POTD 3/20/2017 Kimono

[mlp4me]

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strawberryreef.com


Do you have a version of her? What do you think of her? Share some more pics!


I think I have one of her somewhere...

[EnaRocketQueen]

Top of my G3 want list

[invaderhorizongreen]

I have them, and like the color of them.

[orangepeachmango]

I struggle with ponies like her. I can't help but feel a LITTLE uncomfortable by the fact that she's like. The token Japanese pony? I feel this way about Wigwam too. I wish they had more representation for other cultures, not just a couple ponies here and there to check all the boxes? I don't know I might just be paranoid

She is pretty cute though. I really like her cutie mark, the lanterns...

[LadyMoondancer]

I really dig Kimono!  He's a boy in my herd.  One of my favorite G3s.

I remember when she came out some people pointed out that she has a name after a Japanese garment and a symbol of a Chinese lantern (as Japanese lanterns apparently look different), which does make her a little culturally "ummm."  Like, China and Japan are not the same just because they're both Asian . . . IIRC they've historically been pretty bitter rivals.

But anyway, I do like the idea of ponies with non-Western symbols and I wish there were more.

[Leave a Whisper]

DD used to. She wants her back. I sure wouldn't mind having a Kimono in my collection she is such a lovely lady.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

One of my fav g3

[Aurora]

She's the pony smart enough to live in a cave on the edge of Ponyville! How can you not love her?

I hadn't ever thought of the implications of her name and symbol, though- I still love her, but now maybe she lives on the edge of Ponyville for a different reason...

[Lore-Lei]

She ties with Rainbow Dash for being my favorite MLP ever, right after Star Catcher of course! Also Kimono's Townhouse totally made me want one.

[orangepeachmango]

I really dig Kimono!  He's a boy in my herd.  One of my favorite G3s.

I remember when she came out some people pointed out that she has a name after a Japanese garment and a symbol of a Chinese lantern (as Japanese lanterns apparently look different), which does make her a little culturally "ummm."  Like, China and Japan are not the same just because they're both Asian . . . IIRC they've historically been pretty bitter rivals.

But anyway, I do like the idea of ponies with non-Western symbols and I wish there were more.

THATS another good point............like!!!! if youre going to have a japanese charachter at least be real about it :/ i feel that way about wigwam and his like. "headdress" hat and its just ... a little icky. try harder hasbro

[Leave a Whisper]

I really dig Kimono!  He's a boy in my herd.  One of my favorite G3s.

I remember when she came out some people pointed out that she has a name after a Japanese garment and a symbol of a Chinese lantern (as Japanese lanterns apparently look different), which does make her a little culturally "ummm."  Like, China and Japan are not the same just because they're both Asian . . . IIRC they've historically been pretty bitter rivals.

But anyway, I do like the idea of ponies with non-Western symbols and I wish there were more.

THATS another good point............like!!!! if youre going to have a japanese charachter at least be real about it :/ i feel that way about wigwam and his like. "headdress" hat and its just ... a little icky. try harder hasbro

It's icky? Why? Sure it's innacurate but that doesn't make ponies like Wigwam, Kimono and Fiesta Flair icky. They're quite unique.

[orangepeachmango]

I really dig Kimono!  He's a boy in my herd.  One of my favorite G3s.

I remember when she came out some people pointed out that she has a name after a Japanese garment and a symbol of a Chinese lantern (as Japanese lanterns apparently look different), which does make her a little culturally "ummm."  Like, China and Japan are not the same just because they're both Asian . . . IIRC they've historically been pretty bitter rivals.

But anyway, I do like the idea of ponies with non-Western symbols and I wish there were more.

THATS another good point............like!!!! if youre going to have a japanese charachter at least be real about it :/ i feel that way about wigwam and his like. "headdress" hat and its just ... a little icky. try harder hasbro

It's icky? Why? Sure it's innacurate but that doesn't make ponies like Wigwam, Kimono and Fiesta Flair icky. They're quite unique.

LMAO it makes them icky because its a Lil Bit Racist ..... its monetizing on somebodys culture and way of life in a grossly inaccurate way? "sure its innacurate but it doesnt make them icky" ... LIKE... yes it DOES make them icky? if you're going to include other cultures, especially a culture, like native americans, that have been oppressed and slaughtered by white people for hundreds of years and your entire board of directors and art team is all white people: At LEAST do it right... im unimpressed by hasbro's attempt at including other cultures and doing it Badly.

[achab1984]

I had her many times.

[Taffeta]

I am not sure it's really necessary to turn a discussion about an individual plastic toy into a political soapbox.

What people forget is that history shows that all races and peoples have at some point in their past slaughtered, oppressed or otherwise mistreated another people, whether it be a different tribe, a different race, a different religion or a different nationality. And even now, that is true - it isn't just a case of white vs the rest of the world, but a bigger problem of inter-ethnicity suspicion, interreligious intoleration that has created some of the big political issues in the world today. Sudan is an example. Syria and Iraq are as well. There is a long list.

What bothers me most about posts like this is that people fixate on one tiny and not particularly important example of something that is just a toy, when there are bigger and more real issues out there. And you don't solve those issues by choosing to take offence at a toy.

As for China and Japan, I actually spent yesterday in a little Chinese cafe in Shiga province in Japan, with Japanese friends, the Chinese owner and her Japanese husband. I'm English. We all spoke Japanese, ate Chinese food, and talked about how English is different in certain ways.

The above is how I see Kimono. She isn't racist, she isn't ignorance. She is multicultural. Why should she not be a mixture of ideas? It's not racist if a Japanese person chooses to name their child with a Western name, for example, or vice versa. Kimono is evidence that different peoples can mix. In my opinion racism is at its strongest when people look for reasons to separate themselves and make themselves distinct, rather than just seeing people as human beings. There is a general assumption in this that Kimono was named thus by white people who are ignorant about asia. We don't know who named her, why she was named, or anything else. It's those assumptions that are dangerous in this world. Not the naming of a toy, but the assumption of the reasons behind it without actual knowledge of the circumstances.

The word Kimono 着物 literally only means "item　物 that you wear　着". While it has specific cultural connitations, there are a lot of other words that are relevant in Japanese to describe traditional clothing. Of all of them, the most generic term is kimono. A kimono is not even gender specific,  but we generally assume Kimono is a girl. And the lantern connection is also logical, because Japanese tradition is that when there is a matsuri, or festival, lanterns are lit and people often dress in kimono. Even if the style of lantern isn't perfect, the ideology behind it makes sense.

Instead of using a kid's toy as an excuse to complain about and divide people, I think it's better to see them as attempts - however clumsy - at inclusivity.

And to go on topic, yes, I have Kimono. She is one of my favourites because of her beautiful purple colouring. I have the original one from when they first came out, and I think she's one of the ones I still have MIB, too.

[Leave a Whisper]

Well said Taffeta.