Wearing A Kilt In Japan
 

I will be visiting Japan in November for 10 days at the end of the month. I am Scottish and regularly wear my kilt throughout the year I mentioned that I would be wearing it whilst travelling in Japan, and was told that most people would think, I was wearing a skirt, and would get unwelcome attention as a result.

I plan to travel during my 10 day visit and don't want to offend local customs or feel uncomfortable myself by being inappropriately dressed. I have had no problems anywhere else in the world, and imagine my friend ( a native Japanese woman) may be wrong.

Any thoughts/advice?

I think kilts are rare outside of the UK... you would get questionable stares in the US, for sure.

Some will understand, some will think it is a skirt. I don't think anyone will be offended, but you might get some questions that will be fun to answer.

Jonathon Davis (the lead singer of Nu Metal band KoRn) is known for wearing kilts, & he's American. I think with the whole Visual Kei culture & young people's fashions like lolita etc., you should be fine. Maybe learn a bit of Japanese to say that its a kilt, & is an item of clothing from Scotland, much similar to what the kimono (or yukata) is for Japan :)

Well surely it would be a great start to conversations.

why not wear it and be proud.

why shouldn't kilts be worn? IN the army the men with kilts and the Bagpipes scared the enemy to pieces I believe.

Be proud of National dress. a kilt represents the clans of scotland-- each clan has its own tartan. Be proud.!!

why the heck shouldn't the men wear them? considering the way many women dress up---


Actually kilts were popular not so long ago-- but instead of tartans they had varied designs and the men look great as their kilts swings and shows their gorgeous legs.

You see A LOT of kilts on the day of Scotland playing in an international football match

I don't think there is anything wrong with wearing kilts, but as said they are extremely uncommon outside of the UK, and even rare inside the UK for that matter. I wonder how it would be taken in Japan if someone wore a kilt. I imagine it would be like any place or country, that some people wouldn't mind and others might, which is probably why I - personally - would be unsure if it would be a good idea to wear one or not.

It's just that - because it's so uncommon - I know a lot people locally who would treat it as a joke or a laugh, or worse, a cause for aggression. I'm not saying those people are a majority, far from it, but it happens. I've seen people get mocked or bullied for the stupidest differences in appearance, and something like a kilt - which perhaps would be mistaken for a skirt, or treated as such - seems a lot more cause for attention. Even if that attention wasn' aggressive I could easily see some people making jokes or pointing or giving unwanted attention. I don't know about Japanese culture in specific in regards to this, but it just doesn't seem a good idea. . .

I happen to appreciate a man who can wear a kilt properly and regularly. but as has been said, outside of the highlands it's not a common sight.

I think the reaction you get, aside from stares (guaranteed), might depend a bit on how you look in it.

I have watched many a young, thin, attractive man looked at as if he was either cross-dressing or an outlandish rocker of some sort.

However, a older man of stouter build, perhaps with a fitting beard, seems to translate the look from skirt to kilt for almost anyone who has any stereotypical image of a Scot for reference.;)

I will first point out that I recently spent seven years living in scotland,and unless they were preforming with bagpipes,I saw maybe three people wearing kilts in normal every day situations.

Thing is,if you do some research...Kilts are actually Egyptian in origin. they were brough over by egyptian soldiers working for the romans.

Well, my b/f KuronUSA... we met in England but he had moved from Scotland and now is off at uni in USA. He said he would never be seen in a kilt but I am on a drive to get him into one at least at our wedding and...well...I find them sexy on men perhaps rather the way men find short skirts on women :D

I see the connection in the design, but certainly not in the fabric. And I wonder if the Egyptian used 9 yards of their cotton to wrap in. Nor have the Egyptian ever adopted that Pharonic design as their national dress.

Scotsmen should be proud of the highland dress. they look wonderful.

maybe others are just jealous because it takes a BRAW man to carry it off!!

well the tartans are definitely Scottish.
They wear them at highland games and at ceilidhs and look marvellous.

After all not so many women wear kimonos in Japan I believe but they still can wear them.

what about up inthe highlands?

We have to get used to immigrants here wearing traditional dress don't we?

surely its not a crime.

I remember getting lots of negative attention for wearing bright green snowboarding trousers to school on a non-uniform day. lol

It depends on where you go and what kind of kilt you are going to wear. There are some areas in Tokyo (i.e. 原宿) where men wearing a skirt isn't that much of a big deal. People bend over backwards to dress unique there. And many Japanese people do know what Scottish kilt is so it could be a great way to start a conversation with the locals if what you are wearing something that looks somewhat authentic. JasonTakeshi is right though. Make sure you wear underwear :)

You beat me to it, cranks. Japan doesn't live in a vacuum. People know what a kilt is.

Yeah, it's not like every single guy knows it, but I bet many do.

Even though I'm a quarter Scottish I have virtually no idea about the culture. I know about kilts and stuff like that, but no specifics.

With that being said, I find a men's kimono (montsuki) to be similar to a kilt in that it is like a skirt.

As far as the question at hand goes, if you wear a kilt regularly where you live, then why not do it in Japan. The underwear thing is crucial though-- nobody wants to see what's going on down there every time a swift moving train or subway goes by if you know what I mean (well there might be some people who do... but that's another thread on another forum).

well they wear dark green boxer type shorts--apparently it coulld be extremely painful with the kilt material rubbing the nether regions. I am open to hear from the gentleman here who wears his kilt.)

In a way I have to laugh. Do men think that women in skirts or dresses don't wear some sort of pantie?

I know some are rather stringy-- but surely the Majority must do.

My scots husband looks great in his scots outfit

Your Kilt Ps this is Not my husband LOL


well on here I believe the truth-- although I read elsewhere that it is painful Not to wear undergarment.

Guess you pays your money and takes your choice

What is worn under kilts?

It has no problem in practical use.
I think that there are a lot of people who see deliberately because it is unusual in Japan.

Japanese sense
National costume = Formal wear

I've just heard that they don't wear underwear witha kilt... I've seen a scottish punk band perform and the singer mooned the crowd and you could see it all (an experience unfortunately etched in my mind). Incidentally I have seen a "Scotland" video from Japan (which was part of a series). In that video in particular the kilt was shown a number of times. One time a man wearing one spun around and you could see his backside a bit.

I know women (at least most of them) wear panties with skirts, but I was honestly under the impression that underwear wasn't supposed to be worn with a kilt!

Kilt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Once you're on the page, press and hold your CTRL key and then press F. A search bar or window should appear. Then type in underwear or just under and you'll see what I mean.

"Tradition has it that a "true Scotsman" should wear nothing under his kilt"

yes Stephen I actually put up a site also about that.

also we used to do alot of scottish and highland dancing-- and my husband Always wore his shorts.

Well, I'm happy to be educated and I'm glad that people do wear some shorts under there. I'm not trying to knock your husband, but I think I speak for most guys when I say nobody cares to know what's going on down there ;).

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but "kilts=no underwear" as far as the American perspective goes (I'm from California if that makes a difference).

But yea, I'm pretty excited about the fact that I learned something Scottish on the JapanForum.

Let us know how it goes Scotinthesky!

My family is from Scotland, and my aunt had the wonderful idea of presenting me with a full outfit, including a kilt, as a gift some time back. I've never worn it in public. My relatives still own a large home in Scotland, and I have been thinking of visiting, but I have no doubt that they wouldn't be happy unless I spent some time wearing my kilt during my visit.

I've been to a couple embassy parties where I've seen people wearing kilts, needless to say they attract a lot of attention in Tokyo, even more attention than the Japanese men who you can sometimes see walking around town in mini skirts and fishnet stockings.

Traditionally, the kilt is worn without underwear. A joke that was picked up on, on The Simpsons when Bart attached helium balloons to Groundkeeper Willie's kilt. lol. I think a few people where underwear under the kilt now, just in case a strong breeze blows it up and then your done by the law for indecent exposure. lol.