There are many ways in which one can bring out reactions out of people, either negative or positive. For instance, one might falsify a mental illness, or speak to others half in one language and half in another. There are literally thousands of ways in which to cause cognitive dissonance amongst the populace. After observing the culture of America for some time, I decided that I could best study them through a similar sort of deviance. I decided to dress myself in the ancient garb of the Japanese Samurai. I received many varying responses from the subjects, and so I have gathered my data.
I think it would be best to give a brief summary of my clothing & the history thereof. Let's start from the ground up. On my feet, I wore Zori. Zori are a sort of Japanese sandal. They are constructed out of bamboo, and are held to the feet with soft, velvet like straps. Each sandal is identical to the other, so there is no left or right. Around my waist and legs, I wore the famous Hakama. Hakama are an extremely baggy pair of pants, with the crotch set about four to six inches below the groin. They were used by the samurai to hide their leg movements while in battle. There where also a set of hakama which measured around 12 feet in length. These where used in the house of the Shogun, so that if the samurai where an assassin, then it would prove very difficult to get up and attack someone. I also wore a standard, Olympic style, martial arts jacket. While not entirely historically accurate, the served it's purpose quite well. In actual samurai gi (a martial artist's uniform); the jacket has only three-quarter sleeves, and has a very heavy weave, so that it wouldn't rip when the samurai fell from his horse.
I went to two different places wearing this gi, and received very different reactions from each area. I went first to the Gila Pueblo Campus in Globe, Arizona. Here, people regarded me with strange looks & offhand comments. From my arrival at the school, till the end of the day, here is my recollection of the day. At approximately 10:00 am, outside the main school building, there were two women. The stared at me, and as I came closer to them, they backed away, and finally turned around and left. When I got into class, our teacher stared at me, and then put her eyes down. She stared at me a second time and finally asked me about what I was wearing. She had an idea that it was Japanese, but she wasn't sure. One of the girls in the class stared at my briefly, and then, as if realizing what she was doing, looked away and had no visual contact throughout the rest of the class. A second girl in the class, one of the high school children, asked me if I had someplace to go after class. I ended that portion of the study at 12:00 pm and didn't begin again until later that day. At 4:30 pm, I entered another of my classes, once again wearing the gi. I received a great deal of glances and stares from my fellow students, but only one said anything. A man I was sitting next to asked me if I was wearing the gi because of something to do with Kendo. Kendo is the samurai's art of swordplay. The only other person in the classroom that said anything was the professor. She asked me if I had just gotten up, on account of my wearing a "robe." Once again I left that class at 5:50 pm, and returned to another class later that evening. I put on the gi again, and arrived at class around 7:30 pm. As soon as I entered the room, an older woman asked me if I was planning on giving a demonstration. There were two younger women in the back of the class. One asked what I was wearing, and I told her. The other told me that I looked "cute" in it. A middle-aged Apache woman said "So you. . . and stuff?" In the periods there, she moved her hands in what she believed to be a stereotypical way of the Karateka, or practioners of Karate. Another woman tried starting a discussion in class about it. The only remark that had any understanding came from an 18 year old woman. She asked if I was wearing and Aikido uniform. The Aikido practioners wear something very similar to that of the ancient samurai.
As I said before, I attended two different places, the second being the Matsuri festival in downtown Phoenix. The Matsuri festival is an ancient Japanese celebration of the drums. The first thing I noticed was that I was not the only one wearing gi. There where many others present. Most of the others where part of some demonstration that was happening. In this place, people where far more accepting of my gi, and much less judgmental. In fact, many of those present where actually very respectful. One man came to me and asked if I might recommend to him a local Aikido school. I directed him toward Aikido of Scottsdale and he went along his way. Many people bowed to me, and I, knowing something of Japanese culture, returned their greeting, even murmuring the common Japanese greeting, "Ohaiyo Gozaimasu." When I and my comrades latter knelt at a table to sit and eat sushi, a young Japanese woman sat and ate with us. Also, I went to speak with one of the others dressed in similar gi. I received an amazing gift of a $200 coupon to visit their local dojo. It was an interesting experience.
It was very interesting to see how this small deviance from aesthetic norms affected all other aspects of society. How it affected my social standing in particular, was proof that one can change another's whole perspective by simply changing their clothes. The way I was treated at the festival may have even gone beyond mere social norms, and extended into the moral or supernatural realm. The coupon showed proof that by altering slightly, one might be able to gain great economic status. Lastly, the man asking me for advice showed a sort of political change.
This experience allowed me to step outside of my cultural skin, and view the world from a different stand point. To see how all things are interconnected proved a very vivid demonstration of the matrix, and how it affects every aspect of our lives.
