To traverse Japan unclothed would be challenge enough, but try this in Germany or England. You'll surely catch your death. People prefer not to catch their deaths, so they clothe themselves accordingly. Once they're all clothed, it becomes the case that humans are clothed creatures. And having become clothed creatures, they now regard any sudden intrusion of nakedness as beast-like rather than human. No wonder then that Europeans, and especially Northern Europeans, should react to nude images and forms as though assailed by beasts. And no wonder that they should rank such beasts even lesser than cats. What of beauty? Beauty is fine, but a beautiful beast is a beast nonetheless. Some will ask, no doubt, if I've never seen a Western lady in evening dress. As a cat, I can't say I ever have. From what I gather, though, in this so-called "evening dress" they expose their bare bosoms, expose their bare shoulders, and expose their bare arms. Utterly scandalous. Up until the fourteenth century, such over-the-top attire was unheard-of. Ladies dressed in normal dress. How these ladies devolved from properly-clad females to today's vulgar parade of jugglers and clowns is a long story that I won't go into. Those who know, know, and the rest need pay no heed. History aside, despite their triumphant evening soirées in outlandish attire, some vestige of humanity seems to remain. In the light of day, the shoulders draw back in, the bosoms are covered, and the arms are duly wrapped. Not only are all of these hidden from view, but a single bare toe is grounds for greatest disgrace. It follows clearly then, that their evening dress is the conflicted consequence of fools consorting with fools. If that seems harsh, then let them expose their shoulders and bosoms and arms in the light of day. The same goes for proponents of nudism. If the naked body is so acceptable, then let them walk their daughters, and themselves for that matter, unclothed through Ueno Park. That can't be done? Of course it can. It's only, is it not, that Westerners don't do it. At the same time, Japan's socialites are only too happy to swagger off to the Imperial Hotel decked out in costumes most nonsensical. They wear what they wear because Westerners wore it first. Westerners are trend-setters, so nonsense or not one can't but follow suit. By anything long they let themselves be bound, to anything forceful they yield, and to anything heavy they're readily suppressed. Is subjecting oneself to any and all influences not mindless? If mindless submission is all one can manage then fine, but the people of Japan, then, had best not overestimate themselves. The same applies when it comes scholarship, but the topic at hand is clothing, so I'll not go there.