Even before she knew that Japan was a thing, Kara Harris had a thing for Japan.
As a 1980s baby, the American found something appealing about the cartoons she grew up with, like “Star Blazers” and “Voltron,” but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. It wasn't until later when she came across films like 1962’s "My Geisha" with Shirley MacLaine, and 1986’s "American Geisha" with Pam Dawber that this fondness began to crystalize. Specifically it was the clothing that the characters in these films would wear that struck Harris as beautiful, elegant garments that reminded her not so much of Japan but of royalty.
"I didn't know those dresses were kimono," says Harris, an elementary school teacher in her 40s now living in Chiba Prefecture. "I just thought the characters were princesses. And, like little girls everywhere, I wanted to be a part of that."
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