We’ve hit an interesting turning point in our culture where pre-existing ideas surrounding fashion and gender norms are being pushed to the point where it’s now normal to see men rocking dresses and women sporting tuxedos in mainstream media. While it’s easy to attribute this approach to clothing that rejects heteronormative behaviours to the forward-thinking trend-setters of Gen Z, the practice of cross-dressing has been a round for far longer than Harry Styles.
In fact, there are countless references to people wearing clothes of the opposite sex in Japanese history as well as in ancient legends like that of Yamato Takeru, a prince who is said to have disguised himself as a young maid as a strategy to defeat his enemy.
In this eye-opening exhibition of Shibuya’s Shoto Museum of Art, visitors will shown how cross-dressing has prevailed for centuries of Japan, with photographs of traditional kabuki actors on performing on stage to posters of the Diamonds Are Forever drag group.