There is a theater in my area which shows vintage Japanese movies. For some reason, they put up a poster on a back street which is the most common path for me to follow to get to local grocery shops. It's an odd place for a poster which advertises old Japanese movies because it would seem foot traffic would hardly bring in a substantial number of patrons, but I love the fact that they are there. Because of these posters, I have seen a veritable visual history of Japanese film merely by walking to the grocery store. You can see how fashion and styles have changed in the way the actresses are made up, their hair is styled, and the clothes they wear. Things like how high school uniforms have changed are reflected in the movie posters, as well as the shape and style of eyebrows and density of make-up. You can see where the path of Japanese cinema followed and diverged from western styling of the same eras. It's one of those little things which is easy to take for granted, but offers a wealth of cultural information.
I'll miss these glamorous little incidental history lessons on my way to the shops.
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