whether you think this was offensive or not. you gotta admit this outfit was trash. even if she was celebrating harajuku culture it was done poorly and it just looks more like a party dress rather than a pageant dress
I was confused when they said it was to celebrate harajuku fashion. i would say harajuku fashion is more elaborate than that, and definitely much more pleasing to the eye in a weird way
I mean... Kimono is technically everything. It just means thing to wear... People just don't use it as that anymore since it's not the normal thing to wear anymore.
Less than a minute in and the contestant's outfit looks cheap and tacky. I'm genuinely surprised she went to Miss Universe like that. I'm used to seeing well thought out, beautiful outfits from the contestants but this looks like something an "influencer" would wear to Halloween.
I just hope this was an intentional albeit cheap attempt to grab attention. If Anyone involved at any point thought this is genuinely a good costume I think I just lost faith in humanity. (Again).
I would imagine you aren't familiar with harujuku culture. I personally find it to be fun way to express themselves in a very stifling society. I think it's a cool idea to showcase it. Being as it's a dying art. But ultimately, it didn't measure up in it's "wow factor", it was too simple. They didn't do justice to harujuku girls. "Cheap and tacky" isn't the right (or nicest) way to describe it.
Yeah I think the design is awful. I think it was made with good intentions but I don’t like the design. At all. I have had a lot of Japanese friends and I feel like crazy bold colours aren’t really as common for Japanese girls to wear. It happens of course, but I think more commonly earthy natural colours are more popular with Japanese girls. The makeup looked very western too and the lucky cats were kind of a stupid addition. The writing was also very messy. I’m not Japanese and I could have written it neater. It feels like an outfit a child would design.
@@aliddlebird there were too many inaccuracies for it to be considered harajuku to me. They could have used a more funky hairstyle/hair pins, accessories and played around with more colors. But they chose to go with 2 gold maneki nekos that look completely chinese in design instead of its japanese version, and wrote a tacky "日本" in children's font on the chest. I found these aesthetic choices puzzling and ugly, it didn't resemble the fun and wackiness of harajuku culture.
That middle-aged man has to be one of the most intellectual people interviewed by Asian Boss. Not only was he very open-minded about this topic, but he also showed compassion towards the contestant and designer by carefully choosing his words.
@@ElTioPental It is OK. You have action, speech, and the mind. It is very difficult to balance all three. Some or most people are benevolent in one or two areas and needs work with the other one. Just need the right timing, momentum, and willpower to change. No one can instantly change in one night.
That "tattoo" really did look like someone drew on it with a Sharpie lol. One of the things I love about Japanese culture is the calligraphy, and the look of the brushstrokes. I'm really into sumi-e and similar artwork from Japan, so it was funny to hear them say that. I thought it was a little flashy too, which gave of a lot of anime references in terms of style. Really refreshing to hear and see, however, that Japanese people weren't all too upset and disgraced by the outfit. Some were even kind of appreciative of the effort. I think that's really cool.
i was thinking the same 😂 i think the only thing that really offended me was the lack of effort with the "tattoo". there are so many gorgeous calligraphy styles they could have used, but they went with this smudgy, asymmetric scribble
@Michael O'Neil In Japan, those introduced from China during the Nara and Heian periods were battered with rice flour and other ingredients. Later, in the 16th century, Portuguese Catholic missionaries introduced to Japan the Western method of cooking fried foods using flour.
Basically Japanese people don't care about the miss universe pageant itself but agree the outfit indeed sucked. I also wish we could see the opinions of Japanese who take part in Harajuku fashion. This style can so eccentric yet elegant at the same time and she did Harajuku no justice
People living as a minority in another country aren't always going to feel the same as people in their home country. As a minority, you are reliant on your portrayal in the media. As someone who was bullied for weird japanese stereotypes shown in the UK, it was upsetting to see this outfit. That being said, the cats were hilariously awful 😂
Why are you invalidating her experience? So you're saying shes not really Japanese? She has a right to dress how she wants to. Maybe she wanted to spice things up and not do the stereotypical kimono thats been done 1000 times. Maybe she wanted to project a different more modern image of Japan, or how she feels about Japan. You have a right to not like what she wore, but invalidating her just sounds mean and bullying.
Wow, that one older guy was about the most chill old Japanese guy I've seen on any interview ever. "I think lots of people would be offended but also it's probably fine and we should all just chill out because it's kind of anime-like" (paraphrased)
Yeah... Finishing this, was that guy a politician?! Like he was just super chill about everything! This isn't meant as a criticism of him, I'm just kind of shocked at how "middle of the road" he seemed, which is pretty uncommon in many places.
@@Zelmel I noticed him too. I guess because of his age I unfairly assumed he would be more on the conservative side of this, but then he was super woke and every answer of his was just super wholesome.
I'm sorry, but is it supposed to represent the "real" kimono? I don't think many people will think that's how a real kimono supposed to look like. However, that's an ugly outfit
I know the long flowing cardigans are called kimonos too and definitely don’t match the correct description. I feel like that was the best word choice they could think of w/o looking back at its’ history.
there's nothing redeemable about the look. it's horrifying. even if you just look at it as a normal dress, it's still ugly because the material looked so cheap. looks like the designer didn't even bother to do a research because one google search can tell you that's definitely not harajuku fashion. it's just embarrassing to look at.
The problem is the ‘Kimino’ looked so gimmicky in direct comparison to every other country who wore refined traditional clothes with attention to details if not beautiful dresses, I don’t know if the designer had a problem with Japan to put the model in the dress.
hmmm not sures i follow or know were chur getting at but i do know tis tho 😄 holy cpt. fudgepecker tat pink outfits just fantaticly HOWT on her X3 + it comidates her wuvly apperance more 😊 .....witch leads meh too say y are ppl getting offencive about tis 🤔????
@@shadowdragonx07 I do not believe it is offense but more general confusion about what the dress was supposed to be. If a Kimono then this is a deep misrepresentation of a traditional and dignified outfit, even with the Emperor’s Crees, it’s a grey area. Honestly it looks like five stereotypes pushed into one. Chinese style buns, pink hair with two lucky cats on each side and the horrid ‘Nihon’ written across.
It was mentioned that the inspiration was related to "Harajuku style" which is a lot flashier with tons of pink and bright colours, and it tends to be a lot more freeform. But even then harajuku style (Based on some googling and what I've seen) isn't excessively showy and the general idea of the design the person made kinda seems to make me think of a mix of Oiran (pr*situte) and Harajuku (as the kimono on the shoulders is a scene often shown in movies/anime with Geishas/Oiran.) Overall, I'd say the designer might've had interest in Japan, but that interest wasn't deep enough and understanding of Japanese culture enough, so that he made crucial mistakes by designing clothing for a country where traditions/rules/precision are all extremely important (or I guess he checked some videos/images of different Japanese styles and found the "Harajuku style" to be the flashiest and most fitting with his own idea of "style.") For Japanese, I'd imagine, that culturally the "dead person's kimono" thing was the biggest mistake, followed with the excessive skin shown, and those are things most experienced Japanese designers could've helped the Isreali designer with. Most Japanese people will likely be against it, but I don't think the competition is big enough in Japan to be major news, just some people who check twitter might notice it and think it's kinda stupid, so I guess the backlash on the "western side" might've been exaggerated, though it was a bad outfit not representative of Japan most definitely.
4:32 I completely agree with this man. I think it'd be more correct to call her dress a "kimono inspired" dress instead of an incorrectly worn kimono, because to me it doesn't really look like a traditional kimono anyways.
The designer being from Israel made no sense in the context of the pageant representing YOUR country… unless the designer was familiar with Japanese culture and knowledgeable on how kimonos are made… which wasn’t the case.
I think it matters that he was from Israel, because the overall style adopted is the same as their Eurovision winner a few years ago, maneki neko and all. I guess he thought he could shock the international audience into winning.
Tbh seeing “Japan” on her chest was offsetting, writing on people is sometimes used as downgrading and sometimes s3xualized. Also her outfit looked so cheap and stereotypical
I would assume the taboo (right over left wrapping, “tattoo”) and gimmicky aspects (maneki neko, oiran cut, bright pink) of the outfit were intentional in provoking controversy. Is that a good idea for celebrating the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations? Probably not. Does it look super tacky? Absolutely.
Good point. On the other hand why do people care about Miss Universe? If they want to dress up weird or offensively, let ‘em. Ain’t harming anybody except themselves. If it was intentionally done, then mission accomplished. they got people talking about it.
Unless you're coming from Beijing or some more controlling states, the governments in many countries are not involved deeply (aside from organizing proper visas) for the contestants. So, it isn't clear what this has to do with an anniversary of diplomatic relations.
I would have never thought she was actually Japanese born. To go out like that is beyond embarrassing. I can’t believe she’s representing Japan. It’d make a lot more sense if she’s a dual citizen and grew up abroad. An Israeli designer was chosen to celebrate the relations between the two countries?! Seems more like a bold diss to Japan with that outfit.
@@zephdo2971 The Costume portion doesn't have a score in the preliminary portion of Miss Universe. I would just refuse to wear it if I am the one who was tasked to wear it.
@@zephdo2971 not gonna lie, i wacthed straight to 10:23 when i realized the designer was an israeli.... Lmao This is just gonna insult japanese against both country, no mean to be politically but for sure rather than strenghten realtionship this just could be a humilliation to the japanese, but japanese gonna still be humble
probably the designer didn't wanted to go all in with the harajuku outfit idea and just toned it down until it turned into this nightmare. Happens a lot with other countries too, that wear traditional dresses modernized or toned down to the point that they end up looking like a mess.
disclaimer: this is just my opinion, take it with a grain of salt I think there's a clear distinction between representing a culture and appreciating a culture. The model went there as a Japanese representative, to represent Japan (as far as I know.) It would only make sense to have a Japanese designer to achieve this goal, instead of having someone from a different country/culture to design the outfit. It destroys the whole purpose of being a representative of Japan. While I think having people from other cultures and countries to appreciate Japan is a great thing, I didn't see this particular instance to be the time for that. Going back to what I said earlier, the point of having the Japanese representative attend this event was to represent the culture and country, not appreciate it through the lens of someone who isn't as knowledgeable on the culture of Japan. I feel like the situation would have been totally fine if it had been an appreciation of Japan, rather than a representation of it. It might seem like I'm just being too picky/overthinking the difference of a representation vs appreciation but that's just how I interpreted this whole situation. While I won't argue whether the outfit looks good or not (personally I think it looks god-awful but that's besides the point,) at the end of the day beauty is subjective and the validity of a representation should not be based on whether it looks good or bad. I saw quite a few people pointing out about how it looks ugly so I wanted to chime in and point out that whether the outfit looks good or bad is something completely irrelevant to the main problem/topic of this conversation. Again, these are just my opinions, take it with a grain of salt.
@@hanzo9941 Again, to clarify, the point I'm making is that whether the outfit looks good or not is completely irrelevant, and that it ignores the whole point of the issue/problem at hand.
So for context, because the contest was held in Israel this year, the costume was designed by an Israeli designer, with tribute to Netta, an Israeli singer who worn kimono-inspired outfit when she won Eurovision. This national costume segment of the contest itself often focus on the performing aspect, hence the colorful and bright outfits not only from Miss Universe Japan but also other contestants
I think offensive is a very misused word. They believe her outfit is cringeworthy, absurd, and have opinions about it. But I don't think they are offended. The true emotion of being "offended" feels like personal attack that enrages you. When someone is actually offended, you can see the anger on their facial expression and hear it in their voice. The people interviewed do not exhibit this emotion in this video. Instead, it's more akin to showing someone something culturally absurd and asking for their opinion on it. Of course if someone is going against their cultural norms, you are going to feel weird and call it out. But that doesn't mean you are offended.
They couldn't even get Harajuku right 😅 it was like a confused Lolita Geisha with even tackier gold lucky cats. Miss Universe Japan (2014) Keiko Tsuji's samurai/warrior costume and Maria Kamiyama (2011) costume as Geisha with a sword are so much better.
The elder interviewee said a lot of really good insights. There's a balance of progressive mindset while still respecting traditions and culture. He did not outright criticize the people involved but analyzed or tried to think as if he was in their shoes and gave compelling valid statements.
I personally would have used a Japanese designer. Also, The issue with writing Japan on your body is if you have to write the name of the country you may no be doing the best job of representing the culture. You should be able to look at the person and think of the country it’s representing by using certain items and dress, it looks very much like an afterthought and sloppily done. For a miss universe pageant it just looks lazy, and I don’t think of things done lazily when I think about Japan. I think about intricately done/well thought out and executed things. I can imagine doing a more abstract take on Japan, maybe I would work with intricate fabrics and have Sakura flowers in my hair, or necklace with intricate Sakura flowers even, or on the shoes if I was doing s pop culture take. I definitely don’t think of Japanese culture when I see this outfit. I think of modern and older Japanese culture and I think of many things, but I think she is trying to play up a pop culture aspect of Japan rather than the traditional culture. Like an Andy Warhol take on a culture. If it was america I would imagine a big mac and a beer can and a flag if I thought of an analogous outfit. And I’m American. But that’s kind of the outfit that would be it’s American equal. I don’t know if I would have used a marker on my body, but rather a necklace with a symbol or word to refine it a little.
Your comment sounds kind of racist, and passive aggressive. If the only thing you think of about America is Beer and big macs, maybe its because you're racist. Plenty of styles and fashion come from US, like a cowboy/girl, prom wear, sportswear, or the many traditional fashions. Kids from all over the world wear US brands and styles.
You should stop lying, you don't even watch the pageant! This one at least has a semblance of effort unlike other outfits for example from France and Canada.
I don’t find it offensive, it’s just an ugly design. Anime + traditional kimono of course itself is a good concept, but this is just ugly and badly executed. That’s all!
to me, and I have no serious experience with Japanese culture, it looks cheap. It looks like a costume you would get in a pop up halloween store. i would never think that it represented a culture outside of drunk sorority life.
I assume that dress was supposed to present Japan and if that rly was the case it was made pretty poorly atleast for my taste. I understand part about culture etc, but dress and overall outfit seems kinda cheap and doesnt rly show Japan in any sense.
@@shizachan8421 it might not get the harajuku sense that it was meant to be, nevertheless, anime is one of Japan's culture. i dont see ur point other than trying to throw the blame on something else
@@shizachan8421 Don't compare anime wiht this diabolical monstrosity, you're insulting anime, we weebs indeed have questionable tastes, but that thing was way worse
@@leexingha I meant that the outfit looks like what some anime character would wear, though many anime and manga character designs are obviously heavily inspired by harajuku, its just the impression that I have of that outfit.
After being in Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo I can definitely say we have a wrong image about how Japanese people actually dress like. Maybe it is due to anime, visual kei, gyaru and moe culture, but actually walking around the streets and seeing how people dress is quite an eye-opener.
I feel like Japanese people don't really care what happens outside Japan even if it's something related to Japan, but I can tell this could've became a huge topic if it was done in Japan itself
How did they manage to misrepresent japanese and harajuku culture at the same time? If they wanted to represent harajuku fashion they could have done something really great, this just looks like a cheap costume, who thought this was ok for miss universe? Maybe for a north american college costume party...
It's simply a very ugly dress, and if it weren't for the 日本 scribbled on her chest I wouldn't have been able to tell it was representing Japan. Japanese or not, clearly the designer should've done more research.
This dress was a big mess. But when the woman mentioned yhat the way it was wrapped was to wrap the deceased, I was floored 😰😵💫 "Tell me you did not do research without telling me." The designer: *that dress*
Because Japan doesn’t care much about this kind of competition. The majority of people didn’t even know about this competition. So personally I don’t think her costume represents Japan but it only represents herself and a few staffs who designed it.
ur much on point. its a shame that her country people chooses to condemn her rather than feel sorry for not being able to properly educate their rep b4 sending her to battle
@@leexingha "properly educate" "sending her to battle". You do know this was designed by a tasteless Isreali designer right? Also why would Japan "educate properly" a random Japanese if the competitor was literally a Japanese herself? Wtf are you even trying to say? Please elaborate.
@@leexingha I believe that only a small portion of people commenting that she could do better but no one is condemning or attacking her. The foreign media makes it sound like this matter is being a big topic in Japan but no..it’s not. It wasn’t on trending nor on TV so no one cares if she did good or bad. No one knows if this competition was held. Lol These people in the video only state their opinions because they were asked to. What they said is “I didn’t know about this competition. If you ask me, I think the girl could do better. Her costume doesn’t represent kimono. blah blah blah”. No one is attacking her like that.
This is fascinating for me since I actually attended her lecture in my university in Jerusalem at the time. Basically for context I would like to say that she’s really nice and seemed very sincere and down to earth. she was raised in America and is half Korean from what I remember, and she never mentioned the dress (and I didn’t watch the show) but she did mention some “anime pants” she wore as one of the looks, which were also pink and very pop culture. I gotta say though, even if they went for that pop look it was still super tacky (I thought the pants could’ve been designed better as well) and I wish the designer consulted with someone Japanese or even some of our Asian studies professors. There are plenty of people in Israel who have native or academic knowledge and it’s sort of saddening that my own professor that made her lecture happen and was literally there not asked to at least help out with the Japanese references used for her as the Japanese rep in Israel. And another thing, the writing. Im personally studying Chinese and this is just an elective but wooww. If they wanted to make a statement on tattoos in Japan/ Asia (which I doubt they were even aware of after that dress) they could’ve easily chosen calligraphy! It’s such a wonderful way to express that idea in a modern way, but no, they had to copy in with what only looks like eyeliner liquid from google translate. Truly a shame:/
thanks for this insight! i think it must be even more upsetting to the israelis that actually ARE familiar with japanese culture that they are bypassed in favour of someone who clearly didn't know what they were doing, i don't think the designer needs to be japanese necessarily, but if the idea was to celebrate the israeli/japanese friendship/relations, how cool would it be to involve the israelis who are studying/have studied their culture to give their take on the outfit. The "tattoo" was horrendous, and my first thought was how could they not get someone who actually has some calligraphy skills?? I think that the idea of having a harajuku style was great, but the execution was.....🤦♂
When everyone represents their nation with the proper traditional attires, not the gimmick one, of course it has to be a serious tournament. You showed what your country represents of not showing what the stereotypical bizzare things that you were known of. That's the different
Do you even watch this pageant? Some other contestants like Canada and France look like stewardess! This one even if it look cheap it is noticeably Japanese.
Not many people know about Miss Universe Japan in Japan because the event wasn't held in Japan. If it was held in Japan, more Japanese people would be aware. Japan is an island country and just like any other country they focus on their own matters happening inside the country before anything else.
You can't say nowadays just because of the countries geography as modern day communication has no limits in terms of information dissemination. Perhaps 70 years ago, your argument would've been right. But not now. People just don't care.
@@michaellim4165 it's not really people don't care, but what kind of channel people will be informed? most of the time people get the info through main stream media, social media, etc. while japan main stream media doesn't report about it, how do you expect people know about it?
Thats not true because philippines is obessed like its national sport and its island. Your puffing air. The general population dont care. Just like the United states.
I watched the whole show and my reaction to Japanese contestant was like: what the heck!!! The material looks really cheap first of all; second, it is neither traditional nor creative; color or pattern can definitely done a lot better even if the designer wanna choose anime style
I think it was definitely disrespectful of Japanese culture! Also the “Lucky Cats”(?) in her hands look like cheap plastic or give that impression while I would have expected her to have the finest in everything that she was wearing or carrying as that is what is the Japanese way from everything I have seen and heard. Japanese seem to be very driven to give the best of everything as a sense of pride. She looks straight out of an Anime Festival 🙈
"I think it was definitely disrespectful of Japanese culture!" - fyi, its their, Japan, representative. did they not screen her before throwing her into the den? theres no one to blame but the japanese themselves, its their rep
I just have to point out the moment that guy said she should have ate tempura or something and the other ones were like that's not from Japan! And he made the most Japanese eh? Hahaha I loved that moment
4:59 - "And eat tempura or something..." - "Tempura is not Japanese!" - "What!?" That's because tempura was introduced by Portuguese in the XVI century. It would be interesting to know how aware are the Japanese about that. And there are a few who think curry is Japanese too (and who could blame them, curry is basically everywhere in Japan)
Tempura originally came from Portugal, but Portuguese tempura and Japanese tempura are different in the way they are eaten and prepared. And tempura is not eaten in Portugal now, so we can say that tempura is a Japanese dish. The same can be said for ramen. Ramen came from China, but Chinese ramen and Japanese ramen are very different. Many Chinese themselves say that ramen is a Japanese dish.
I can see why japanese folks woule be offended. Considering if that outfit was intended for representing their culture it does a terrible job and who ever thought of it should be embarassed.
I aspire to be that older regal gentleman. Intellectual without being condescending. Objective but still passionate. Nice to know they are out there :)
I wish this required more than two neurons to even think about in our current era to even care; I wish things so frivolous could matter. I'm in the US and had no idea this even aired, it seems like these beauty pageants are nowhere near as popular as they used to be and should stay in the past.
I'm not from Japan but I felt this is disrespectful. I mean, country's name wrote on chest and lucky cats on hands? That's not the way it should be. I'm so shocked when I heard that she was actually Japanese herself. Why would she do such thing to her own culture? Who is behind all this? It is not the first case we've seen. Why these type of thing keep happening in East Asia? Who is trying to distort east asian culture?
Adding to what that man said about it looks like anime, I think it's the color of her hair that adds to that factor, the bright pink and the way it's quite flashy gives very much anime cosplay girl vibes than anything related to a cultural costume
She was going to win in the headlines with the outfit worn and the written 日本 below her neckline if she dint win overall. Sad to say, unless the controversy was extreme, it will last a few days before it’s forgotten.
This is a fantastic video. In my opinion, I think miss japan represented japan very poorly with her outfit. As one of the interviewees said, to paraphrase what was said "first impressions are very important." To me, her outfit looked like a poorly made cosplay (no offense to cosplayers) than a work of art.
There is no rule that says Miss Universe's traditional costumes must necessarily follow tradition. Most countries around the world have arranged and flaunted them. And the problem this time is that the Japanese national director asked an Israeli designer to design the costume because the world pageant was to be held in Israel.I am Japanese, but if you want me to walk the runway in a Japanese kimono, I think the Miss Contest in Japan is enough.
When using the culture of another country, you should study with respect. Also, I don't think it was necessary to ask the four men. It is also unpleasant to think that Japanese people are all inexperienced.
13:44 What a nice answer! I also liked his answers to the other questions. I think the world would be a better place if everyone expressed their thoughts like him
This video is fantastic if you're learning Japanese and want examples of how to express an opinion. And the filler words are golden! Definitely want to use this for shadowing :-)
Most people are aware that there are both beautiful kimonos and crazy harajuku outfits in Japan, just like amazing temples and wonderful vending machines. All are representative of the culture and one doesn't exclude the other.
just because she represents japan doesn't mean she should appear dressed almost like a hatsune miku i felt like she was cosplay and that she was going to a comic con and not a contest
It’s so annoying when western media gets offended on behalf of a country. However the outfit seems equivalent to someone dressing in an Elvis impression with America written on his chest 😆
Nonetheless, Juri Watanabe paved way for Japan to place again in the Top 16 of MU and she has done a great job representing Japan. Honestly, I'm not really a fan of her National Costume Look from a pageant fan POV. (But I love her prelim evening gown tho. There's a touch of Japan) But more than her wardrobe, I hope people will focus more on how well-spoken, witty, and confidently beautiful Juri is. She has a story to tell -- she came from multicultural family and has pursued her studies despite being diagnosed with academic disability. I like it most when she made a special mention to Japan's very own Miss Universe 2007 Riyo Mori during her tête-à-tête with Steve Harvey after she was called in the Top 16. She was asked about who among the recent MU titleholders inspired her most and she mentioned Riyo and said that "she (Riyo) not only made Japanese people proud, but also showed that Asian Women can also be Queens when there were lack of Asian Representation at that time (2007)" From that answer alone, no wonder she finished strong in the competition. Hopefully, the winning streak of Japan would continue in the next years to come. Lastly, Juri Watanabe is a JAPANESE regardless if she has multicultural background or her parents are pure Japanese. It does not make her less of a Japanese Representative!
I'm not even keeping up with the Miss Universe pageant for about a decade now and I'm from Philippines literally the most Miss U obsessed country in SEA. So yeah, I think you're not missing out.
With the recent years' beauty pageants, Ms. Universe especially, have bastardized the concept of the national costume. Most the representation are of exaggeration of the "culture" of the country, which for me is cringy and does not promote positive image of one's culture and find it offensive.
Thank you Asian Boss!!! I'm surprised about the opinion of japanese people, I was expecting more like rigid opinions, but they were more open minded. Things are changing there...
if you’re not japanese i don’t think you should invalidate the feelings of japanese people nor say things like “it’s not offensive” when you’re not japanese (in these comments)
The Japanese word on her upper chest looked terrible. It's almost as if they're in a hurry that they just used a MARKER. Such an unprofessional designer :((
If it was supposed to celebrate specifically Harajuku fashion, I don’t even think it did THAT well. I’ve seen properly worn kimonos with bright colors and accessories from Harajuku that celebrates both tradition AND modern fashion without stepping on either.
Am I the only one who thinks that Miss Universe Japan was being ironic and trying to make fun of foreigner's image/expectations of Japan, except her audience isn't self-aware enough to realize she's making fun of them? Like that guy said, she should have brought sushi, just push the absurdity to the extreme.
I dont think it was supposed to be a kimono at all.. it doesn’t even resemble one. Plus he said it was supposed to be Harajuku inspired, so I don’t see what the problem is or how it would be offensive. It’s being interpreted the wrong way
Japan is such a mature country, that irrelevant slights like these never make the news. Or the public consciousness. Japan had joined the ranks of Canada, USA, Australia, UK. You can insult the word USA all you want, trample their flag on video. And absolutely nobody in America would care. The same is true in Japan. But if it were China who had their contestant wear it. Or an immature country like theirs. The foreign minister, press secretary, interior minister, would all be making a fuzz about it.
The interviewees are so level-headed and polite. I imagine if I was being interviewed, my answer would be more “spicy” because the design is so ugly! 🙈
I agree that it’s flashy and tacky and not a great representation of Japan as a whole (but instead specifically Harajuku), but isn’t it just as ignorant for Western media to tell a Japanese girl that her style isn’t “Japanese” enough or is offensive to Japanese people… when she is a Japanese person?
Hello, Maybe you're lost, but you're in the comments section of a video where Japanese people said the people who made the outfit should've learned about Japanese culture before making it.
@@viiviviviiv Yes I’m aware. But if Western media followed their own rules on offensiveness and appropriation, they wouldn’t dare, as Westerners, to critique her as a Japanese girl.
it's kinda funny becuase almost everytime you hear a similar topic and they go ask actual Japanese people living in japan they go "ow, nah we don't mind it" but this time they actually did. and that's the people living in their own country as the majority, living outside your country as a minority the false representation is further magnified as the damage is greater to the people who have been falsely represented.
whether you think this was offensive or not. you gotta admit this outfit was trash. even if she was celebrating harajuku culture it was done poorly and it just looks more like a party dress rather than a pageant dress
I've seen better low budget cosplays than that lol. Imagine what that designer got paid to come up with this.
Agreed. Harajuku fashion has always been about breaking norms for the sake of breaking norms, and being extra.
I was confused when they said it was to celebrate harajuku fashion. i would say harajuku fashion is more elaborate than that, and definitely much more pleasing to the eye in a weird way
Absolutely. The outfit was bad 😅
It looks ugly. I thought it was a cosplay gone wrong kind of stuff lol.
I agree with that one guy. That doesn't even look like a kimono. No need to call it a kimono just because it's a Japanese woman. It's a dress.
I’m Japanese and I totally agree with you
हाँ मुझे तो पहली नज़र में ये लगा था कि किसी के-पॉप आईडल की ड्रेस है, किमोनो नहीं।
well said.
If it's worn by a chinese, korean or any other asians, I bet they won't say it's a kimono.
I mean... Kimono is technically everything. It just means thing to wear... People just don't use it as that anymore since it's not the normal thing to wear anymore.
Less than a minute in and the contestant's outfit looks cheap and tacky. I'm genuinely surprised she went to Miss Universe like that. I'm used to seeing well thought out, beautiful outfits from the contestants but this looks like something an "influencer" would wear to Halloween.
I just hope this was an intentional albeit cheap attempt to grab attention. If Anyone involved at any point thought this is genuinely a good costume I think I just lost faith in humanity. (Again).
I would imagine you aren't familiar with harujuku culture. I personally find it to be fun way to express themselves in a very stifling society. I think it's a cool idea to showcase it. Being as it's a dying art. But ultimately, it didn't measure up in it's "wow factor", it was too simple. They didn't do justice to harujuku girls. "Cheap and tacky" isn't the right (or nicest) way to describe it.
Yeah I think the design is awful. I think it was made with good intentions but I don’t like the design. At all. I have had a lot of Japanese friends and I feel like crazy bold colours aren’t really as common for Japanese girls to wear. It happens of course, but I think more commonly earthy natural colours are more popular with Japanese girls.
The makeup looked very western too and the lucky cats were kind of a stupid addition. The writing was also very messy. I’m not Japanese and I could have written it neater. It feels like an outfit a child would design.
Wouldn't it become a new trend if influencers do it often?
@@aliddlebird there were too many inaccuracies for it to be considered harajuku to me. They could have used a more funky hairstyle/hair pins, accessories and played around with more colors. But they chose to go with 2 gold maneki nekos that look completely chinese in design instead of its japanese version, and wrote a tacky "日本" in children's font on the chest. I found these aesthetic choices puzzling and ugly, it didn't resemble the fun and wackiness of harajuku culture.
That middle-aged man has to be one of the most intellectual people interviewed by Asian Boss. Not only was he very open-minded about this topic, but he also showed compassion towards the contestant and designer by carefully choosing his words.
Yes. He's so kind and diplomatic.
Definitely, I wish I had that level of speech
@@ElTioPental It is OK. You have action, speech, and the mind. It is very difficult to balance all three. Some or most people are benevolent in one or two areas and needs work with the other one. Just need the right timing, momentum, and willpower to change. No one can instantly change in one night.
More like choosing to save face 🤣
@@youtubeshadowbannedmeIn what ways?
I don't know about being culturally offensive since I am not Japanese but that horrendous dress, sure is offensive to my eyes.
That "tattoo" really did look like someone drew on it with a Sharpie lol. One of the things I love about Japanese culture is the calligraphy, and the look of the brushstrokes. I'm really into sumi-e and similar artwork from Japan, so it was funny to hear them say that. I thought it was a little flashy too, which gave of a lot of anime references in terms of style.
Really refreshing to hear and see, however, that Japanese people weren't all too upset and disgraced by the outfit. Some were even kind of appreciative of the effort. I think that's really cool.
Calligraphy is adapted from chinese culture tho.
i was thinking the same 😂 i think the only thing that really offended me was the lack of effort with the "tattoo". there are so many gorgeous calligraphy styles they could have used, but they went with this smudgy, asymmetric scribble
I love the chaotic energy of that group of guys having a laugh with this interview. Everything that followed from 4:53 was comedy gold.
Or Bubble Tea 🧋;) ... straight outta Taiwan 🇹🇼
@@0xDEAD-C0DE Portugal, I think.
@@ask4982 Yep, its portuguese xD
@Michael O'Neil In Japan, those introduced from China during the Nara and Heian periods were battered with rice flour and other ingredients. Later, in the 16th century, Portuguese Catholic missionaries introduced to Japan the Western method of cooking fried foods using flour.
LITERALLY 😭
Basically Japanese people don't care about the miss universe pageant itself but agree the outfit indeed sucked.
I also wish we could see the opinions of Japanese who take part in Harajuku fashion. This style can so eccentric yet elegant at the same time and she did Harajuku no justice
That's how I felt. The outfit didn't do justice to either traditional Japanese fashion or Harajuku fashion.
People living as a minority in another country aren't always going to feel the same as people in their home country. As a minority, you are reliant on your portrayal in the media. As someone who was bullied for weird japanese stereotypes shown in the UK, it was upsetting to see this outfit. That being said, the cats were hilariously awful 😂
That explains the situation perfectly. Thanks. I am sure this can be said for all minorities.
Why are you invalidating her experience? So you're saying shes not really Japanese? She has a right to dress how she wants to. Maybe she wanted to spice things up and not do the stereotypical kimono thats been done 1000 times. Maybe she wanted to project a different more modern image of Japan, or how she feels about Japan. You have a right to not like what she wore, but invalidating her just sounds mean and bullying.
@@tubester4567 How do you spin it into this ? Lol you're completely off
@@AncientSpirit. The OP inferred because she lives in another country she doesnt understand the culture. That sounds kind of racist.
@@tubester4567 it's not racist tho. That really happens especially if people grew up in another country away from the culture of their home country.
Wow, that one older guy was about the most chill old Japanese guy I've seen on any interview ever. "I think lots of people would be offended but also it's probably fine and we should all just chill out because it's kind of anime-like" (paraphrased)
Yeah... Finishing this, was that guy a politician?! Like he was just super chill about everything! This isn't meant as a criticism of him, I'm just kind of shocked at how "middle of the road" he seemed, which is pretty uncommon in many places.
@@Zelmel I noticed him too. I guess because of his age I unfairly assumed he would be more on the conservative side of this, but then he was super woke and every answer of his was just super wholesome.
@@shizachan8421 "super woke" lmaooo I don't think that's right
the wise old man
Same! He’s good! 🥰✨
I'm sorry, but is it supposed to represent the "real" kimono? I don't think many people will think that's how a real kimono supposed to look like.
However, that's an ugly outfit
I agree, it’s an ugly outfit
As a general outfit... It's ugly.
I know the long flowing cardigans are called kimonos too and definitely don’t match the correct description. I feel like that was the best word choice they could think of w/o looking back at its’ history.
That "tattoo" made everything just worse.
Her make up makes the 400 pounds woman looks like an angel compared to her
there's nothing redeemable about the look. it's horrifying. even if you just look at it as a normal dress, it's still ugly because the material looked so cheap. looks like the designer didn't even bother to do a research because one google search can tell you that's definitely not harajuku fashion. it's just embarrassing to look at.
Harajuku fashion looks pretty cheap as well to be fair
The problem is the ‘Kimino’ looked so gimmicky in direct comparison to every other country who wore refined traditional clothes with attention to details if not beautiful dresses, I don’t know if the designer had a problem with Japan to put the model in the dress.
hmmm not sures i follow or know were chur getting at but i do know tis tho 😄 holy cpt. fudgepecker tat pink outfits just fantaticly HOWT on her X3 + it comidates her wuvly apperance more 😊 .....witch leads meh too say y are ppl getting offencive about tis 🤔????
@@shadowdragonx07 I do not believe it is offense but more general confusion about what the dress was supposed to be. If a Kimono then this is a deep misrepresentation of a traditional and dignified outfit, even with the Emperor’s Crees, it’s a grey area. Honestly it looks like five stereotypes pushed into one. Chinese style buns, pink hair with two lucky cats on each side and the horrid ‘Nihon’ written across.
Israeli designer.
It's always them.
every single time.
Every gown/dress/costume was hella ugly.
It was mentioned that the inspiration was related to "Harajuku style" which is a lot flashier with tons of pink and bright colours, and it tends to be a lot more freeform. But even then harajuku style (Based on some googling and what I've seen) isn't excessively showy and the general idea of the design the person made kinda seems to make me think of a mix of Oiran (pr*situte) and Harajuku (as the kimono on the shoulders is a scene often shown in movies/anime with Geishas/Oiran.)
Overall, I'd say the designer might've had interest in Japan, but that interest wasn't deep enough and understanding of Japanese culture enough, so that he made crucial mistakes by designing clothing for a country where traditions/rules/precision are all extremely important (or I guess he checked some videos/images of different Japanese styles and found the "Harajuku style" to be the flashiest and most fitting with his own idea of "style.") For Japanese, I'd imagine, that culturally the "dead person's kimono" thing was the biggest mistake, followed with the excessive skin shown, and those are things most experienced Japanese designers could've helped the Isreali designer with.
Most Japanese people will likely be against it, but I don't think the competition is big enough in Japan to be major news, just some people who check twitter might notice it and think it's kinda stupid, so I guess the backlash on the "western side" might've been exaggerated, though it was a bad outfit not representative of Japan most definitely.
I felt like the dress was far more physically offensive rather than culturally offensive.
4:32 I completely agree with this man. I think it'd be more correct to call her dress a "kimono inspired" dress instead of an incorrectly worn kimono, because to me it doesn't really look like a traditional kimono anyways.
Yes Maybe the designer watched too much anime😂
4:51 "They should have brought sushi on stage...........or eat tempura."
My boy is straight savage! I love it.
The designer being from Israel made no sense in the context of the pageant representing YOUR country… unless the designer was familiar with Japanese culture and knowledgeable on how kimonos are made… which wasn’t the case.
leave it to jizzrael to insult the entire world over and over again
Ikr?
Israel hates culture, look at a lot of architecture and post-modernist stuff and you can see the influences
@@AUMINER1 thank that jizzrael that America and Europe have any chance of winning in front of Russia and China in Asia.
I think it matters that he was from Israel, because the overall style adopted is the same as their Eurovision winner a few years ago, maneki neko and all. I guess he thought he could shock the international audience into winning.
Tbh seeing “Japan” on her chest was offsetting, writing on people is sometimes used as downgrading and sometimes s3xualized. Also her outfit looked so cheap and stereotypical
my exact thoughts!
Not only that, the writing wasn't even beautiful. Like it was done in a hurry, last minute.
@@grapesurgeon true
What do you mean, stereotypical? National costumes are supposed to be stereotypical.
@@mfreak1126 she probably means that the costume perpetuated the stereotypes of westerners on Japanese Culture.
I would assume the taboo (right over left wrapping, “tattoo”) and gimmicky aspects (maneki neko, oiran cut, bright pink) of the outfit were intentional in provoking controversy. Is that a good idea for celebrating the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations? Probably not. Does it look super tacky? Absolutely.
True I was suspecting the same, a bit too much of a coincidence if you ask me.
Good point. On the other hand why do people care about Miss Universe? If they want to dress up weird or offensively, let ‘em. Ain’t harming anybody except themselves. If it was intentionally done, then mission accomplished. they got people talking about it.
Unless you're coming from Beijing or some more controlling states, the governments in many countries are not involved deeply (aside from organizing proper visas) for the contestants. So, it isn't clear what this has to do with an anniversary of diplomatic relations.
I would have never thought she was actually Japanese born. To go out like that is beyond embarrassing. I can’t believe she’s representing Japan. It’d make a lot more sense if she’s a dual citizen and grew up abroad.
An Israeli designer was chosen to celebrate the relations between the two countries?! Seems more like a bold diss to Japan with that outfit.
blame the designer not the model lol
@@zephdo2971 The Costume portion doesn't have a score in the preliminary portion of Miss Universe. I would just refuse to wear it if I am the one who was tasked to wear it.
@@zephdo2971 not gonna lie, i wacthed straight to 10:23 when i realized the designer was an israeli.... Lmao
This is just gonna insult japanese against both country, no mean to be politically but for sure rather than strenghten realtionship this just could be a humilliation to the japanese, but japanese gonna still be humble
probably the designer didn't wanted to go all in with the harajuku outfit idea and just toned it down until it turned into this nightmare. Happens a lot with other countries too, that wear traditional dresses modernized or toned down to the point that they end up looking like a mess.
it is actually deliberate, remember when shinzo abe served food on a shoe when he goes to israel?
I dont like that outfit too.. Seems cheap and inapropriate
@@grapesurgeon Meh, not really
cheap and inappropriate = pretty much sums up isreal
I think it will fit right in with other costumes (look at Canada and France) but the writing on the chest is just bizarre
disclaimer: this is just my opinion, take it with a grain of salt
I think there's a clear distinction between representing a culture and appreciating a culture. The model went there as a Japanese representative, to represent Japan (as far as I know.) It would only make sense to have a Japanese designer to achieve this goal, instead of having someone from a different country/culture to design the outfit. It destroys the whole purpose of being a representative of Japan.
While I think having people from other cultures and countries to appreciate Japan is a great thing, I didn't see this particular instance to be the time for that. Going back to what I said earlier, the point of having the Japanese representative attend this event was to represent the culture and country, not appreciate it through the lens of someone who isn't as knowledgeable on the culture of Japan.
I feel like the situation would have been totally fine if it had been an appreciation of Japan, rather than a representation of it. It might seem like I'm just being too picky/overthinking the difference of a representation vs appreciation but that's just how I interpreted this whole situation.
While I won't argue whether the outfit looks good or not (personally I think it looks god-awful but that's besides the point,) at the end of the day beauty is subjective and the validity of a representation should not be based on whether it looks good or bad. I saw quite a few people pointing out about how it looks ugly so I wanted to chime in and point out that whether the outfit looks good or bad is something completely irrelevant to the main problem/topic of this conversation.
Again, these are just my opinions, take it with a grain of salt.
It looks so awful. How can anyone find it beautiful??
@@hanzo9941 Again, to clarify, the point I'm making is that whether the outfit looks good or not is completely irrelevant, and that it ignores the whole point of the issue/problem at hand.
So for context, because the contest was held in Israel this year, the costume was designed by an Israeli designer, with tribute to Netta, an Israeli singer who worn kimono-inspired outfit when she won Eurovision. This national costume segment of the contest itself often focus on the performing aspect, hence the colorful and bright outfits not only from Miss Universe Japan but also other contestants
I disagree because I think it's more complicated than that, but it's nice to see a well-written opinion.
I think offensive is a very misused word. They believe her outfit is cringeworthy, absurd, and have opinions about it. But I don't think they are offended. The true emotion of being "offended" feels like personal attack that enrages you. When someone is actually offended, you can see the anger on their facial expression and hear it in their voice. The people interviewed do not exhibit this emotion in this video. Instead, it's more akin to showing someone something culturally absurd and asking for their opinion on it. Of course if someone is going against their cultural norms, you are going to feel weird and call it out. But that doesn't mean you are offended.
They couldn't even get Harajuku right 😅 it was like a confused Lolita Geisha with even tackier gold lucky cats. Miss Universe Japan (2014) Keiko Tsuji's samurai/warrior costume and Maria Kamiyama (2011) costume as Geisha with a sword are so much better.
The Israeli designer probably never went to Harajuku.
The elder interviewee said a lot of really good insights. There's a balance of progressive mindset while still respecting traditions and culture. He did not outright criticize the people involved but analyzed or tried to think as if he was in their shoes and gave compelling valid statements.
she literally is the " its halloween, ive got nothing else" look
or will be
Omg the “Japan” on her chest is sooo USA😂
The designer was Israeli
@@user-jn9qe5ly5r tell em the straight facts
Hah!
Flimsy stuff like this appeals a lot to westerners. Stunning and brave! 🤓
@@lancevance6346 no tf it doesn’t I thought she was a drag queen (I don’t find attractive)
I personally would have used a Japanese designer. Also, The issue with writing Japan on your body is if you have to write the name of the country you may no be doing the best job of representing the culture. You should be able to look at the person and think of the country it’s representing by using certain items and dress, it looks very much like an afterthought and sloppily done. For a miss universe pageant it just looks lazy, and I don’t think of things done lazily when I think about Japan. I think about intricately done/well thought out and executed things. I can imagine doing a more abstract take on Japan, maybe I would work with intricate fabrics and have Sakura flowers in my hair, or necklace with intricate Sakura flowers even, or on the shoes if I was doing s pop culture take. I definitely don’t think of Japanese culture when I see this outfit. I think of modern and older Japanese culture and I think of many things, but I think she is trying to play up a pop culture aspect of Japan rather than the traditional culture. Like an Andy Warhol take on a culture. If it was america I would imagine a big mac and a beer can and a flag if I thought of an analogous outfit. And I’m American. But that’s kind of the outfit that would be it’s American equal. I don’t know if I would have used a marker on my body, but rather a necklace with a symbol or word to refine it a little.
Your comment sounds kind of racist, and passive aggressive. If the only thing you think of about America is Beer and big macs, maybe its because you're racist. Plenty of styles and fashion come from US, like a cowboy/girl, prom wear, sportswear, or the many traditional fashions. Kids from all over the world wear US brands and styles.
I don't care about her outfit. But writing 日本 on your body 😶. I don't have words for that.
You should stop lying, you don't even watch the pageant! This one at least has a semblance of effort unlike other outfits for example from France and Canada.
@@syasyaishavingfun wait, if that was effort, I shudder to think what the other contestants wore 😂
@@tubester4567 But they're American... and more importantly... American isn't a race......
I love the dudes who where just messing around imao
They should have gotten sushi on stage LMAO
I don’t find it offensive, it’s just an ugly design.
Anime + traditional kimono of course itself is a good concept, but this is just ugly and badly executed. That’s all!
I would love if you did this interview for all the asian countries to see what the people thought about their national costumes
to me, and I have no serious experience with Japanese culture, it looks cheap. It looks like a costume you would get in a pop up halloween store. i would never think that it represented a culture outside of drunk sorority life.
It looks exactly how a 12 yo that bought a "how to draw manga" book would design a manga character.
I assume that dress was supposed to present Japan and if that rly was the case it was made pretty poorly atleast for my taste. I understand part about culture etc, but dress and overall outfit seems kinda cheap and doesnt rly show Japan in any sense.
It really looked extremely anime.
@@shizachan8421 it might not get the harajuku sense that it was meant to be, nevertheless, anime is one of Japan's culture. i dont see ur point other than trying to throw the blame on something else
@@shizachan8421 Don't compare anime wiht this diabolical monstrosity, you're insulting anime, we weebs indeed have questionable tastes, but that thing was way worse
@@leexingha I meant that the outfit looks like what some anime character would wear, though many anime and manga character designs are obviously heavily inspired by harajuku, its just the impression that I have of that outfit.
@@thatdude123 that's a joke, stop being humorless
After being in Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo I can definitely say we have a wrong image about how Japanese people actually dress like. Maybe it is due to anime, visual kei, gyaru and moe culture, but actually walking around the streets and seeing how people dress is quite an eye-opener.
I feel like Japanese people don't really care what happens outside Japan even if it's something related to Japan, but I can tell this could've became a huge topic if it was done in Japan itself
Facts
Most Japanese people can only read Japanese so they can't really know what happens outside if local news outlet don't talk about it.
sorry, we really care
How did they manage to misrepresent japanese and harajuku culture at the same time? If they wanted to represent harajuku fashion they could have done something really great, this just looks like a cheap costume, who thought this was ok for miss universe? Maybe for a north american college costume party...
Very knowledgeable interviewees. Made the video interesting. Also, the interviewer asked good questions.
It's simply a very ugly dress, and if it weren't for the 日本 scribbled on her chest I wouldn't have been able to tell it was representing Japan.
Japanese or not, clearly the designer should've done more research.
This dress was a big mess. But when the woman mentioned yhat the way it was wrapped was to wrap the deceased, I was floored 😰😵💫
"Tell me you did not do research without telling me."
The designer: *that dress*
Because Japan doesn’t care much about this kind of competition. The majority of people didn’t even know about this competition. So personally I don’t think her costume represents Japan but it only represents herself and a few staffs who designed it.
ur much on point. its a shame that her country people chooses to condemn her rather than feel sorry for not being able to properly educate their rep b4 sending her to battle
@@leexingha "properly educate" "sending her to battle". You do know this was designed by a tasteless Isreali designer right? Also why would Japan "educate properly" a random Japanese if the competitor was literally a Japanese herself? Wtf are you even trying to say? Please elaborate.
@@leexingha I believe that only a small portion of people commenting that she could do better but no one is condemning or attacking her. The foreign media makes it sound like this matter is being a big topic in Japan but no..it’s not. It wasn’t on trending nor on TV so no one cares if she did good or bad. No one knows if this competition was held. Lol
These people in the video only state their opinions because they were asked to. What they said is “I didn’t know about this competition. If you ask me, I think the girl could do better. Her costume doesn’t represent kimono. blah blah blah”. No one is attacking her like that.
This is fascinating for me since I actually attended her lecture in my university in Jerusalem at the time. Basically for context I would like to say that she’s really nice and seemed very sincere and down to earth. she was raised in America and is half Korean from what I remember, and she never mentioned the dress (and I didn’t watch the show) but she did mention some “anime pants” she wore as one of the looks, which were also pink and very pop culture. I gotta say though, even if they went for that pop look it was still super tacky (I thought the pants could’ve been designed better as well) and I wish the designer consulted with someone Japanese or even some of our Asian studies professors. There are plenty of people in Israel who have native or academic knowledge and it’s sort of saddening that my own professor that made her lecture happen and was literally there not asked to at least help out with the Japanese references used for her as the Japanese rep in Israel.
And another thing, the writing. Im personally studying Chinese and this is just an elective but wooww. If they wanted to make a statement on tattoos in Japan/ Asia (which I doubt they were even aware of after that dress) they could’ve easily chosen calligraphy! It’s such a wonderful way to express that idea in a modern way, but no, they had to copy in with what only looks like eyeliner liquid from google translate.
Truly a shame:/
thanks for this insight! i think it must be even more upsetting to the israelis that actually ARE familiar with japanese culture that they are bypassed in favour of someone who clearly didn't know what they were doing, i don't think the designer needs to be japanese necessarily, but if the idea was to celebrate the israeli/japanese friendship/relations, how cool would it be to involve the israelis who are studying/have studied their culture to give their take on the outfit.
The "tattoo" was horrendous, and my first thought was how could they not get someone who actually has some calligraphy skills?? I think that the idea of having a harajuku style was great, but the execution was.....🤦♂
But I thought the outfit and the whole thing were pre approved by Miss Universe Japan Organization?
4:58 That poor guy had the revelation that tempura is not Japanese in the most random setting lmao
When everyone represents their nation with the proper traditional attires, not the gimmick one, of course it has to be a serious tournament. You showed what your country represents of not showing what the stereotypical bizzare things that you were known of. That's the different
Anime is not a stereotype.
@@rayg4988 It is, and has no place in serious representations.
I am having difficulty processing ams understanding your second sentence, may you please reword it for me? Thank you^_^
Do you even watch this pageant? Some other contestants like Canada and France look like stewardess! This one even if it look cheap it is noticeably Japanese.
@@roberttranceedm it isn't?
A lot of un-realistic anime are just made for escapism...so it's not a stereotype
Insulting? no. Weird and ugly?. Definitely.
The interview was pure gold as usual, thank you Asian Boss!
This costume was pre approved by Japanese organizers of miss universe Japan. It's not her fault.
Fair point.
It's still on her for seeing that and thinking it was a good idea. In general it just looked awful as well.
Nobody says it's her fault, except stupid people.
alsoo the designers, the designer couldve researched more about the culture instead we got some cheap cosplay,
You need to interview the participant. I really want to know what was she thinking before agreeing to wear THAT.
Not many people know about Miss Universe Japan in Japan because the event wasn't held in Japan. If it was held in Japan, more Japanese people would be aware. Japan is an island country and just like any other country they focus on their own matters happening inside the country before anything else.
You can't say nowadays just because of the countries geography as modern day communication has no limits in terms of information dissemination. Perhaps 70 years ago, your argument would've been right. But not now. People just don't care.
@@michaellim4165 it's not really people don't care, but what kind of channel people will be informed? most of the time people get the info through main stream media, social media, etc. while japan main stream media doesn't report about it, how do you expect people know about it?
Thats not true because philippines is obessed like its national sport and its island. Your puffing air. The general population dont care. Just like the United states.
I think most people don't care about pageant in general.
As a foreigner I would have never recognized that dress to be a kimono.
I watched the whole show and my reaction to Japanese contestant was like: what the heck!!! The material looks really cheap first of all; second, it is neither traditional nor creative; color or pattern can definitely done a lot better even if the designer wanna choose anime style
I think it was definitely disrespectful of Japanese culture! Also the “Lucky Cats”(?) in her hands look like cheap plastic or give that impression while I would have expected her to have the finest in everything that she was wearing or carrying as that is what is the Japanese way from everything I have seen and heard. Japanese seem to be very driven to give the best of everything as a sense of pride. She looks straight out of an Anime Festival 🙈
"I think it was definitely disrespectful of Japanese culture!" - fyi, its their, Japan, representative. did they not screen her before throwing her into the den? theres no one to blame but the japanese themselves, its their rep
I just have to point out the moment that guy said she should have ate tempura or something and the other ones were like that's not from Japan! And he made the most Japanese eh? Hahaha I loved that moment
4:59
- "And eat tempura or something..."
- "Tempura is not Japanese!"
- "What!?"
That's because tempura was introduced by Portuguese in the XVI century. It would be interesting to know how aware are the Japanese about that. And there are a few who think curry is Japanese too (and who could blame them, curry is basically everywhere in Japan)
Tempura originally came from Portugal, but Portuguese tempura and Japanese tempura are different in the way they are eaten and prepared. And tempura is not eaten in Portugal now, so we can say that tempura is a Japanese dish. The same can be said for ramen. Ramen came from China, but Chinese ramen and Japanese ramen are very different. Many Chinese themselves say that ramen is a Japanese dish.
anyone else feel like it became so much worse when they mentioned that it was related to the 70th anniversary of relations?
I can see why japanese folks woule be offended. Considering if that outfit was intended for representing their culture it does a terrible job and who ever thought of it should be embarassed.
It's like she was cosplaying a Japanese anime character more than anything. It was up to the costumers to get it right, not her.
She's like an over sexualized anime girls. 🤣
@@gearzone2611 She would have needed to wear a skimpier outfit with more cleavage.
As a Japanese, this outfit doesn't impress me at all. Kimono is more beautiful and elegant, this outfit looks pretty messy tbh.
@@EnigmazGuide I agree, it didn't go as far as to anger me.
Also your username and profile pic combo is interesting
The 4 kids were hilarious
bring sushi and tempura as well🤣🤣
I aspire to be that older regal gentleman. Intellectual without being condescending. Objective but still passionate. Nice to know they are out there :)
I wish this required more than two neurons to even think about in our current era to even care; I wish things so frivolous could matter. I'm in the US and had no idea this even aired, it seems like these beauty pageants are nowhere near as popular as they used to be and should stay in the past.
Its interesting to see how they all say they think majority of others will take an issue with it, but non of them saw it like that personally
I'm not from Japan but I felt this is disrespectful. I mean, country's name wrote on chest and lucky cats on hands? That's not the way it should be. I'm so shocked when I heard that she was actually Japanese herself. Why would she do such thing to her own culture? Who is behind all this? It is not the first case we've seen. Why these type of thing keep happening in East Asia? Who is trying to distort east asian culture?
Not disrespectful but rather tacky and weird.
>Who is behind all this?
people from that certain middle eastern country
It's always them.
runiing culture and civ
Adding to what that man said about it looks like anime, I think it's the color of her hair that adds to that factor, the bright pink and the way it's quite flashy gives very much anime cosplay girl vibes than anything related to a cultural costume
She was going to win in the headlines with the outfit worn and the written 日本 below her neckline if she dint win overall. Sad to say, unless the controversy was extreme, it will last a few days before it’s forgotten.
People these days are just too afraid to call ugly clothes, ugly.
This is a fantastic video. In my opinion, I think miss japan represented japan very poorly with her outfit. As one of the interviewees said, to paraphrase what was said "first impressions are very important." To me, her outfit looked like a poorly made cosplay (no offense to cosplayers) than a work of art.
There is no rule that says Miss Universe's traditional costumes must necessarily follow tradition. Most countries around the world have arranged and flaunted them. And the problem this time is that the Japanese national director asked an Israeli designer to design the costume because the world pageant was to be held in Israel.I am Japanese, but if you want me to walk the runway in a Japanese kimono, I think the Miss Contest in Japan is enough.
When using the culture of another country, you should study with respect. Also, I don't think it was necessary to ask the four men. It is also unpleasant to think that Japanese people are all inexperienced.
The problem that the world we live in is, everybody is hyper sensitive about everything. Im afraid to sneeze outside cause I might offend someone.
And many people also ignorant and you are being dramatic here lol
The outfit looks like a joke, it's a shame they didn't showcase Japanese culture in it's true beauty
I like the old man's responses the best. He's surprisingly more open minded about it and neutral.
13:44 What a nice answer! I also liked his answers to the other questions. I think the world would be a better place if everyone expressed their thoughts like him
This video is fantastic if you're learning Japanese and want examples of how to express an opinion. And the filler words are golden! Definitely want to use this for shadowing :-)
Most people are aware that there are both beautiful kimonos and crazy harajuku outfits in Japan, just like amazing temples and wonderful vending machines. All are representative of the culture and one doesn't exclude the other.
A lot of people who aren't interested in japan don't even know the differences between japan and china or between japan and south korea.
That dress didn't represented Kimono's or Harajuku fashion.
just because she represents japan doesn't mean she should appear dressed almost like a hatsune miku i felt like she was cosplay and that she was going to a comic con and not a contest
It’s so annoying when western media gets offended on behalf of a country. However the outfit seems equivalent to someone dressing in an Elvis impression with America written on his chest 😆
Nonetheless, Juri Watanabe paved way for Japan to place again in the Top 16 of MU and she has done a great job representing Japan.
Honestly, I'm not really a fan of her National Costume Look from a pageant fan POV. (But I love her prelim evening gown tho. There's a touch of Japan)
But more than her wardrobe, I hope people will focus more on how well-spoken, witty, and confidently beautiful Juri is. She has a story to tell -- she came from multicultural family and has pursued her studies despite being diagnosed with academic disability.
I like it most when she made a special mention to Japan's very own Miss Universe 2007 Riyo Mori during her tête-à-tête with Steve Harvey after she was called in the Top 16. She was asked about who among the recent MU titleholders inspired her most and she mentioned Riyo and said that "she (Riyo) not only made Japanese people proud, but also showed that Asian Women can also be Queens when there were lack of Asian Representation at that time (2007)"
From that answer alone, no wonder she finished strong in the competition. Hopefully, the winning streak of Japan would continue in the next years to come.
Lastly, Juri Watanabe is a JAPANESE regardless if she has multicultural background or her parents are pure Japanese. It does not make her less of a Japanese Representative!
I just realised that I haven't seen or read anything about the Miss Universe pageant in the media here in the Netherlands. Who won this year?
I believe it was India
@@estherramsay445 Okay, thank you!
@@myafelicia sure thing, I had to look it up just to be sure after commenting to you and it was correct.
I'm not even keeping up with the Miss Universe pageant for about a decade now and I'm from Philippines literally the most Miss U obsessed country in SEA. So yeah, I think you're not missing out.
With the recent years' beauty pageants, Ms. Universe especially, have bastardized the concept of the national costume. Most the representation are of exaggeration of the "culture" of the country, which for me is cringy and does not promote positive image of one's culture and find it offensive.
Thank you Asian Boss!!! I'm surprised about the opinion of japanese people, I was expecting more like rigid opinions, but they were more open minded. Things are changing there...
I saw the designer's reference from Nette's outfit which she won Eurovision and inspire in Japan culture.
if you’re not japanese i don’t think you should invalidate the feelings of japanese people nor say things like “it’s not offensive” when you’re not japanese (in these comments)
I'm not japanese and I'm offended hahaha
@@telmopaz editing my comment because i read wrong, sorry lol 👩🦲 embarrassing 😭
@@nihilistlemon1995 oh you’re right, i read wrong 💀 i thought they were mocking what i was saying 😦 embarrassed myself fr on this one 😵💫
@@jennieobsessed lmaooo, we all make mistakes
I don't think you should invalidate the feelings of people with different opinions for internet good boy points but here we are.
Reporter: serious, controversy, culture
random woman: too much pinku
Knowing how tightly controlled mainstream media is in Japan, I am very certain that it isn't discussed on TV on purpose.
The Japanese word on her upper chest looked terrible. It's almost as if they're in a hurry that they just used a MARKER. Such an unprofessional designer :((
If it was supposed to celebrate specifically Harajuku fashion, I don’t even think it did THAT well. I’ve seen properly worn kimonos with bright colors and accessories from Harajuku that celebrates both tradition AND modern fashion without stepping on either.
I didn't even see a kimono in the 'dress' she wore :p
I thought it was just a special kind of pink little dress.
The dress was ugly. The lucky cats looked ridiculous. I would be offended because it was in very bad taste.
Am I the only one who thinks that Miss Universe Japan was being ironic and trying to make fun of foreigner's image/expectations of Japan, except her audience isn't self-aware enough to realize she's making fun of them?
Like that guy said, she should have brought sushi, just push the absurdity to the extreme.
For me it’s disrespectful to called it kimono. The representative maybe don’t really recognize her culture and traditions. 😢
I dont think it was supposed to be a kimono at all.. it doesn’t even resemble one. Plus he said it was supposed to be Harajuku inspired, so I don’t see what the problem is or how it would be offensive. It’s being interpreted the wrong way
i would have assumed it was an anime cosplay
Japan is such a mature country, that irrelevant slights like these never make the news. Or the public consciousness. Japan had joined the ranks of Canada, USA, Australia, UK. You can insult the word USA all you want, trample their flag on video. And absolutely nobody in America would care. The same is true in Japan.
But if it were China who had their contestant wear it. Or an immature country like theirs. The foreign minister, press secretary, interior minister, would all be making a fuzz about it.
They could've done better oml😭😭😭😭😭
She looked gorgeous and is not fake. That's what culture is now, for better or worse. She is a half Japanese half Korean, so she is being herself.
The interviewees are so level-headed and polite. I imagine if I was being interviewed, my answer would be more “spicy” because the design is so ugly! 🙈
The insulting part was that it was a crap costume
Yeah, it's kind of lackluster
I'm impressed some designer could create an outfit so ugly that even someone as beautiful as her couldn't pull it off.
I agree that it’s flashy and tacky and not a great representation of Japan as a whole (but instead specifically Harajuku), but isn’t it just as ignorant for Western media to tell a Japanese girl that her style isn’t “Japanese” enough or is offensive to Japanese people… when she is a Japanese person?
Hello, Maybe you're lost, but you're in the comments section of a video where Japanese people said the people who made the outfit should've learned about Japanese culture before making it.
@@viiviviviiv Yes I’m aware. But if Western media followed their own rules on offensiveness and appropriation, they wouldn’t dare, as Westerners, to critique her as a Japanese girl.
Heck, I didn't even know they were still doing Miss Universe pageants, let alone knowing about anything "controversial."
it's kinda funny becuase almost everytime you hear a similar topic and they go ask actual Japanese people living in japan they go "ow, nah we don't mind it" but this time they actually did. and that's the people living in their own country as the majority, living outside your country as a minority the false representation is further magnified as the damage is greater to the people who have been falsely represented.