Kawaii Culture (Part 2) PDF

Harajuku and Shibuya: the centers of kawaii fashion Harajuku: Lolita style Shibuya: Gal style Kyary Pamyu Pamyu: “Harajuku fashion isn’t about imitating somebody else. That’s why I feel wonderful. Everyone in Harajuku wears what they themselves think is kawaii”. Misako Aoki: “I think that even after...

Harajuku and Shibuya: the centers of kawaii fashion Harajuku: Lolita style Shibuya: Gal style Kyary Pamyu Pamyu: “Harajuku fashion isn’t about imitating somebody else. That’s why I feel wonderful. Everyone in Harajuku wears what they themselves think is kawaii”. Misako Aoki: “I think that even after we grow up, every girl has the desire to be a princess, and playing dress-up is fun no matter how old you are. Dressing in Lolita fashion satisfies my desire to be a princess and to dress up. Also, I didn’t have much confidence when I was in junior high and high school, but I believe wearing such outputs made me feel stronger. I guess dressing in these outfits is a way for me to assert myself”. K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Harajuku as the symbol of youth subcultures and fashion The aim: to satisfy akogare (longing) for fantasy world Aomoji-kei: wearing whatever you like (fashion is based on creativity, self-expression and freedom) Two main elements: fashion (Lolita) and music (Visual-kei) Tradition and modernity („Visual kei is all kabuki“) From players to creators Close relation between art and consumption (Higuchi Yuko, Sebastian Masuda...) K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Visual kei and kabuki Kawaii Monster Cafe in Harajuku K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Sushidelic restaurant in New York K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Kawaii Ambassadors In 2009 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan assigned three Kawaii Ambassadors: Misako Aoki, Yuu Kimura, Shizuka Fujioka K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Misako Aoki, 2024 K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Seiko Matsuda Kawaii idol of 1980s www.seikomatsuda.co.jp K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uePXqPyROQ Kyary Pamyu Pamyu An unofficial Kawaii Ambassador, “Harajuku Pop-Princess” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAGyQ5Rmz7o K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Kawaii-related concepts Moe- strong sense of preference/ attachment Meido- waitresses of cafes wearing a uniform Sailor-fuku- girls’ school uniform K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Kawaii as emotion Kindchenschema by Konrad Lorenz (1943): a set of physical features that make an object to be perceived as cute, inviting to be approached, nurtured and protected. Infantility is only one element of kawaii, not a necessary condition. Psychological and behavioral effects of kawaii according to Nittono (2016): ✓ Draws attention and interest; ✓ Induces positive feelings; ✓ Increases carefulness and narrows the focus of attention; ✓ Improves interpersonal relations (‘kawaii spiral’ and ‘kawaii triangle’ caused by smile) Japanese culture and kawaii: amae (behavior aiming to gain love and acceptance from others); chizimi shikō (orientation towards miniature, small and touchable things); ō-gata (cultural value that appreciates harmony rather than fighting and overreaching others) K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Characteristics of kawaii objects/characters Small Round Soft K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Of pastel color Helpless Kawaii characters Anime characters Yuru-kyara (mascots) Appearance: round, soft, big eyes, lacking body or face parts Imperfectness, helplessness, sincerity K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Yuru-kyara Yurui kyarakutaa- loose character The first yuru-kyara: Kewpie for mayonnaise company (1909) Yuru-kyara are used to promote the products or other things with which regions attempt to brand themselves and visually represent the place’s distinctive qualities (Birkett 2012) Later origins of yuru-kyara: National Sports Festival characters since 1983 (Gunma-chan) Features of yuru-kyara: undetermined gender, kawaii appearance, representative dialect, age between 4 and 10 years old, names with diminutive -kun and chan endings, etc. Mascot Grand Prix contest since 2011 Mascots have their own Facebook profiles, websites etc. K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Yuru-kyara Grand Prix Takata no Yumechan K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Shinjo-kun Facebook account Funassyi Twitter account K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Kumamon is not a bear, and Hello Kitty is not a cat! K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė https://youtu.be/gtvX0TbdKRk Initiator of “Pink globalization”: Hello Kitty (see Yano 2018) Hello Kitty is not a cat! “Real-making” process: Born in 1974. British, the full name Kitty White. Likes travelling to Japan. Global figure Why Kitty is without a mouth? Kitty as an enabler of social communication through the aesthetic of kawaii, nostalgia to childhood, girlishness, being a commodity for exchanging heartful gifts K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Various Yuru-kyara SENTOKUN SANOMAR U KUMAMON FUNASSHI K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė BARI-SAN Mascot of Nara city: Sento-kun or Mantokun? K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Meron kuma Zombear Gajiro Some not so kawaii mascots? K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Kawaii food K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Kawaii food at „Sanrio Cafe“, Ikebukuro K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Purikura The term is an abbreviation of “purinto kurabu” (print club) Purikura is both a photo booth and a photo-sticker The start from 1995, the peak in 1999. Inventor: Sasaki Miho from videogames and software company “Atlus” (subsidiary of SEGA) The main audience is young girls that collect purikura stickers and place them into cute albums called purichō Significance of purikura culture: textual/linguistic (kira moji, gyaru moji, new lexicon), social (emphasizing friendship, relationships, resisting gender and sexuality norms) K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Special vocabulary of purikura (Miller 2018) Hatsupuri- first PK Hisashipuri- PK after a long time Pinpuri- PK done by oneself Rabupuri- PK with a boyfriend Kapuri- PK for couples Eropuri- erotic PK Kosupuri- cosplay PK Yabapuri- gross PK Kimopuri – creepy PK K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė Kawaiification is OVER! K.Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė