Japanese lawmakers Junko Mihara, center, Megumi Kaneko, center right, and other lawmakers clad in kimono attend the opening ceremony of the ordinary Diet session in the upper house on Friday.
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Yubaru
Mihara, for being over 50 years old, sure looks good.
Moonraker
Very nice. A few hundred dollars of silk on show there, I'd wager.
Yubaru
Few hundred dollars? More like a few THOUSAND dollars, those kimonos are not 20 or 30,000円。
thepersoniamnow
Definitely starting at several thousand dollars. For these elite, and their tax payer paid for kimonos, I'd say over half a mill.
Nadège Moyon
Good point. I love pride in oneself culture, but i am not sure, they were dressed in the old compréhension of the kimono dressed code.
It is always difficult to not humiliate yourself in those case.
Kimono is an art in politic. At least, it use to be.
Monaka
If any one of them is wearing a high-quality Nishijin-ori obi---and they probably all are---then it's top-of-the-line. Some go for over ¥1,000,000. For formal wear, the rule is: A dyed kimono goes with a woven obi. For casual wear, the opposite is true.
nath
Why is it only women are singled out for wearing traditional apparel, when it the men in politics who are the self-appointed protectors of sacred Japanese tradition? I'd think the Abe crowd would go in for hakama and chonmage in a big way.
englisc aspyrgend
Good point, I also wondered why it was only the women ,while men were not in traditional dress?
Yubaru
Who is being "singled out" here? It's a traditional, cultural, dress, and many women like wearing them for formal occasions.
No need to go looking for some ulterior motive. If a guy wants to wear a kimono he can too, and some do as well. But get this, the women look nicer.
Wolfpack
Give it a rest social just warrior! The women singled out themselves by dressing in traditional clothing. And there is no need to read something negative into that. If some men were also wearing kimono - that's cool too. But let's face it, even women think the female version of the kimono are much more Picture of the Day worthy.
M3M3M3
Needless to say there is nothing traditional about the Diet itself. It's an entirely modern institution. Every Diet member was wearing a western style suit at the first sitting on Nov 29 1890. I hope that irony isn't lost on people.
Aly Rustom
All 3 ladies look gorgeous