool fabric, the ushiromigoro consists of one piece.

All this just to cover up one's body. This shows the respect one has for clothing and the creator(s) of said clothing. You wear the kimono with either zoris (http://cdn3.volusion.com/.../IND-ACC-FAS-ZORI-Y-34-2.jpg

 

) or getas (http://www.thinkbudget.com/pictures/zori_jpanese-300x196.jpg

 

) or tabis (http://e-wazakka.com/original_photo/jpg/tabi_2_x.jpg

 

) and the way the kimono is worn, the front left cover over the right or the right front cover the left has a meaning. If I wore my karate gi (uniform) right over left, my sensei disciplined me, why? Because I was disrespecting the dead: Right front over left means the person is dead.

Tradition in our culture, especially amongst Japanese American is important, because, during WWII, many of the kimonos we had, were given to us by our ancestors made several hundred years ago, were taken away or sold because the immigrants and the U.S. citizens were placed into concentration camps.

Unlike Japan, we never worn the kimonos outside of the home. If we did, it was for weddings. Well imagine being stripped of this and why people are sensitive? Forever 21 (http://www.forever21.com/Product/Category.aspx...

 

) is capitalizing on what we hold as part of our culture. Do we protest that? Yes we are. Why? Why isn't Forever 21 selling traditional African garb yet have no issue commercializing another PoC?

So what was stolen from us during WWII, we hold dear to our hearts and will speak out. I mean, if you don't understand, ask yourself, why isn't there an African garb in Forever21 for sale?

 It isn't about "showing the beauty" or wearing something that is associated with a submissive woman, it's a part of our lifestyle that was stolen more than 70 years ago and today, is being exploited by capitalism.