In celebration of the Olympic Games currently being hosted in Tokyo, Japanese artists have created a kimono for Lebanon and every other country participating in the event.
The kimono is a traditional Japanese garment and Japan‘s national dress.
The kimono representing Lebanon incorporates various aspects of Lebanese culture and heritage, including a church and a mosque side-by-side; the Baalbek temple; the Raouche Rock; not to mention the Phoenician alphabet and the Phoenician ship.
Grapes, representing Lebanese wine, dangle from the top of the kimono, where a Phoenix is depicted soaring in the sky. The Lebanese cedar tree also makes an appearance, on the lower-left corner of the fabric.
The kimono is part of an initiative launched in 2014 by the Japan-based Imagine Oneworld organization, in honor of the 2020 Olympics.
Led by Japanese designer Yoshimasa Takakura, the Kimono Project commissioned 213 kimonos representing each of the participating nations at the Olympics.
Each kimono cost an estimated $9,000 to craft, and the project is funded by donations and sponsorships.
Lebanon is being represented by six athletes at the Tokyo Olympics, in swimming, shooting, weightlifting, athletics, and judo.
Check out the full schedule for the Lebanese Olympic Team to follow their progress.
