Update on Miss Universe Japan’s national costume, surveillance society, and taxi driver murder

A few updates to stories we’ve posted about before:

Japan News

A change of clothing for Miss Universe

Miss Universe Japan Emiri Miyasaka‘s shocking “porn star” kimono has been getting a lot of negative attention from fans and the press. Sankei Sports reports that pageant officials have decided to change the design of her national costume.

“Considering the opinions we got from many supporters and other people concerned, we decided to make the hemline of the costume longer,” IBG Japan, which operates the local Miss Universe contest, said on a posting yesterday on its Web site. -Bloomberg.com

[via JapanSoc]

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Big Brother caught him

Remember the security camera-equipped vending machine that was vandalized last year? Police have caught the person responsible. It was a teenager:

A 19-year-old company employee arrested on Sunday admitted to vandalizing the nation’s first vending machine equipped with crime-prevention functions on five separate occasions, police said.

He told police that he broke a security camera and a sensor light of the vending machine and also sprayed it with graffiti slogans, such as “Kanshi Shakai (Big Brother society).”

The suspect was quoted as saying he was angry about the way security cameras were being used to monitor people.

Because he is under 20, he’ll be charged as a minor.

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Sailor goes to jail for murder

A US sailor who murdered a taxi driver while he was AWOL last year has been found guilty and will be serving a life sentence in Japanese prison. Meanwhile, it has been revealed that 6 members of the US military are currently AWOL in Japan. Some have been on the run for months.

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helical

Oh, just let Ines Ligron keep her concoction on Miyasaka Emiri.
Maybe we can just call it even if we can get a Japanese “designer” to make the Miss Universe France dress as a bare-bottomed latex mime with a bouffant hairdo. Bonus points for a highlighter-yellow Napoleon hat.
Dr.Yu

Since the subject here is kimono and sex could someone clarify something: Is it true that the Kimono was designed for sexual purpose? I heard this story from a friend of mine but I don’t know if he was serious. Thanks in advance.

tokyojesusfist

According to Wikipedia the kimono is based on Chinese clothing. Prior to Japan’s modernization kimonos were worn by everyone, both men and women. They were just regular clothes.
Sam

I don’t know much about the kimono itself, but I do know that tying the obi (the sash) the wrong way (in front, instead of in the back) has sexual connotations; the idea being that a “loose” woman would need to be able to easily untie and retie her kimono often.

I would doubt that the kimono itself though has any connotations. It’s just historically traditional Japanese clothing.

Grit

There are kimonos(of different kinds) for men as well. And it was the style of cloth in Japan for most parts of their history, as far as I understand. So I don’t know where you got the idea that kimono has sexual purpose.

And there are different ways to tie Obi, and they have historical and cultural stories behind it. Go to Kyoto to meet some kimono dealers and craftsmen! They can tell you many interesting stories, if you are interested.

Some people said in the previous article that this costume represents – some of, you shouldn’t forget – contemporary Japanese girls quite well. While I agree with it, I think you missed the point of their outrage.
Craftsmen of kimono and various other accessories, and many people familiar with the traditions of Japan, value their culture very highly. Good kimono is not just another piece of cloth, but is really like a piece of art. In fact, I think I can say that kimono is one of prides of their culture. Each little thing of kimono has deep cultural meanings and rules and stories.
That costume – using kimono like cheap prostitute to represent Japan in some event – was indeed disgrace for some people. I heared that kimono craftsmen in Kyoto were quite outraged and protested.

Perhaps she might have been better off dressing like some manga character instead.
The Overthinker

The oiran traditionally wore her sash on the front, but to think the kimono itself is a sex-dress is like saying top hats were designed to advertise the length of men’s penises.
kabocha

oh… my… god… did you see the way Yukiko ties her obi?… she is SUCH a slut…

Dr.Yu

Thanks everyone for the answer.
What I heard was this: A certain shogun was concerned about the number of males in Japan because he needed soldiers for war, so he issued a law stating that every woman in Japan were forced to consent to have sex with any male if so requested by a male. In this context Kimono was created (or adapted) to serve as a comforter to be laid down on the ground so that women could make sex in the kimono.
Obviously I don’t know if this story is true so I tried hard to find evidence about this issue, but have found nothing so far.
I just want to know about this thing correctly because every time I see someone with Kimono this story always comes to my mind (and it´s very embarrassing).
I heard that because of this shogun Japan became a liberal country on sex although is a very conservative nation.

The Overthinker

Don’t believe everything you hear about Japan. Like this kimono story, other things you have heard might not be entirely accurate either….

Dr.Yu

Yes, probably you are right.

http://www.zdwonline.de Haf

Japan a liberal country on sex? I know lots of people who would differ…

Marcello

Miss Universe’s sexy kimono made the front page of ninemsn.com.au (http://news.ninemsn.com.au/entertainment/845443/japanese-slam-beauty-queens-racy-outfit) today.

Personally I think you can see more provocative clothing walking around most streets in Tokyo any time of day. And as for flashes of underwear, the school girls’ skirts are so short if you happen to have one in front of you on an escalator you’ll get a face full of white underwear without even asking for it.

I think the controversy comes from the more conservative lovers of Japanese culture being embarrassed in front of an international audience over the fact that Japan has quite a sexy side. But everyone already knew that.

Update on Miss Universe Japan’s national costume, surveillance society, and taxi driver murder

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