A SIP OF MATCHA

MY life in Japan is full of cultural conundrums. Some are eventually solved; some remain a mystery, while others are replaced by new conundrums. There are some things I find inflexible and baffling. Take, for instance, the dress code for attending formal functions.

When I won second prize in the Yomiuri Shimbun annual essay contest in l999, I was invited to attend the winners' award ceremony and party in Tokyo. There were winners - Japanese and non-Japanese - from all over Japan. I bought a shiny velvet black blouse and maroon maxi skirt with a side slit, and a glittering, embroidered vest in gold, black and red to match. My husband wore a dark brown striped suit when he accompanied me to the ceremony.

Upon entering the hall, all eyes were on me. I was the odd one out in the shining outfit. The Japanese schoolchildren in the junior section winners were only wearing their grim school uniforms. Other adult winners were in dull or dark coloured suits.

Isn't this supposed to be an auspicious occasion? Why is everyone dressed so drearily as if they were attending a funeral? I wondered.

The winner of the top prize had gone back to the United States, so he sent his friend to receive the award on his behalf. The attention of the reporters fell on me, the second prize winner.

Whoa! I must have looked as if I was attending an Emmy award ceremony. Oh never mind, being a foreigner, I would be pardoned for my ignorance, I consoled myself.

Many years ago, I saw a group of men in ebony suits coming out of a Catholic church while my husband and I were walking past.

"It must be a funeral," I said.

"Sshhh, not so loud. It's a wedding, not a funeral," Ko San chided.

"How can you tell?" I asked softly.

"They are wearing white-silver ties instead of black ones," he whispered.

Then, out came the bride in her white wedding gown with the bridegroom, followed by female guests in pale or grim coloured clothes, and more male guests in black suits with white-silver ties.

Although some mothers of the bride and groom wear a kurotomesode (a formal black kimono patterned below the waistline which has five kamon or family crest printed on the sleeves, chest and back), others prefer convenient modern attire nowadays.

I am amused at how a mofuku (mourning outfit) can be turned into a reifuku (ceremonial wear) for weddings, with just a change of the colour of the ties for the men here. For women, we have to buy a mofuku for attending a funeral.

Last year, when my Japanese student came to my place for her English lesson one day, I was surprised to find her in a black suit, except for her white blouse.

"Chisaki, you look so different and formal today," I commented.

"I have to attend a job interview after this lesson," she said.

From September onwards or even earlier than that, it is job-hunting season for the university students.

Normally, final year university students here will start to look for jobs six months or so in advance before they even graduate.

Some third-year students like Chisaki, had already started her job-hunting one-and-a-half years ahead in order to secure a job in April after her graduation in March.

Chisaki had to go through a long process of five to seven stages with seminars, written applications and exams (on Internet), essay writing, brain-storming discussions, group interviews, individual interviews, and so forth for each job. Her friends from well-known universities are sometimes exempted from a few stages of the interviews.

This recruiting process will drag on for six months or longer, depending on the company. The dress code for attending an interview is black suits for the young men and women. They look so solemn and gloomy to me.

It is a tedious and cost-consuming procedure for Chisaki and the recruiters. She had to cough up at least 30,000 yen (RM900) to get a black suit, white blouse with matching black shoes and handbag. She even had to restore her dyed hair to its original black colour to look prim and proper.

Now, if a candidate has 10 job interviews to attend, he or she would burn a big hole in his or her pocket on transportation, and might even have to buy another set of recruiting suits for the changing season.

"Sho ga nai (It can't be helped)!" Chisaki sighed.

This recruiting system has remained unchanged for decades. The irony is that after they join the workforce, there are no hard and fast rules regarding the dress code as long as they look presentable, or unless the company requires them to wear uniforms or suits.

Well, I have learned my lesson about dress code in formal functions through my faux pas.

Sarah Mori is a Malaysian married to a Japanese and has been living in Japan since 1992.