Before and After

I have chosen to investigate Japanese women who are living in England and the kimono as a representation of Japanese culture. The kimono expresses a certain idea of a Japanese woman. However, when seen in the context of an emigrant from Japan in the English culture, the figure of a kimono - clad woman suggests a kind of alienation imposing through aesthetic contradiction and incompatibility. Their dilemma is made explicit by the contrast of the costume and their environment.These women are becoming hybrid creatures possessing not only Japanese identities but also English ones. They are strangely different people before and after coming to England.