I'm MAIMI, and I'm finally feeling the crisp air of autumn, which is the best. My shoulders are tingling, and it's really bothering me. (Irrelevant)
I was cycling around and the scent of my favorite osmanthus flowers was wafting from everywhere, so I sniffed it in, but I wonder why osmanthus always smells so good in autumn!
It's a strange feeling.
Anyway!
My Me has been released, and I've received so much feedback, which makes me incredibly, incredibly happy!!!
In my last blog post, I said I'd write about the theme or design of these clothes in my next post, so I'm going to write about that now.
This "My Me" collection expresses exactly what I felt during my trip to Europe. It combines photos of cityscapes taken during my trip, graphics I drew myself, and words, transforming my perceptions of a distorted world into clothing.
There were so many things I felt, both good and bad, things I realized. All of it.
First, earlier this year, I traveled to India and then to Europe. In Europe, I visited England, France, Germany, Scotland, Italy, and Spain.
Mainly, I went to London, Manchester, Paris, Berlin, Edinburgh, Milan, and Barcelona.
In a word, it was incredibly fun, and it felt like a major turning point (a crossroads) in my life. While there were many incredibly enjoyable parts, there were also things I questioned and sad moments.
Even though I wasn't there for a year, such significant changes occurred within me in a short period that I feel like everything would be completely overturned if I stayed for a year. (laughs)
Going to so many countries other than Japan gave me so much to think about. (I want to touch on India another time.)
I often experienced firsthand Asian discrimination, feeling it intensely in the atmosphere. I thought, "Ah, racial discrimination exists everywhere." We just don't know it, but there must be people of color in Japan who feel the same way.
I felt that COVID was also a big reason. One morning, on my way home from a club, I was kicked hard from behind. My partner (a man) was with me, but only I was kicked. I didn't know what happened, so I turned around in surprise, and it was a gay guy. He said, "I'm sooo sorry~~~." Instead of getting angry, I was just confused, wondering why I was kicked.
Huh?
While I was still confused, he yelled again, "Asians should go to high school! Many people died because of you!!!" (in English, of course). If I fought back, it would be the same thing, so I just said, "It's not our fault," but he was wide-eyed and not sober, so it wasn't worth debating. I ended up ignoring him.
I was "kicked just because I was Asian, even though I hadn't done anything wrong." Just thinking that such things happen every day all over the world made me feel truly unbearable.
There is no superiority or inferiority among humans.
There is no "best country" based on skin color, it's not anyone's earth, and it's strange to think that we are the best in the first place.
It's also strange to say that being an economic powerhouse makes you the best, and being unable to accept people different from yourself means being unable to accept diversity.
That's also strange.
It's not good to blindly believe everything that's reported.
We tend to do it, but it's strange to think that if one thing is true, then everything related to it must be true. (Common among politicians. It's strange to think all politicians are garbage. There are also politicians who work hard.)
We tend to look at things holistically and make assumptions, but that doesn't mean everything is that way.
A distorted world.
Is it me who is distorted?
Is it you?
Or is it this world?
I asked myself this question.
This is just my subjective opinion, but Japan is mainly composed of Japanese people. There are not many foreigners or people of various races.
As expected, values tend to be narrow, and I felt that there are characteristics unique to Japanese people (for better or worse). Japanese people are reserved and unable to express their opinions. But on the other hand, it can also be about harmony.
I shaved my head a month ago, and there are a lot of negative opinions.
I don't care about negative opinions; I just think, "Say whatever you want." My hair is mine, and it's my freedom. I'm not bothering anyone.
I think it's similar to things like "women should have long hair" or "it's strange for a man to wear a skirt." I think this is also a narrowness of values. It's unavoidable, I think. People can't accept anything different from what they've always seen at first.
It's not entirely bad, but I also feel that it limits things, and that leads to prejudice.
By broadening that perspective, I think attitudes and values will change significantly. In that sense, America and England are said to have broader values because they have people of various races. Of course, I think there's still a lot of prejudice there too.
So, I don't think there's really a "best" place. But you don't get judged for wearing a mini skirt at any age, and it's perfectly normal to see a punk dad with spiky hair. I think that's the feeling.
Japan has too many mixed things, too many pointless rules, too many pointless regulations, and things that make you wonder if they're really necessary. But it's also said that it's peaceful because these rules are followed. However, I think some parts are excessive.
Japan has a mix of good and bad parts. I don't think that's unique to Japan; I think every country has it.
What was I talking about... to get back to the point, the person who kicked me was gay, and I don't know if that person usually advocates for gender equality, but I thought it was strange for them to participate in discrimination. (I thought that maybe they had a really bad experience with COVID and were genuinely upset and their life was ruined, but kicking is violence, and COVID is not the fault of Asians, so I still came to the conclusion that this incident was strange.)
There were so many truly strange stories, and after returning to Japan, I happened to come across the news about Rina Sawayama getting angry at the lead singer of The 1975 for making discriminatory remarks about Japanese people on the radio. The 1975 has said that they won't perform at festivals with gender imbalance, but aren't all humans equal...? I was incredibly frustrated by that. The radio host who interviewed him seemed to have instigated it, but he also made comments about racial discrimination outside of Japan, so I immediately deleted him from my playlist.
It was a terrible feeling to have been enjoying his music without knowing this, and I couldn't understand why anyone would go to a live show after knowing that their own country had been insulted. Of course, I, being in Japan, have many things I truly feel about my own country, but no one likes being ridiculed.
Because it's the country you were born in, and the country you grew up in, right?
Well,
What I can't forgive is that even though they talk about gender equality, it doesn't connect to human equality. That's the part.
That, too, is a distorted world.
They advocate for "peace"!, but it's just "form" and in the end, they discriminate, say abusive things, and use violence, so it's not peaceful at all.
Yes, like an event, like a trend. That's strange.
I incorporated a distorted peace sign into these clothes.
If I write about the parts I think are strange now, it becomes a string of very negative images, and I end up thinking, "Whoa! This is the worst!" lol
But it's not just that. lol
The front shows me in Germany when I felt the distorted world. The back, however, is a shot taken at a club in Scotland. At this club, people in their 50s and 60s, like moms and dads, were dancing happily, and next to them, kids around 20 were also dancing. Age didn't matter; they were having fun and chatting regardless of age.
It's the best, right?
Yes. And
What was most fun was that I mainly went to art, clothing, theater, and clubs, and there were so many new inspirations that my brain was buzzing every day. lol
More than anything, just watching the people walking on the streets and at the clubs was interesting.
On the other hand, there were also times when I thought of Japan and felt that it was a good country.
It's polite (though I don't think it needs to be overly polite) and clean. But I also felt that the most important part was missing.
More on that another time.
There's still a world I haven't seen, and sensations I haven't felt. Perhaps it's only now that I've been able to feel this way (timing is a factor), but both the bad and the good, all of it, have made me realize that it's important to go out and experience things.
Once again, I was able to objectively view and consider everything I feel and think, and now I'm thinking about
what I should convey from now on
and what I should do.
Even in a distorted world, let's keep dancing with our other selves.
Oh, did I write too few stimulating and good things? lol (I thought so as I was writing)
It's because I felt like, "Let's pull out another me and dance," and I succeeded in pulling out another me. That's starting to become a source of vitality, so I think that alone is a really good thing.
So, next time, I want to share with everyone about pulling out another me, lol.
"My Me": Regarding this installment's theme!
Hello!
I'm MAIMI, and I'm finally feeling the crisp air of autumn, which is the best. My shoulders are tingling, and it's really bothering me. (Irrelevant)
I was cycling around and the scent of my favorite osmanthus flowers was wafting from everywhere, so I sniffed it in, but I wonder why osmanthus always smells so good in autumn!
It's a strange feeling.
Anyway!
My Me has been released, and I've received so much feedback, which makes me incredibly, incredibly happy!!!
In my last blog post, I said I'd write about the theme or design of these clothes in my next post, so I'm going to write about that now.
This "My Me" collection expresses exactly what I felt during my trip to Europe. It combines photos of cityscapes taken during my trip, graphics I drew myself, and words, transforming my perceptions of a distorted world into clothing.
There were so many things I felt, both good and bad, things I realized. All of it.
First, earlier this year, I traveled to India and then to Europe. In Europe, I visited England, France, Germany, Scotland, Italy, and Spain.
Mainly, I went to London, Manchester, Paris, Berlin, Edinburgh, Milan, and Barcelona.
In a word, it was incredibly fun, and it felt like a major turning point (a crossroads) in my life. While there were many incredibly enjoyable parts, there were also things I questioned and sad moments.
Even though I wasn't there for a year, such significant changes occurred within me in a short period that I feel like everything would be completely overturned if I stayed for a year. (laughs)
Going to so many countries other than Japan gave me so much to think about. (I want to touch on India another time.)
I often experienced firsthand Asian discrimination, feeling it intensely in the atmosphere. I thought, "Ah, racial discrimination exists everywhere." We just don't know it, but there must be people of color in Japan who feel the same way.
I felt that COVID was also a big reason. One morning, on my way home from a club, I was kicked hard from behind. My partner (a man) was with me, but only I was kicked. I didn't know what happened, so I turned around in surprise, and it was a gay guy. He said, "I'm sooo sorry~~~." Instead of getting angry, I was just confused, wondering why I was kicked.
Huh?
While I was still confused, he yelled again, "Asians should go to high school! Many people died because of you!!!" (in English, of course). If I fought back, it would be the same thing, so I just said, "It's not our fault," but he was wide-eyed and not sober, so it wasn't worth debating. I ended up ignoring him.
I was "kicked just because I was Asian, even though I hadn't done anything wrong." Just thinking that such things happen every day all over the world made me feel truly unbearable.
There is no superiority or inferiority among humans.
There is no "best country" based on skin color, it's not anyone's earth, and it's strange to think that we are the best in the first place.
It's also strange to say that being an economic powerhouse makes you the best, and being unable to accept people different from yourself means being unable to accept diversity.
That's also strange.
It's not good to blindly believe everything that's reported.
We tend to do it, but it's strange to think that if one thing is true, then everything related to it must be true. (Common among politicians. It's strange to think all politicians are garbage. There are also politicians who work hard.)
We tend to look at things holistically and make assumptions, but that doesn't mean everything is that way.
A distorted world.
Is it me who is distorted?
Is it you?
Or is it this world?
I asked myself this question.
This is just my subjective opinion, but Japan is mainly composed of Japanese people. There are not many foreigners or people of various races.
As expected, values tend to be narrow, and I felt that there are characteristics unique to Japanese people (for better or worse). Japanese people are reserved and unable to express their opinions. But on the other hand, it can also be about harmony.
I shaved my head a month ago, and there are a lot of negative opinions.
I don't care about negative opinions; I just think, "Say whatever you want." My hair is mine, and it's my freedom. I'm not bothering anyone.
I think it's similar to things like "women should have long hair" or "it's strange for a man to wear a skirt." I think this is also a narrowness of values. It's unavoidable, I think. People can't accept anything different from what they've always seen at first.
It's not entirely bad, but I also feel that it limits things, and that leads to prejudice.
By broadening that perspective, I think attitudes and values will change significantly. In that sense, America and England are said to have broader values because they have people of various races. Of course, I think there's still a lot of prejudice there too.
So, I don't think there's really a "best" place. But you don't get judged for wearing a mini skirt at any age, and it's perfectly normal to see a punk dad with spiky hair. I think that's the feeling.
Japan has too many mixed things, too many pointless rules, too many pointless regulations, and things that make you wonder if they're really necessary. But it's also said that it's peaceful because these rules are followed. However, I think some parts are excessive.
Japan has a mix of good and bad parts. I don't think that's unique to Japan; I think every country has it.
What was I talking about... to get back to the point, the person who kicked me was gay, and I don't know if that person usually advocates for gender equality, but I thought it was strange for them to participate in discrimination. (I thought that maybe they had a really bad experience with COVID and were genuinely upset and their life was ruined, but kicking is violence, and COVID is not the fault of Asians, so I still came to the conclusion that this incident was strange.)
There were so many truly strange stories, and after returning to Japan, I happened to come across the news about Rina Sawayama getting angry at the lead singer of The 1975 for making discriminatory remarks about Japanese people on the radio. The 1975 has said that they won't perform at festivals with gender imbalance, but aren't all humans equal...? I was incredibly frustrated by that. The radio host who interviewed him seemed to have instigated it, but he also made comments about racial discrimination outside of Japan, so I immediately deleted him from my playlist.
It was a terrible feeling to have been enjoying his music without knowing this, and I couldn't understand why anyone would go to a live show after knowing that their own country had been insulted. Of course, I, being in Japan, have many things I truly feel about my own country, but no one likes being ridiculed.
Because it's the country you were born in, and the country you grew up in, right?
Well,
What I can't forgive is that even though they talk about gender equality, it doesn't connect to human equality. That's the part.
That, too, is a distorted world.
They advocate for "peace"!, but it's just "form" and in the end, they discriminate, say abusive things, and use violence, so it's not peaceful at all.
Yes, like an event, like a trend. That's strange.
I incorporated a distorted peace sign into these clothes.
If I write about the parts I think are strange now, it becomes a string of very negative images, and I end up thinking, "Whoa! This is the worst!" lol
But it's not just that. lol
The front shows me in Germany when I felt the distorted world. The back, however, is a shot taken at a club in Scotland. At this club, people in their 50s and 60s, like moms and dads, were dancing happily, and next to them, kids around 20 were also dancing. Age didn't matter; they were having fun and chatting regardless of age.
It's the best, right?
Yes. And
What was most fun was that I mainly went to art, clothing, theater, and clubs, and there were so many new inspirations that my brain was buzzing every day. lol
More than anything, just watching the people walking on the streets and at the clubs was interesting.
On the other hand, there were also times when I thought of Japan and felt that it was a good country.
It's polite (though I don't think it needs to be overly polite) and clean. But I also felt that the most important part was missing.
More on that another time.
There's still a world I haven't seen, and sensations I haven't felt. Perhaps it's only now that I've been able to feel this way (timing is a factor), but both the bad and the good, all of it, have made me realize that it's important to go out and experience things.
Once again, I was able to objectively view and consider everything I feel and think, and now I'm thinking about
what I should convey from now on
and what I should do.
Even in a distorted world, let's keep dancing with our other selves.
Oh, did I write too few stimulating and good things? lol (I thought so as I was writing)
It's because I felt like, "Let's pull out another me and dance," and I succeeded in pulling out another me. That's starting to become a source of vitality, so I think that alone is a really good thing.
So, next time, I want to share with everyone about pulling out another me, lol.
See you!