Weaving Words

Weaving Words

By Arisa YamaguchiHistory
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Weaving Words episodes

  • Japanese Dress from a Victorian Point of View

    ‘The great question before the Japanese woman at present is the question of dress,’ wrote an anonymous contributor to the Pall Mall Gazette in 1888. Throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century, newly opened Japan sought to westernize not only its political system but also its everyday way of life. Dress was one of the central concerns in this process of modernization. Yet Western views on the westernization of Japanese clothing were often rather pessimistic. In particular, the article cited in this episode emphasised that traditional Japanese attire was far more suitable for Japanese women than the adoption of foreign fashions.

    The broader discussion of the Victorian reception of Japanese dress is examined in Yamaguchi’s book, Sartorial Japonisme and the Experience of Kimonos in Britain, 1868–1914 (Routledge, 2023).

    17 min
  • Jews in Suits: Men's Dress in Vienna, 1890-1938

    In modern Vienna, the Jewish men were the important participants in the cultural development and some of them were dressed themselves in ‘modern’ tailored suits. At the turn of the century, wearing suits became fashionable among the urban Jewish men and it also developed new models of Jewish identities beyond the externally prescribed notion of ‘the Jew’.

    Arisa is joined by Jonathan C. Kaplan-Wajselbaum, the author of an important academic book which is so rich in sources, Jews in Suits: Men's Dress in Vienna, 1890-1938 (2023) to talk about the dress culture of Jewish men in Vienna.


    Get the copy of the book now on Bloomsbury:

    https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/jews-in-suits-9781350244207/

    You can get 35% discount with a code:

    GLRTW2AU (Australia/New Zealand)

    GLRTW2US(USA)

    GLRTW2CA(Canada)

    GLRTW2UK(UK/Rest of World)

    1 hr 3 min
  • The Splendour of Modernity: Japanese Arts of the Meiji Era
    The Meiji era (1868-1912) was a major turning point in Japanese history, moving from their long-lasted samurai feudal society to the new paradigm of a modern nation-state that was greatly influenced by Western scientific, technological and political ideas. Thus, Meiji Japan is often missunderstood as super-westernized, thus losing its traditional aesthetics in art and culture.
    Recently published The Splendour of Modernity: Japanese Arts of the Meiji Era (2024) challenges this common misconception by examining more than 200 artworks of the period between 1865 and 1915.
    Arisa is joined by the author of The Splendour of Modernity, Rosina Buckland and talks about Japanese art during this transformative period.
    Buy it now from Reaktion Books:
    https://reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/the-splendour-of-modernity
    55 min
  • To Be A Girl: A Transgender Girl's Fight to Survive as Herself in Victorian England

    To Be A Girl (2021) is a sensational novel of a transgender

    girl’s fight to survive as herself in Victorian England.

    Arisa is joined by the author of To Be A Girl, Alexandra Hamer. Alex explains why this breathtaking story was written and how she puts her own experiences into words.

    Buy it now from Amazon:

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Be-Girl-transgender-breathtaking-Victorian-ebook/dp/B09BP64F1W

    45 min
  • "Effeminate" Characters in Japanese Postwar Films
    In Japan, since 1945, a lot of films were created in major studios and established a new pattern of Japanese cinema. Very interestingly, there were numbers of ‘effeminate characters’ that appeared in postwar films, showing unique expressions of Japanese ideas of sex and gender. Dr Kenta Kato, a Senior Assistant Professor at the School of Commerce, Meiji University, will discuss the issues not only around sexuality and gender identity, but also race, politics and nationalism of post-war Japan under the American occupation.
    17 min
  • Kimonos at the Victorian West End Theatres
    Kimono is now globally known as a traditional Japanese garment. This episode examines how kimonos were represented and experienced on stage at the West End theatres during the second half of the nineteenth century. The host of the show, Arisa Yamaguchi, talks about the Victorian Japanese-themed musicals that were performed in London and beyond. The whole discussion on the Victorian and Edwardian experiences of kimonos was included in Yamaguchi's recently published book, Sarotial Japonisme and the Experience of Kimonos in Britain, 1865-1914 (Routledge, 2023).
    21 min
  • Trailer
    Hello! This is a brand new podcast series for the lovers of art, culture and hisrory called, Weaving Words, hosted by a dress historian in Japan, Dr Arisa Yamaguchi.
    The episodes will be uploaded once or twice a month.
    2 min

About Weaving Words

From the publisher's feed

This podcast are for anyone who loves to think and discuss any historical and cultural themes. A dress historian in Japan, Dr Arisa Yamaguci, explors the areas of history, fashion, art and culture…