What's this? Book review of Paul van Riel's photo book.

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Impressions: APaul van Riel, the book's photographer from Holland, has visited Japan 50 to 60 times on photo assignments since 1978. He has consequently built up a "vast and somewhat chaotic" collection of photos of Japan. Then finally in the fall of 1998, he started shooting pictures especially for this book.

The problem is, the photos still look chaotic. Actually, the way they were put together in this book was chaotic. They are too random, incoherent, and abrupt, so it's hard to see a common thread running through the pictures. It is mostly a miscellaneous and superficial collection of street photos of people in kimono.

The pictures are divided into nine chapters such as "Festivals," "Geisha/maiko," and "Kabuki." Each chapter has only about 10 to 13 photos. This is too few to make it a serious book on kimono. If I were the book's editor, I would have eliminated the superfluous chapters (like "En route," "Work," and "Footwear") and added more pictures in the nitty-gritty ones such as "Festivals" and "Geisha/maiko" whose collection of pictures are disappointing.

The pictures are captioned, but often times it does not explain about the kimono the person is wearing. Some pictures are also too grainy (or blurred), and they should have been eliminated.

Regarding the randomness of the pictures, for example, in the section called "En Route," there's a very grainy picture of a woman sitting on the side of a protest truck operated by an ultra-nationalist group. She looks small in the picture and half her kimono is hidden by a black shawl. The caption explains more about the truck and nothing about the half-visible kimono. This is followed by a picture of three little boys in kimono sitting in their strollers. Then on the opposite page are the full-length backs of three women in kimono looking at cherry blossoms. After that, there is a maiko holding an umbrella in the rain. Then a women in kimono crossing the street. There is no logical order or progression or linkage in any of the nine chapters. The only exception is the short series of photos in "Kabuki" showing a kabuki actor putting on his make-up and kimono.

There are a few shots showing how a kimono is made. However, these photos are also disjointed (and in different chapters) and they do not educate you on the complete process of how a kimono is made. All you see is a woman or man spinning silk thread and a seamstress cutting the kimono material.

Also missing are photos of the different varieties of kimono found in different parts of Japan such as up north in snowy Akita Prefecture and in tropical Okinawa which has a rich and unique kimono culture (sample here) which deserves an entire book of its own. The only regional kimono shot is of a woman doing the pilgrimage of the 88 temples in Shikoku. (Even this should have been a full-length shot instead of a head shot.) Fifty or sixty trips to Japan and apparently the photographer has never made it to Okinawa. That's too bad.

Since this is only a coffee table book, my complaints shouldn't matter to the average reader who knows little about Japan. The book would likely delight such people and tourists. In my case, I'm armed with decades of experience living and photographing in Japan and looking at hundreds of Japan-related photo books, and so naturally I have a more critical eye. So you have to excuse me.

The book also has a short, one-sentence review by Arthur Golden, the author of the best-selling Memoirs of a Geisha novel. You should know that he is now being sued by Mineko Iwasaki, the former geisha whose life the novel was based on. He spent two weeks interviewing her in Kyoto for the novel. She asked that she and her family not be identified in the book. But he mentioned her name in the book's acknowledgements anyway despite her objections before the book went to press.

She also says that he wrote many inaccurate and defamatory episodes in the book. Thus, instead of helping people understand more about the geisha, he has skewed (or screwed) it even more. What makes it worse is that movie director Steven Spielberg will be using the novel as the basis for a new movie. I sure hope he consults Ms. Iwasaki so that this ripple effect of mass misunderstanding can be stopped or corrected. (Read more about her complaints and lawsuit at a Japan Times news article.)

The book's four-page introduction was written by Liza Dalby who is widely hyped as being the only foreigner to have become a geisha in Kyoto. The problem with this is that, she did it for only one year while as a college student for a dissertation and was never a full-fledged geisha like her Japanese counterparts. It actually takes years to become a real geisha. Typically, the girl is about 15 or 16 years old when she first becomes an apprentice. After taking endless music and dance lessons, she is certified as a geisha at around age 20. It's not a simple matter of just dressing up in a geisha costume and going to parties like Mrs. Dalby did. (Kyoto also has photo studios which will dress you in real geisha/maiko make-up and kimono for picture taking.)

Dalby writes about kimono history, the geisha and their kimono, her experiences with kimono while she was an "American geisha" in Kyoto, and how the kimono has become less practical and less compatible in the modern age.

When I saw Golden's and Dalby's names on the book, I cringed a little. These days, it seems that any English book about the geisha or kimono has one or both of their names stamped on it. Frankly, I'm tired of seeing their names on such books. Golden can't even get his geisha facts straight. Are we to trust his comments? And is he now a photo critic and kimono expert? Golden and Dalby are not the only people in the world who can comment on the geisha and kimono. Why not use comments from real Japanese experts on kimono or geisha instead? Such as the headmaster of a leading geisha training school or the president of a kimono school or kimono manufacturer? Such people are more qualified. Just translate their comments into English.

Hotei Publishing, the book's publisher based in the Netherlands, is a fine publisher of books on Japanese culture and art. They are doing a great job in introducing Japan to the West. They have published quite a few books on Japanese woodblock prints. One marvelous book, titled The Female Image, shows a masterpiece collection of many color woodblock prints of Japanese beauties in kimono. If you like kimono, I can highly recommend this book although it's understandably expensive at around US$100.

Another great book about kimono is titled The Book of Kimono by Norio Yamanaka and published by Kodansha International. This is a definitive work explaining just about all aspects of the kimono including how to wear one. It's a great reference book, profusely illustrated, and easy to read. It's available at amazon.com, etc.

Special thanks to Hotei Publishing for sending me a review copy of Kimono even though they might not be so pleased with this book review. They probably will never send me another review copy again. Just keep in mind that when I criticize, I do it to help the artist improve his or her work. It is not done out of spite, envy, or for the fun of it. (Reviewed by Philbert Ono)

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* The book's publisher has graciously sent me the following note (reprinted with permission) in response to my book review:

Wed, 29 Aug 2001

Dear Philbert Ono,

Thanks for writing the review on 'Kimono' published on the PhotoGuide Japan website. Being the publisher I have of course read the review with great interest. First of all you don't need to worry if Hotei will send you other books to review, of course we will. Everybody is entitled to his/her own opinion. And frankly I prefer this kind of review over the kind that really doesn't express any opinion at all. In fact if you don't mind I will send you a copy of the next photography book that I will be offered

Best regards,

Frank Vermeer
Publisher
Hotei Publishing
Zoeterwoudsesingel 56
2313 EK Leiden
The Netherlands
Please visit Hotei at:
www.hotei-publishing.com

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