2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1 …over and under…. creating the braid…forming a strong hold…

Braiding for me is a hairstyle I forced my mum to learn when I was in primary school, it helped me look fashionable and keep my wild hair tamed (if only slightly). I have never really thought much more about other variations of braiding, it has always signalled hair for me. Any cultural associations I make with it, again stem to hairstyles.

~ Just three strands of hair entwining as one but nothing overly deep~

However, during my autoethnographic experience, this notion of braids being only hair related was challenged, in a very unexpected way.

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For my autoethnographic journey, I decided to explore the world of Japanese romantic anime, in the form of the 2016 film ‘Kimi no Na wa ‘/ ‘Your Name’. I chose this…