PhD Dissertation: ‘Negotiating Gendered Identities Through Dress: Kimono at the Coming-of-age Day in Contemporary Japan’

My PhD dissertation is now available online! Please refer to the details below for more information:

Becke, Carolin (2022) Negotiating Gendered Identities Through Dress: Kimono at the Coming-of-age Day in Contemporary Japan. PhD thesis, University of Sheffield.

This thesis is a study of kimono in contemporary Japan. It builds on and extends the literature on kimono by evaluating the garment’s role at the coming-of-age day. The coming-of-age day is a significant celebration aiming to inspire young women and men to become ‘good and upright adult citizen[s]‘ (Hendry 1981: 206). Being of immense importance to the construction of Japanese identity and culture, this thesis aims to explore how normative ideas, values and meanings surrounding coming-of-age dress are (re)framed in a contemporary setting.

Keywords: adulthood, class, coming-of-age, fashion, gender, identity, Japanese dress, kimono, subculture