Okay... well... moving past the ruckus here a little, as I don't want to get involved~
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Originally Posted by MikeB
Where were you based?
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Kansai, in an large urban area near Osaka. Big enough to have a noticeable fashion district, but gyaru wasn't so popular at the time, there was a bit of a 'pale skin' craze going on, which is at odds with fake tanning. At least, I never saw the yukata kind you were talking about, or the other extreme forms of it. I guess there were more of the 'everyday gyaru' sorts about.
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Originally Posted by MikeB
There is that about Japanese culture, everything ought to be done in groups. Mind you he was a complete weirdo and looked fairly odd no matter what he was wearing. But I think a Japanese person might get a similar response. Still, nobody got angry with him, though we all thought it was a bit funny. If he had have gone to a Summer festival, even on his own, however I don't think anybody would have found it odd.
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At the end of the day, those kinds of mistakes are usually pretty harmless. Like you said with the toilet slipper thing, you're easily forgiven especially if it's as though you don't know better or can't help it. Like you can't really get mad at the local eccentric for not being normal!
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Originally Posted by MikeB
<snip> The black people I knew mostly hated them for that, some of whom argued that it was in some way "stealing their culture" or something similar. I think some people might assume that Japanese people have the same sort of logic. But it's quite the opposite, if you make an effort it will be appreciated. But like anywhere if you act like a weirdo it won't be. What's the anime called by the way?
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I guess it's a little different though; due to the history and how African Americans have had to fight for a voice, so I can see why that might cause more upset than it would in Japan. It's kind of reciprocal anyway; Japanese culture borrows from British culture, and we don't see that as 'stealing'. If anything it's seen as sort of sweet, or a refreshing take on what is over here a tired old theme.
The kabuki thing is a manga; the article I read was here:
asahi.com