Wearing

After seven Imamura films, I have two especial notes: black and white Cinemascope is a wonderful format, and women in yukata are really sexy. The yukata is a cotton kimono-like robe worn in summer, or after bathing. It’s actually quite different in effect from the formal ensemble that is the full kimono (or the wedding kimono, which weighs a ton and, with the caked-on makeup, makes the bride look like she’s been embalmed). There are male versions (just as there are male kimonos), and you will be given one in a traditional country inn, or ryokan, which is the kind of place I’ve always wanted to visit. Although I’m not Japanese, I was born in Toyko; but I haven’t been there since I was two. Shocking, I know. I’ve also never dated anyone Japanese, either -- some kind of oversight on my part -- but I do have a yukata.