Naomi Osaka at Wimbledon: How she carried her heritage onto the court
Naomi Osaka stepped onto to the court at the Wimbledon Championships in a look shaped by her heritage.
The Japanese tennis star wore a custom design by Tokyo-based Hana Yagi. A lace kimono and flowing skirt, reworked from traditional dress. Embroidered cranes and cherry blossoms moved across the fabric, finished with a trailing bow.
It was more than an entrance. It was a statement.
Yagi describes the piece as Evolving Ceremony, a concept that sits between preparation and performance. The walk-on becomes part of the story, not separate from it.
Constructed from vintage shiromuku, kimono and wedding garments, the look brings together pieces once worn for life’s defining moments and places them in a new context.
Before the match, there is the walk-on. Before performance, there is meaning.
When Osaka reaches the court, the outer layers fall away. The ceremony shifts, but the intention remains.
Because identity doesn’t switch off. It moves with you.
This is what it means to carry culture forward. Not to hold it in place, but to bring it with you into each new moment.
Osaka reminds us that you don’t have to choose between where you come from and where you are going.
This reflects what we explore in Kade Culture Issue 11: The Origins.
Origins looks at the threads that connect us to where we come from, and how we choose to carry them forward. It is about building something new without losing what came before.
Photography: Sebastian Arriagada and Getty Images
If you have a story about your origins, your heritage, or how you carry culture with you, we want to hear it.
Submit your story or pitch at kadeculture.com/contact or email info@kadeculture.com.
Your origins matter. Your story matters.
