Thesis & Reason for Writing the Article
In this article by Sally Hastings, the thesis is the author’s assertion that the first appearance of the Japanese Empress in European-style clothing was of fundamental importance in shaping the national identity of a woman. This article is essential because it reveals the first stage of the transformation of the Japanese costume in the Meiji period. In the first decades of the Meiji era (1868-1883), the government announced the policy of Bummei Kaika, which translates to “civilization and enlightenment” (Hastings 691). At that time, all the attributes of Western civilization, including clothing, were symbols of belonging to an advanced civilization and education. Japanese and Western wardrobe items were mixed, sometimes creating bizarre combinations. A demonstration of these cultural phenomena is the Westernization of imperial clothing, which determines the importance of this article.
Research Methods & Approaches/Issues
This work’s research methods and approaches consist of analyzing and synthesizing various historical evidence. Hastening’s analysis separates the mental division of the Japanese Empress’s costume and its aspects into parts for their systematic study (Hastings 679). Their role was played by individual material or ideal elements, as well as the properties of the costume, and the relationships between the Empress herself, the people, and foreign guests. Furthermore, Hastings’ approach involved the use of synthesis, which is the mental connection of previously studied elements into a single whole (Hastings 691). These are mutually presupposing and complementary methods of analysis.
The depth of penetration conditions the approach into the essence of the national Japanese costume of the Empress and its aspects. Therefore, a return, or elementary-theoretical approach, was applied in the article. It is suitable for comprehending moments, sides, and aspects of the essence and mastering specific cause-and-effect dependencies. In this case, these dependencies are established between the national female costume of the Empress and the influence of its Westernization on Japanese society.
Hastings considers issues related to the social impact of changes in the traditional costume of the Japanese Empress. Since the time of Japanese contacts with Western culture, the most decisive influence has been on their way of life. In particular, Hastings notes the influence on national clothes and how social life phenomena represent a kind of “emanation of the national spirit” through traditional outfits (Hastings 683). The author also addresses the issue of how substantial the consequences of the Westernization policy were for both representatives of the upper classes and women.
Evidence
The primary evidence Hastings presents is visual sources, such as drawings and photographs. These documents are of their era, and contemporaries perceived them as reliable sources of information based on their ability to accurately record reality. The photographic documents and illustrations of the Japanese Empress’s contemporaries are pictorial sources that represent a static representation of the event without the author’s vision of the recorded events (Hastings 689).
According to the content and nature of the objects, Hastings divided the visual sources into the following types. First, they relate to the event, depicting individual moments, such as the reception of the Japanese Empress in Westernized clothes. These species also capture images of individual details of the costume and portrait ones that represent images of the Empress.
Work Cited
Hastings, Sally. The Empress’ New Clothes and Japanese Women, 1868-1912. Historian, 1993.