Probably he's a tourist ?

[philbo]

And then came the Norman invasion, and those guys probably weren't kilted.

[zeytoun]

We Normans weren't kilted at first, but we adapted before too long ;). (I love the blank look on a person's face when they ask me my "ethnic background" and I reply, mostly Norman)

[Casey]

Alaskan,

Thanks!

On the subject of Japanese history, how does the kilt compare to the history of male dress in Japan. From the little a know about Japan, I have a vision of men not in pants.

Have I watched too many movies?

Casey

[Alaskan]

Casey, no you have not watched too many movies. Traditionally, the main clothing for both men and women in Japan is the yukata. Men's yukata and women's yukata are different, though. When most people who are unfamiliar with Japanese culture see a yukata they think it is a kimono as they are similar. At the risk of oversimplifying, a yukata is basically an inexpensive kimono. The construction is similar to a bathrobe or a trenchcoat... two sides that fold over each other and it is held closed with a belt. Definitely unbifurcated.

Hakama were introduced for samurai for horseback riding, and became part of most male kimono. Hakama come in both bifurcated and unbifurcated versions, though even the bifurcated version takes close inspection to notice the bifurcation.

Jinbei is another style of traditional Japanese clothing where the bottom is shorts... so that would be one case of pant-like garments in tradtional Japanese clothing... but the yukata is much more what everyone wore day to day.

Of course the modern karate and judo uniforms (dougi)are based on traditional Japanese clothing, and they have pants for bottoms... but I have heard that the dougi are actually based on underwear of years past.

As for how traditional Japanese clothing compares with the kilt, it seems to be quite similar in the sense that now everybody wears suits and ties or t-shirts and blue jeans for their everyday wear. Traditional Japanese clothing has been relegated to special festivals and ceremonies. The women wear yukata more often than men, though. Kimono are very expensive (they make kilts seem cheap) and women's kimono at least are difficult for a person to put on without help, so they are only worn for very special events such as weddings, graduation ceremonies, and the coming of age ceremony. Every once in a while I will see an old person who still wears tradtional Japanese clothing for their everyday clothing, but they seem to be getting fewer and fewer.

I am trying to keep this short and apologise if I have given too much information as it is. It is also a bit off topic, I suppose.

[Casey]

Alaskan,

Thanks for the info.

Casey