Japanese 1920s enthusiast re-lives era of vinyl turntables, cloche hats

Record ID: 990899

  • Title: Japanese 1920s enthusiast re-lives era of vinyl turntables, cloche hats
  • Date: 26th January 2018
  • Summary: ANTIQUE TELEPHONE MADE IN 1934 RINGING / ASAI PICKING UP TELEPHONE VARIOUS OF ASAI TALKING ON TELEPHONE JAPANESE TRADITIONAL "GETA" WOODEN SHOES ARRANGED ASAI STRIKING MATCH ASAI LIGHTING FIRE ON STOVE VARIOUS OF ASAI SHAVING HARD-DRIED BONITO VARIOUS OF ASAI SHOWING ICE-COOLED REFRIGERATOR VARIOUS OF ASAI USING ANTIQUE HAND-POWERED MASSAGE MACHINE GAS HEATER ASAI USING MASSAGE MACHINE MADE IN 1910S OLD BOOKS ON SHELF OLD TABLE CLOCK (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 1920S ENTHUSIAST, KAYO ASAI, 42, SAYING: "The women of 1920s and 1930s looked so cool to me. And I still believe so." KAYO TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 1920S ENTHUSIAST, KAYO ASAI, 42, SAYING: "They are the generation even before my father, who was born in 1937, so it's hard for me to truly understand them, but by using old gadgets of their time, I want to get closer to understanding them." FLOWER VASES (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 1920S ENTHUSIAST, KAYO ASAI, 42, SAYING: "What we are enjoying today is the result of the struggles and fights of the 'Modern Girls', so I think women of today should look back and learn from our seniors." ASAI AND HER HUSBAND, HARUHIKO KORI, DRINKING JAPANESE GREEN TEA IN JAPANESE TRADITIONAL LIVING ROOM KORI DRINKING TEA METAL CHAIN ON KORI'S VEST BOW TIE ON KORI'S NECK ASAI AND KORI LOOKING AT WEDDING PHOTOS
  • Embargoed: 9th February 2018 08:06
  • Keywords: Modern Girl Kayo Asai Haruhiko Kori retro lifestyle 1920s antiques
  • Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
  • City: TOKYO, JAPAN
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Human Interest / Brights / Odd News,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA0027ZQZWBD
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Stepping inside Kayo Asai's house is to travel back in time to the 1920s.
    She plays records on her vintage turntable, communicates with the outside world on her rotary telephone, and reads her collection of over 10,000 vintage magazines and books.
    Everything in her house in Tokyo was made in the 1920s and 30s.
    The kitchen is fitted with an ice-cooled non-electric refrigerator and she cooks with a gas cooker that would be more appropriate in a museum.
    Even her massage machine - a popular household gadget in Japan - was made in 1910.
    Asai says she's a fan of the 'Modern Girl' during that time, referring to westernised Japanese women who were more liberal and independent, compared to the norm in Japan at that time.
    For Asai, 42, they were the epitome of "cool", which is why she dresses herself in vintage clothes, a cloche hat, and a bob hairstyle reminiscent of the era.
    Asai says her obsession with the 1920s started from when she bought her first vintage silk dress of that era 13 years ago, and she has since been in love with the 'Roaring Twenties'.
    Her 55-year-old husband, Haruhiko Kori, shares her passion for antiques and the more deliberate lifestyle of the past.
    Asai hopes to spread her love of the Roaring Twenties, when people not only indulged in new styles of dancing and dressing, but rejected traditions and - in Japan at least - pushed for more democracy. She even launched a group called "Japan Modern Girl Association" in 2007, where more than 200 similar-minded members hope to celebrate the 1920s well into the 2020s.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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