Although Monet's financial condition improved in the early 1870s after his works were recognized and regularly purchased by art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, this support began to erode due to Durand-Ruel's difficulty in selling them; due to the loss of this important source of income and the expenses Monet faced in moving into a new house, beginning in 1874, he began to fall back into financial difficulty.

[3] Given the popularity of Japonisme in France at this time, Monet hoped to sell La Japonaise at a high price to ease his financial difficulties.

[1] Other scholars argue that this letter may have been an "advertisement" instead of Monet's true words, and motivated by a desire to influence notable critics who held an interest in Japonisme such as Burty.

[3] Another possible motivation for the creation of this painting is that Monet wished to "compete" with his friend Édouard Manet's work The Lady with the Fans, modeled by Nina de Callias in 1873.

[4] The hypothesis that the unprecedentedly high price was not real offers an explanation for the content in a letter from Monet to his friend Édouard Manet, in which the painting was mentioned.

[3] The mixed reception has continued to the twenty-first century, with critics such as Julian Barnes, in a generally enthusiastic introduction to Monet, singling out the piece as "ferociously awful".

[6] The MFA curator notes, by contrast, describe it as "a virtuoso display of brilliant color that is also a witty comment on the [then] current Paris fad for all things Japanese".

[8] The event drew criticism from protesters, who described the program as an example of Orientalism and white supremacy, accusing the museum of having "insufficiently [grappled] with [the painting’s] post-colonial legacy".

[8] Although the museum stopped allowing visitors to wear the kimono in response to the criticisms, the program was defended by some, with Japan's deputy consul general telling the press that the protest did not make sense from a Japanese perspective.

Meiji University professor Shaun O'Dwyer also defended the program, citing his concern about the shrinking nature of the traditional kimono-making industry, and the need for any possible publicity for its survival.