SHINTO, Gunma -- A retailer here has started selling Islam-inspired veils aimed at preventing pollen from giving people hay fever.
Ai Kobayashi, the proprietor of the Chikyu-ya store in Shinto, started making and selling the 100 percent silk hoods, inspired by the burqa veils worn by many women in Islamic countries.
"I wanted to have a fashionable approach to fighting off pollen," said Kobayashi, who suffers from hay fever brought about by cedar pollen herself.
Kobayashi made a patterned face mask three years ago, but has this year turned to the Islamic world to fight hay fever with the hoods that prevent pollen from attaching itself to the hair. The hoods offer complete protection from pollen if worn together with goggles to cover the eyes. Kobayashi will create hoods for those who bring in their own material, or sells them for 2,940 yen apiece.
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