'De-geishanizing' the Kimono: Japan Airlines’ Branding Exercise in the 1950s

Abstract

In the summer of 1953, the Associate Press wired a story that began “Japanese stewardesses will provide an atmosphere of Oriental comfort aboard planes of the Japan Air Lines when service is inaugurated.” Soon it was printed in 42 American newspapers. The headlines were not “Japanese airline to Launch its Transpacific Service,” but rather “Stewardesses to Don Kimonos.” This paper examines Japan Airlines’ kimono-branding exercise aimed at distinguishing itself from its then-competitors, Pan American Airlines and Northwest Orient. American fascination with the geisha was given new impetus during the Allied Occupation of Japan, when a few hundred thousand American servicemen were stationed in the country. JAL played on the fascination with kimono-clad women to entice American male travelers with Japanese exoticism. But at the same time, JAL executives were keen to set their flight attendants apart from the “geisha girls” and project a “proper” image of Japan. The company invested considerable efforts in selecting high-quality kimonos, by appointing a prestigious store in Ginza, which fashioned kimonos for the ladies of the court of Tokugawa. Every flight attendant chose her own silk fabric for her own tailor-made kimono, which had to be approved by JAL’s public affairs manager who accompanied her to the store. By 1957, JAL introduced detailed regulations on the make of silk fabric, the weaving density, and the patterns to assure proper look for the national flag carrier. I will discuss JAL’s strategies to present and represent Japan to passengers on transpacific flights in the 1950s.