Field of View | Collected at a fleamarket in Gunma, Japan the handwritten papers are manufactured into two pieces of traditional style apparel. In their joint appearance, they are reminiscent of the phase when Western clothing became increasingly present in the Japanese street scene. The lower part is a Hakama, a type of pleated trouser skirt with wide-cut legs that covers the body from the waist down. This one has seven deep pleats, two on the back and five on the front. Although they appear balanced, the arrangement of the front pleats is asymmetrical, and as such is an example of Japanese aesthetics. Used in traditional Japanese dance, various martial arts and the Japanese tea ceremony, it is both flexible and elegant. Until the Second World War, it was quite normal to see men in hakama in public, until Western dress became commonplace in everyday life.
The upper part is made from black inked washi paper in the form of a cape with an limited field of view (Shiya). In the back an enlarged folding fan (Sensu or Ogi) structures the shape of the garment. In addition to their function of creating airflow, sensu are also used as a means of communication, as waka (poems) are often written on them. Other than this they were appreciated by Samurai warriors as a form of a weapon and as props in dance performances.