KITA-KYUSHU, Fukuoka Prefecture–The mayor here is hoping to turn the trend of many young people donning eccentric costumes for the traditional coming-of-age ceremony into a tourism opportunity.
Super flashy garments that some youths tend to wear in Kita-Kyushu for the ceremony draw considerable attention to the area every year.
Believing such clothes are “gaining fame the world over” as part of the fashion world, Kita-Kyushu Mayor Kazuhisa Takeuchi on Sept. 11 touched upon his intention of promoting the style as the city’s peculiar tourism resource.
The mayor’s remarks came after Junko Inoue, a municipal assembly member affiliated with the Liberal Democratic Party, asked Takeuchi whether he deemed such fashion a tourist draw, during her general inquiry at an assembly session that day.
Takeuchi referred to the works of a rental clothing shop that handles ostentatious garments in Kita-Kyushu as an example of success in a globally renowned fashion show. The pieces went on display at New York Fashion Week on Sept. 11.
“The costumes native to this city are an unconventional design, and they’re beginning to enter the spotlight from a global standpoint,” Takeuchi said.
Takeuchi contended it is “time for us to change our views on them.”
“We will be promoting this,” he said. “Young people in our town have made this happen–they have refined it and brought it into form with their creativity and sensitivity, in the context of fashion and art. I want to draw on it as a resource unique to Kita-Kyushu.”
The showy style has been criticized for “damaging the mood of the new adult ceremony” and “unfairly portraying the city as a rough area.” The city government once called on new adults to wear more formal clothing.
Hiroyuki Kashiwai, head of Kita-Kyushu’s planning and coordination bureau, remained cautious about publicizing its coming-of-age events noted for eccentric costumes.
Following the mayor’s comments, Kashiwai said attention should be paid to the manner in which the ceremony’s solemn ambience can be preserved. He stated that the local government will “carefully weigh” approaches to promoting the city.
Inoue used to dress up in a banana-themed mascot’s costume to promote Kita-Kyushu as a municipal staff member.
Given her firsthand experience, Inoue argued the city government should consider campaigns that will take place outside the coming-of-age ceremony venue, to improve the public’s idea of Kita-Kyushu.
“Wearing flashy clothing for cosplay and other objectives will pose no problem, as long as they are donned on proper occasions in appropriate places at the right time,” she said.
Many young people in ostentatious garments have recently refrained from entering the ceremony’s venue, according to Kita-Kyushu officials. They are showcasing their costumes outdoors around the venue, instead, posing no disruptions for the ceremony.
Source : The Asahi Shimbun
