Folklorist Kunio Yanagita long ago said that "clothing is the most direct indication of a people's general frame of mind." If this is so, what then is one to make of the kimono?
It comes in module units, like tatami, and this implies a certain interchangeability, not only among the kimono but also among the wearers. Also it is structurally unisexual. A member of the 1852 Russian Japan Expedition wrote that upon hearing the swish of skirts "you look up and are disappointed." I do not know what that implies.
One may also find the kimono egalitarian. Several early travelers have, stating that everyone in Japan dressed the same, from the emperor on down. They failed, however, to notice the amount of social statement contained in the kimono itself -- the fabric, the color, the sleeve length. Unmarried women were allowed the "swinging sleeve," ("furisode") but these were dramatically shortened into the "tomesode" once a person married. Also, men's sleeves are sewn up the back. And all of this determined by law.