5 Japanese Items that Mean Something Different Outside Japan
These everyday items have Japanese names, but are different things inside and outside Japan
1. Kimono (着物)
The last time I went to Japan, I asked my sister if she wanted me to bring her back anything. She asked, “Oh, can you get me a kimono?”
I gasped. I was thinking of a box of manju sweets or a nice set of chopsticks. A kimono plus obi, geta, and all the other accoutrements starts at around ten thousand dollars. And realistically, where would she ever wear a kimono in Los Angeles except as a Halloween costume?
So I had to say, “Dearest sister, wouldn’t you prefer a wonderful box of Yatsuhashi cookies? They even have a version dipped in matcha chocolate, and I know how much you love matcha.”
No. She wanted a kimono. If it wasn’t toooooo much trouble.
Well…there were 2nd hand kimono shops. I could pick up something. But what color, what design, what obi pattern did she want? Long sleeves or short?
“Oh, just plain is fine. As long as it’s comfortable.”
A comfortable kimono? Plain. What does that even mean? I pulled up some photos I had of kimono from a tea ceremony. These were kind of plain. Is…
