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Popular Culture Review
Although kimonos were certainly known and appreciated in
Europe and the United States prior to World War II, the postwar
occupation of Japan helped introduce the kimono and Japanese culture to
a wider audience. Japanese art and costume had long been appreciated in
the West, as collections in museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of
Art in New York City and Victoria and Albert Museum in London will
attest. However, service members returning from a tour of duty in Japan
or East Asia and vacation travelers began to bring less expensive
examples of the kimono home to friends and family. This interest was
assisted by Hollywood films such as Teahouse o f the August Moon,
Barbarian and the Geisha and the 1967 James Bond film. You Only Live
Twice. As many of these items later found their way to antique shops and
thrift stores, other people began to collect them for their beauty and
artistry.
Today there are collectors throughout the United States and the
rest of the world. The growth of the internet and e-commerce has
combined to allow collectors to buy kimono from sellers anywhere in the
world. Sites like eBay and Etsy allow both businesses and individuals to
sell kimono, obi, haori and other wafuku, or traditional clothing, to
buyers around the world. Etsy uses tools like People Search, which
allows people with common interests to connect and meet in affinity
circles." Other businesses, such as Ichiroya Kimono Flea Market and
Shinei Antique Kimono Store, as well as low cost versions produced by
Chinese vendors, sell kimono, obi and related items from their own
websites. Prices for the vintage and antique kimono vary widely by price
and condition. Collectors can find inexpensive kimono, obi and
accessories for less than twenty dollars, while antique, unusual, geisha or
bridal kimono can sell for thousands of dollars. In both Japan and the
United States, there are schools to help women (and men) learn to wear
kimono correctly.
Collectors are able to meet and interact on social media sites like
Facebook, where affinity groups such as East Coast Kimono Club and
Western Geisha attract members from around the world. In these fomms
collectors, usually but not always women, exchange photographs of
themselves and share items from their collections. It is not uncommon
for users to share photographs of unusual items for sale at various vendor
sites or to ask advice on practical questions such as the pairing of kimono
and obi. Youtube is also a valuable classroom for individuals who would
like to wear kimono, but who are not able to attend a kimono school.
Sheila Cliffe has also noted that the internet allows consumers to bypass