At one production of the ballet, an audience member named Hanae Mori was unsatisfied with how her home country was being portrayed on stage. One example of this admiration of Japanese aesthetics without a true understanding of the culture behind it is Madame Butterfly – originally published as a short story by John Luther Long and later adapted into an opera by Giacomo Puccini, neither of whom had ever actually been to Japan themselves. But while the art coming out of Japan was often appreciated and admired, the asian artists themselves have not always been welcomed with such open arms.
European fashion designers have been inspired by Japan since it open its borders for trade in 1853.