MovieChat Forums > Tengoku to jigoku (1963) Discussion > Mrs. Gondo's Dresses

Mrs. Gondo's Dresses

posted 14 years ago by Balok-2
4 replies | jump to latest

All of the male characters wear western-style clothing. When we first see Mrs. Gondo, however, she is wearing a traditional Japanese dress. I thought that was supposed to symbolize that she represented "traditional Japanese values" or some such. Then, later in the film, she wears Western dresses (but goes back at one point to a traditional Japanese dress). Maybe someone with a better knowledge of early 1960's Japanese culture can tell me -- was it typical of upper-class Japanese women of the time to wear Western-style dresses during the day and to change into Japanese dress at night? Do the Japanese dresses that she wears indicate (by the styling, material, etc.) that she is wealthy?

T.I.A.

[–] jadow81 14 years ago

First, simple answers:

was it typical of upper-class Japanese women of the time to wear Western-style dresses during the day and to change into Japanese dress at night?

No.

Do the Japanese dresses that she wears indicate (by the styling, material, etc.) that she is wealthy?

Yes - to some extent. But not so prominently.

Now onto the details...

At least after WWII, 'kimono' (traditional Japanese clothes) has become 'unusual' for Japanese women.
They usually wear 'Western' clothes.
Cheap casual/working kimono once used in everyday lives of ordinary women has become near-extinct.
On the other hand, kimono has survived as 'formal wear',
a kind of luxury item only used on special occasions (such as weddings, funerals, various celebrations).

Back to the movie, I think why Reiko (Mrs. Gondô) was in kimono at the beginning of the movie is,
basically because they had 'guests' that day.

Of course, they were not actually Gondô's 'friends', and it's not a party but a meeting about corporate politics.
Still, from Reiko's POV, her husband was having important business guests in their house.
So, as their humble hostess, she had 'formal wear' in respect.
Also, unlike her husband, Reiko was from a wealthy family. It's likely she was accustomed to kimono as formal wear.

Anyway, I think we don't need to go deep about her clothes.
I believe no Japanese viewer would find any special meaning there.

BTW...
my late mother belongs to the same generation as Kyôko Kagawa who played Reiko.
She used to wear kimono frequently in everyday life. She was quite exceptional in that regard.
But since mid-'60s, she rarely wore kimono. I once asked why and she replied:
"I still prefer kimono. But sometimes it causes problems.
For example, when I wore kimono in the gathering of the mothers of your classmates,
they didn't let me to participate cleaning and such, saying 'No way! It will ruin your kimono!'
Even though I explained them it's perfectly ok, because it's just a cheap casual wear,
they insisted I shouldn't. I didn't want to be treated that way, so I stopped wearing kimono."
I think this tells how kimono was considered 'luxury' back then.

[–] FinesHerbes 9 years ago

Thank you very much for your input & insight into Japanese womens' wear / dress timeline of style & preferences.

I wondered much the same as OP.

I also LOVE the anecdote about your mother too - she seems like a very down-to-earth woman!

PS I wonder whether the respect shown the 'kimono' in that set of circumstances you describe no matter it's 'cheapness' is perhaps more cultural-historical-based reverence for the item of clothing (& possibly its wearer for demonstrating same?) as much as regard that it may be fabicated from luxury materials and workmanship?

[–] jadow81 9 years ago

Thanks for your reply,
and sorry for my late reply.

I'm not sure if I get your PS question right,
but if you're talking about my mother's case (not the movie)...

Although "cultural-historical-based reverence" might contribute to some extent as you wrote,
I think it's simply because those women were unfamiliar with kimono, and
couldn't tell the difference between everyday clothes and expensive formal wear.
(Like, perhaps, I can't tell the difference between cheap wine and expensive ones.)

[–] Jes' Sayin' (5974) 2 years ago

If you watch the street scenes toward the end of the film, when they're tailing the suspect, if you look in the background you'll see that some women were wearing kimonos, others Western dress. It was a transitional time where people wore both as kimonos tended to fade out and Western dress came in more and more.