"Women Adorning Themselves with the Times" Conveying the "Hardships" & "Passion for Fashion" of Women

The special exhibition "Women Adorning Themselves with the Times," showcasing the evolution of women's fashion in the early Showa period, is being held at the Showa Museum in Kudanminami, Tokyo (from March 11 to May 7).
 
This exhibition highlights the transition of women's clothing from traditional Japanese attire to Western-style clothing and from home-sewn garments to ready-made clothes during the wartime and postwar periods, set against the backdrop of the times.
 
For this feature, we spoke with Ayaka Takahashi from the Showa Museum's Curatorial Department, who planned this exhibition. She shared the planning process, the exhibition's appeal, and the relationship between women's clothing and the historical context during and after the war.

The Reason for Focusing on Women's Clothing During & After the War

The Showa Museum is a facility that collects, preserves, and exhibits materials to convey the daily life of Japanese citizens, particularly the families of the war dead and the general public, during and after the war (approximately from 1935 to 1955). How did this exhibition come to be?

"Our museum holds special exhibitions every spring and summer, alongside our permanent exhibits. These exhibitions aim to pass down specific themes such as posters and picture-story shows to communicate the 'hardships of wartime and postwar' to future generations.

"Looking back at our previous exhibitions, we realized we hadn't yet focused on the evolution of clothing.

"When we investigated wartime and postwar clothing, we found it particularly intriguing how women's roles and their clothing underwent significant changes. This led us to plan an exhibition centered on women.

"Additionally, clothing is a topic that interests younger generations. Nowadays, opportunities to hear firsthand accounts of the wartime and postwar periods are rare. We hoped that people who wouldn't typically visit the museum might come if they were intrigued by the topic of clothing, thereby fulfilling the museum's role."

This exhibition consists of four parts: "Prologue: The Acceptance of Western-Style Culture," which introduces the history of Western clothing in Japan, "Ⅰ. Women and Clothing During Wartime," which focuses on the Sino-Japanese War, "Ⅱ. The Influx of Western-Style Culture," highlighting the period after the war when American influence increased and demand for Western sewing rose, and "Ⅲ. The Era of Popularization," illustrating how fashion became accessible to the general public during the late occupation period and the high economic growth.

"Western-style culture was initially the attire of the upper class since the opening of the country, but its demand increased due to events like the Great Kanto Earthquake. At that time, many women led a dual life: wearing traditional Japanese attire at home and Western-style clothing at work.

"However, with the onset of the Sino-Japanese War, extravagant clothing was deemed inappropriate and banned under the tightened control over daily life. As the war situation worsened and air raids began, women were required to wear work trousers (monpe) regularly.

"After the war, women often lived a 'bamboo shoot life,' exchanging their clothing for food. Simultaneously, they admired the Western-style clothing of occupying officers' wives and female soldiers, leading to its popularity as American style. This Western fashion boom resulted in the opening of numerous sewing schools, and homemade clothing became common.

"Further development of synthetic fibers marked the high economic growth period, culminating in the era of ready-made clothes, which is covered in our exhibition.

"Through these transitions, I personally realized the significant link between clothing and the historical context."