Meiji and Taisho Japan: Western Fashion Revolution

The Changshan and Qipao, derived from traditional Manchu dress, were considered national dresses in Manchukuo. In 1936, organizers of the Concordia Association devised 'Concordia Costume' (kyōwafuku), a gray civilianized version of the Imperial Japanese Army uniform worn by Japanese like Masahiko Amakasu and Kanji Ishiwara. It was similar to the National Clothes (kokumin-fuku) worn by Japanese civilians during WWII, with pins of either the Manchukuo flag or a five-pointed, five-colored star with national colors worn on collars. Court dress resembled Meiji-era Japanese attire.

In 1940, the Japanese government issued the National Uniform (Kokuminfuku) order, recommending citizens wear government-designed uniforms. These uniforms were made from durable, inexpensive fabric called 'Kokuminfuku' (national fabric) in a khaki color. The men's uniform consisted of a collared shirt-style top and matching pants. Women wore 'monpe' (pants) and 'happi' (aprons). The National Uniform required only about 15 points compared to 30 points for regular clothing, making it more affordable. Women's monpe were considered appropriate for labor and active movement.

Entering the Showa period, Japan moved toward militarism. Chancellor Yoshimun Abbe advocated integrated education based on Christian faith, while alumni Miki and Haruko Yonyyama invested in establishing Midori Elementary School and Kindergarten. In 1941, the Methodist Church ordered missionary repatriation, removing teachers who had spent decades at Aoyama Gakuin. WWII brought severe persecution: the school's US ties led to questioning its patriotism, education purposes were forced to align with state ideology, military drills intensified, and conscription exemptions ended in 1943. Students were sent to battlefields, factories, and farms, while Midori Elementary children were separated from parents during air raids.

During World War II, Japan implemented clothing rationing and standardization policies. The 'National Clothing' (Kokumin-fuku) was introduced in 1940, and the 'Women's Standard Clothing' (Fujin Hyojun-fuku) was introduced in 1942. These policies required women to repurpose their existing kimonos into practical work clothing like monpe. The policies reflected wartime resource constraints and the need for women to participate in industrial and agricultural labor, fundamentally changing Japanese clothing culture. The transition from traditional kimono to Western-style work clothing accelerated during this period, with women wearing two-piece garments like monpe instead of long kimonos. The spread of Western clothing began in the 16th century during the Age of Discovery, when European explorers encountered indigenous peoples and introduced Western clothing styles. Japan was introduced to Western clothing during the Sengoku period (1467-1603) when Portuguese and Spanish traders arrived. Despite cultural differences, human clothing across the world shares common design principles: most clothing is designed to be flat (two-dimensional), and many cultures place decorative elements around the chest and shoulders, reflecting a universal human concern for protecting and decorating the heart area.

During the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1941), the Japanese government implemented strict uniform regulations. Women were required to wear 'monpe' (traditional Japanese trousers), while men were required to wear 'kokuminfuku' (national uniforms). These regulations were part of the government's efforts to create a unified national appearance during wartime.

Japanese fashion has evolved dramatically over approximately 150 years, transitioning from traditional hand-painted silk kimonos to modern avant-garde designs by influential Japanese designers such as Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto, while also giving rise to distinctive street fashion movements like Harajuku's Goth Lolita and Fairy Kei styles.

World War II left Japan in a devastating state, and people were not really wanting to express themselves in vibrant clothing at the time. Coupled with the fact that clothing was still basically handmade and no designers or brands were really popularized yet, fashion was not the top priority for quite some time. The 1970s marked when street wear and fashion became more prevalent in Japan. The release of the men's fashion magazine called Popeye brought West Coast Ivy League aesthetic to Japan, featuring preppy sportsware like blazers, cardigans, and plaid. Shojo magazines like Nakayoshi and Lala featured these styles on their covers. In 1983, Olive magazine was created, introducing Parisian styles that accentuated cute girly pieces like frilly skirts and rounded collars, which has been attributed to the later Lolita trend.

Yohji Yamamoto (1943-present) is Japan's most celebrated fashion designer, renowned for his radical approach of using voluminous draping and black silhouettes to create androgynous, protective garments that challenged Western fashion norms; his personal history of post-war Japan, including his father's death and his mother's seamstress work, directly influenced his design philosophy, and his 1982 'Hiroshima chic' collection—featuring torn, refugee-like garments—initially rejected by Parisian elites but ultimately revolutionized global fashion by establishing Japanese design as a distinctive aesthetic force.

Growing up in Japan immediately after World War II influenced Kawakubo and Yamamoto's creativity. As the only son of a war widow, Kawakubo was pushed to look at society through his mother's perspective, meaning he viewed society through women. This unique viewpoint contributed to their distinctive design philosophy that challenged traditional Western fashion norms.

After World War II, Japan came under American occupation, and the United States employed 'soft power' to influence Japanese society through Disney animation, Hollywood films, comics, jeans, and chewing gum. Japanese women adopted these trends faster than men, while Japanese men initially showed little interest in fashion. Kinshu Ishizu (1911-1990), born in a wealthy family during Japan's openness to Western culture, became the grandfather of Japanese fashion. After living in Tianjin, China, where he learned Russian from White Russian refugees and studied tailoring with British craftsmen, he returned to Japan after WWII and founded his clothing company. In the late 1950s, he discovered the Ivy League style at Harvard and Yale and decided to dress all Japanese men in this style. When his son documented how American students actually dressed, they discovered that while Japanese exchange students wore blue suits and ties, actual American students wore shorts, sweatshirts, and loafers. Despite this, Ishizu proceeded with his vision. The name 'Take Ivy' was proposed by a company employee, cleverly referencing the famous jazz composition 'Take Five.' This style became a national obsession, causing conflicts between generations, with schools banning clothing with the IV logo. However, by 1978, the movement declined as Ishizu, nearly 70, could not stay on the same wave as youth. Around 2006, Japanese jeans with distinctive small contrasting stitches at the bottom became objects of cult status. During the American occupation, jeans became an alternative currency in Japan. In the late 1950s, Japan simplified import regulations, leading to a denim boom. Some entrepreneurs imported tons of used jeans, while others contracted with Levi's or purchased denim, threads, hardware, zippers, and sewing machines from Americans. This led to the creation of the first Japanese denim brands: Kenton, Edwin, and Big John. Early Japanese denim faced significant challenges—it cost half the price of worn American jeans but sold ten times worse. When the United States entered the Vietnam War, Japanese attitudes toward America changed, and Japanese hippies adopted American styles including bell-bottom jeans. When textile strikes in the United States disrupted fabric supplies in the early 1970s, Japanese denim manufacturers were forced to seriously consider import substitution to compete with Levi's. A popular legend claims that Japanese denim manufacturers purchased old American machines during the 1990s, but this story was actually created by the owner of Japanese denim brand Visvim in the late 1990s as marketing. In reality, the first Japanese denim was woven on old Toyota machines. Japanese brands also replaced American zippers with UKK zippers and Union Special sewing machines with newer Mitsubishi models. When new American-made jeans became widely available, Japanese consumers realized they didn't resemble the worn jeans they had previously coveted. This led Japan to develop an obsession with vintage denim, treating it as 'new gold.' Japanese companies created a system where future buyers would attend short courses to learn how to distinguish valuable vintage denim from modern reproductions, then travel to the United States to scour thrift stores for valuable items. To compete, Big John released the first Japanese selvedge denim jeans, and Edwin launched the 'Advent 505 New Vintage' campaign featuring celebrity Brad Pitt. Starting with imitation and copying, Japanese manufacturers developed an industry that now dominates the global denim market. Today, Japanese denim is considered the only correct, most accurate, most traditional, and most authentic denim in the world. Hiroshi Fujiwara is recognized as the father of Japanese street fashion. After his London trip and subsequent travels to New York, where he brought back inspiration and love for hip-hop and vinyl records, he became Japan's first and most expensive DJ. In 1985, he created Japan's first hip-hop group, Tanpinx, which later performed as support for the Beastie Boys. He founded Japan's first hip-hop label and became the author of the monthly 'Last Org' column in the subcultural magazine 'Treasure Island.' In 1986, he interviewed Sean Clough, the person who started American street fashion, and became the first Japanese member of the International Style Tribe. In 1990, he assembled a small team and created the first Japanese streetwear brand, Goodenough. He employed an unconventional strategy: to sell more, he released less, creating scarcity and demand. When success came, he faced a dilemma between remaining underground or becoming commercial, choosing to return to the underground whenever he reached the top. He created the brand Head Porter with Shida Kan, transforming an uninteresting bag manufacturer into a national phenomenon. He then became a creative consultant for Nike's HTM (Hiroshi Fujiwara, Tinker Hatfield, and Mark Parker) line, an elite sneaker group existing since 2002. In 2003, Fujiwara created Fragment Design, described as the only brand in the world that simultaneously functions as an experimental laboratory, marketing agency, design studio, historical archive, and consulting company. Over 23 years, this brand created no original collections but collaborated with all major brands worldwide. In the late 1980s, a young man named Tamaki Kinaga watched Fujiwara's TV show and dreamed of following his path. When the Tanpinx group performed in his hometown, he waited for Fujiwara's autograph. He moved to Tokyo, attended the best fashion college, and met Jun Takahashi (who would later create Undercover). At a legendary London Night party, he received the nickname 'Hiroshi Fujiwara Number Two' (Nigo in Japanese). Nigo met his idol Hiroshi Fujiwara Number One and became one of his personal assistants. He also worked as a freelancer for Paparazzi magazine, the premier glossy magazine about street fashion in Japan. Together with Jun Takahashi, he created a column called 'Last Org Part Two.' He became a stylist for many musicians and TV stars, played DJ sets at Fujiwara's parties, and at age 21 confidently stated he had achieved his teacher's fate. In 1993, Nigo, Fujiwara, and Takahashi opened the Noare store, divided into two sections: one for Takahashi's punk brand Undercover and another for Nigo's mix of American streetwear brands. Takahashi's section proved more successful, leading Nigo to create his own brand. The slogan 'A Butta Pounding Ape' was an ironic jab at Japanese youth living in lazy luxury, referencing the film Planet of the Apes. Taking the first and last letters, he created the brand name BAPE. Initially releasing limited collections, BAPE created status as an exclusive item, leading to counterfeits and a black market. The brand's success was built on creating a sense of belonging to an exclusive club, selling atmosphere of scarcity, and positioning high prices as luxury for the chosen few. After achieving success, Nigo abandoned his underground creator status for global brand expansion, opening stores in Europe and the United States. BAPE sneakers

The silk industry was foundational to Japan's capitalist economy during the Meiji period, accounting for 67% of exports in early Meiji and remaining around one-third through Taisho and early Showa. Unlike cotton textiles requiring imported raw materials, silk was a 'quasi-domestic product' with domestically produced raw materials and technology. The industry developed in Shinano due to abundant water resources for water-powered machinery, poor local populations needing additional income, historical silk trade connections, and ideal climate conditions. The Meiji government's industrialization policy aligned perfectly with these local conditions. This economic foundation enabled Japan's rapid military modernization, including the development of a powerful navy that defeated China in 1895. The story of Nomatsutoge reveals how ordinary workers' labor built Japan's modernization.

Japan's textile industry, including its famed silk mills, was among the first industries to be revived after the war. Although hampered by diminishing markets, textiles made up nearly half of Japan's exports. This industry revival demonstrated how quickly Japan could rebuild its manufacturing base and return to international trade, establishing the foundation for Japan's later economic miracle.

The textile industry was the most important industry in Japan, with high demand for raw silk for export. The government introduced better silk worm varieties and rapidly mechanized the cotton industry. New machines and techniques were imported to produce better cotton textiles that could compete with Western products. This industrial development was crucial for Japan's economic modernization.

Japan's industrialization mirrored Britain's earlier industrial revolution, with the textile industry being a key sector. By the late 1870s, domestic workshops and small factories began emerging for cotton and silk weaving. Introduction of coal-powered steam engines to operate large weaving machines enabled significant expansion. By the 1890s, the industry had grown to meet domestic demand and produce excess for export to China, British India, and Europe, particularly silk which fetched high prices. The industry employed women primarily, and the capital generated from it funded further industrial investments by the 1890s and 1900s.

Sericulture (製糸業) involves producing silk threads from silkworm cocoons, while textile manufacturing (紡績業) involves processing cotton into cotton threads. These industries had fundamentally different characteristics. Sericulture developed significantly after Japan's isolation policy ended foreign silk imports. Domestic silk production expanded, leading to growth of silk weaving industries in Kyoto, Nishijin, Kawagoe, and Ise. The shogunate encouraged sericulture as a supplementary occupation for farmers, promoting mulberry cultivation. By the end of the Edo period, Japan had become a world-renowned producer of high-quality silk. After the opening of Japan, silk became the top export item, accounting for over 80% of exports. The United Kingdom was Japan's largest trading partner for silk exports, followed by France. The primary export port was Yokohama, and silk was produced in mountainous regions near Edo, collected in Hachioji, and transported to Yokohama for export. The Yokohama Line Railway was established to transport silk from Hachioji to the port of Yokohama. Several historical sites related to Japanese silk trade remain in Yokohama, including the Kanagawa Prefectural Historical Museum (originally the Yokohama Specie Bank), the Yokohama Second Contract Office Building (silk inspection facility), and the Koi no Tsuru Warehouse (silkworm storage facility). Despite the success of Japanese sericulture, workers faced extremely harsh conditions. The industry relied heavily on skilled manual labor by female workers to draw silk from cocoons, as full mechanization had not yet been achieved. This led to the 'factory girl' (女工) phenomenon, where women worked long hours under poor conditions. Yokoyama Genjunosuke's 'Japanese Lower Class Society' (日本の下層社会) provided detailed accounts of working conditions of female silk workers in Nagano, Gunma, and Fukushima prefectures. Yamamoto Shigeru's 'Aoba Ridge' (あおば峠), published in 1968, documented the lives of women from Gifu Prefecture who worked in Nagano's silk factories. The book was adapted into a film directed by Yamamoto Satsuo and starring Ohnuki Shinobu, featuring the song 'Factory Work is Like Servitude' (工場勤めは奴隷務め) that depicted the miserable conditions of female workers. Cotton thread (紡績業) was initially an imported product, ranking first among imports. By the end of the Meiji period, it had become the second-largest export item after silk. This transformation was accompanied by the import of raw cotton, creating a situation where exports increased while raw material imports also grew significantly. Cotton cultivation in Japan began in the Muromachi period when cotton was imported from Korea as a luxury item. During the Edo period, cotton cultivation spread from the Mikawa region to the entire country within about a century, becoming common for common people's clothing. This represented a 'cotton revolution' that transformed Japanese society. The British Industrial Revolution led to the mass production of cheap, high-quality cotton products in factories. When Japan opened its ports, these British products flooded the Japanese market, severely damaging the domestic cotton industry. This prompted figures like Shimazu Hisamitsu of Satsuma to attempt building mechanical spinning factories. The Inoue Spinning Machine (井上紡績機), invented by Inoue Genzaburo and winning first prize at the 1st National Industrial Exhibition in 1877, helped Japanese textile manufacturers resist competition from imported British products. The Osaka Spinning Mill (大阪紡績), established by Shibusawa Eiichi in 1882, was Japan's first major modern textile factory. It introduced British machinery and used the corporate system (株式会社制度) to raise capital. The factory operated with low wages and 24-hour shifts to recover high equipment costs. This success stimulated the establishment of many other large-scale textile factories. Shibusawa Eiichi was instrumental in introducing the corporate system to Japan, allowing businesses to raise capital by issuing shares to many investors, providing transparency and accountability. The Osaka Spinning Mill became known as the 'Manchester of the East' (東洋のマンチェスター). Cotton production and exports grew steadily. A key milestone was reached in 1890 when domestic cotton production exceeded imports, and in 1897 when exports exceeded imports. Sericulture relied on skilled manual labor by female workers to draw silk from cocoons, as full mechanization had not been achieved. In contrast, the textile industry after the establishment of large-scale factories relied on simple labor, including women and children, to operate machines. This fundamental difference in labor quality had significant implications for working conditions and labor issues. The harsh conditions of textile factory workers, particularly women and children, led to the establishment of labor protection laws. The Factory Law (工場法), Japan's first labor protection law, was established in 1911. It prohibited child labor under 12 and restricted night work. However, the law took five years to implement (1916) due to opposition from factory owners. The Factory Law had significant limitations: it only applied to enterprises with 15 or more workers, excluding small businesses. The supervision system was inadequate, and the law was not fully implemented until 1916, five years after its establishment.