Japan and Zorro – the reason behind the mask
If you walk anywhere in Tokyo, you are bound to come upon hundreds of people wearing surgical face-masks over their mouths and noses. This is not some new fashion stupidity or a cry out against smog, it is just part of the Japanese etiquette. In Japan it is considered really bad behavior to blow your nose or cough in public. If you have the slightest symptoms of the common cold you are expected to immediately put on the mask. Because of this you will find yourself being waited on by a masked women, the girl at the counter on the sixteenth floor of the department store will greet you kindly with Ohayu Gozaimas but you will be unable to see her lips move (more about the Japanese department stores in a later post).
Face masks are sold over the counter in pharmacies and of course at your local Seven Eleven alongside your favorite sweet potato flavored chocolate and your takeout sushi. You will see couples everywhere out on a date where one half of the couple looks like she has just escaped a rerun of E.R. Be that as it may, there is no reason a face mask, worn to hide your runny nose, can’t be turned into a fashion item, as the following pictures prove.
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