Recently, I did an interview with a journalist, Shirley Lau from Hong Kong (FCC HK) who was in Japan working with the Foreign Correspondent's Club Japan, covering various aspects of Japanese culture. Her post is on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's website.
Thanks so much Shirley for dropping me a line, hope you enjoyed your trip!
It
was a scene that kept your eyes busy – and made you feel young and
alive. Young girls clad in mini skirts, platform heels and all manner
of outlandish accessories happily posed for anyone's camera.
Cute-looking models took to the stage and sashayed down the catwalk in
trendy outfits. A male DJ in schoolgirl uniform and a blond wig sent
the crowd dancing wildly as he danced in his quirky, mockingly cute way
in between playing the funky pop tunes.
Welcome to Moshi Moshi Nippon Festival, an extravaganza designed to celebrate Japan's world-famous
kawaii
culture, and to promote it globally (which explains the free entry for
all foreign visitors whereas locals paid an admission fee of 3,500
yen). Held on the last Sunday of September, the event was Japanese pop
culture at its most fun, funky and, above all,
kawaii. It
brought together a dizzying array of Japanese pop elements at the Tokyo
Metropolitan Gymnasium in Sendagaya, from music to fashion, cosplay
otaku culture to anime. Among the biggest highlights was a performance
by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, the queen of
kawaii.
The crowd consisted of mostly young locals, but there were also a
good number of curious tourists and expats living in Tokyo intrigued by
the
kawaii culture. "I'm here to get inspired by the
kawaii
style. It's so cute, chic and sweet," said Anne Marie Crandall, a
23-year-old American who teaches English in Seoul and is on a short
visit to Tokyo.
Wearing short skirt and a shocking pink blouse with a big ribbon, Miss Crandall is a big fan of the
kawaii culture. And she is not alone. The culture of
kawaii,
which means cute and pretty, has gone global. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu has
for one gained popularity in the West thanks in part to internet videos
that have gone viral. In Paris, there is a girl DJ duo called Girls
from Kawaii, formed by two Parisian women whose style is a mix of
French chic and Japanese
kawaii.
Manami Okazaki, journalist and co-author of
Kawaii: Japan's Culture of Cute, believes
kawaii
has a prominent place in Japanese culture because of its flexibility.
"It is adaptable and applicable to many creative outlets, which has
made it the dominant pop culture aesthetic in Japan. Many cultural
luminaries have [incorporated]
kawaii aesthetics into their work, and [so] you can see
kawaii
culture prevalent in fashion, character design, graphic design, food
design, and art. Many of these things are not for children but for
adults, as well. With Japan’s top designers, manga-artists, artists and
even scientists injecting so much energy into the
kawaii movement, it seems inevitable that it would become a something as powerful and ubiquitous as it is now.
Though it is quintessentially Japanese, people like Miss Crandall prove that
kawaii also has a strong appeal to foreigners today. "Overseas, I think
kawaii
culture is particularly strong where there is an anime and manga
presence, and a strong familiarity with Japanese culture, such as
France," Ms Okazaki explains. "It also provides an alternative to
mainstream American pop culture, which celebrates femininity in
different ways. Kyary is hyper-feminine, but very sweet and innocent,
whereas for many people, mainstream US music icons may seem overly
sexual"
So can we imagine a Japan without the
kawaii factor? Yes, but life would be a little dull, Ms Okazaki believes. "[Without
kawaii], I guess Japan would lose a lot of its charm. Making something
kawaii
is making it user-friendly, and accessible. It is connected with the
notion of thinking about others, and making that extra effort to please
people. You can make a bus stop as is, or you can make it charming and
funny by designing it into the shape of an apple or a strawberry. A
lot of people who dress in
kawaii fashion do it not only for
self-expression. They also like to entertain other people by dressing
in elaborate ways. I also think
kawaii culture is an outlet for females in Japan to celebrate their femininity in creative ways."
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