A quick short film made from stock footage I shot in Tokyo in the spring of 2010.  Colour graded and vfx added in May 2010.  Cliche or Archetypical?  You be the judge.

It is an interesting cultural aside to mention that the lady in the video has only worn a kimono twice in her life.  This is a common phenomenon in Japan: the first time a young lady usually wears a kimono is for ‘Coming of Age’ day, when she is 20, and the second time is frequently her wedding or university graduation.

Older ladies find more occasions to wear a kimono, including tea ceremony and other traditional cultural affairs.  Does this mean that the cultural heritage of Japan is in decline, and that young people are turning more towards an international style?  Hardly so: I remember seeing photographs of a temple’s ladies’ club spanning through several decades, and the members were consistently over 50.  Perhaps the keen interest in traditions only grows with maturity over the years.

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