Wafuku x Yofuku: análise sobre a abertura dos portos japoneses e a introdução de uma nova indumentária no país a partir do mangá rurouni kenshin

Abstract

The present work seeks to study the history of Japan in its considered most critical and important moment, Edo (1603-1867) and Meiji (1868-1912) Eras, that respectively marked the end of the feudal period and the beginning of the Japanese Empire, through clothing and scenarios portrayed by Watsuki Nobuhiro in his manga Rurouni Kenshin. The aforementioned moments have both their beginning and ending due to the same historical event: the arrival of the North Americans and the forced opening to the Japanese ports. Based on the general objective of this study, that aims to understand the impact that this episode had on the Japanese lifestyle and clothing, it is analyzed how and which changes occurred with the arrival of the westernization, how it was greeted by part of the Japanese people and the plans they had in accepting the return of the westerners after having once banished them before. As a methodology, initially a bibliographic search was made in order to compose a theoretical background. In the end, there was the reading and analysis of the manga Rurouni Kenshin, of the author Watsuki Nobuhiro, along with the assistance of Meiji Era paintings on the new fashion and lifestyle, to verify the points raised during the theoretical basis on the westernization and the changes in clothing. Thus, we observe that western elements were introduced in Japan during the Meiji period, albeit the beginning of said insertion succeeded slowly and with more restricted access to public figures, government positions personal and the Japanese elite. Becoming stronger and more present after the total collision of the Meiji government, with the aid of the Iwakura mission and the production of booklets that dictated the new customs for the Japanese people.