Cuteness in Japanese culture

Many Westerners perceive Japan as weird. While many aspects of its culture differ considerably from that of the United States and Europe, it is this difference that -- while “weird” to some -- is fascinating and even tantalizing to others. One of the most apparent of the cultural phenomena unique to Japan is the idea of kawaii. Kawaii is a difficult term to translate into English, but the term “celebrates sweet, adorable, innocent, pure, simple, genuine, gentle, vulnerable, weak, and inexperienced

among other things.” (Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion) This paper will use Gilles Lipovetsky’s, The Empire of Fashion, Ruth Iskin’s “The Pan- European Flâneuse in Fin-de-Siècle Posters: Advertising Modern Women in the City”, Yuniya Kawamura’s “Japanese Teens as Producers of Street Fashion”, and an article titled “Contesting the social impact of marketing: A re-characterization of women’s fashion advertising” to examine the research topic of: The power and evolution of marketing and advertising

in the pictures conform to. Japan has a vast array of street fashion styles and trends. They are all mixed with elements of traditional, foreign and/or local styles. Their street fashion cultures vary from the tan skinned Ganguro girls to the victorian styled Lolitas. One of the most popular and biggest Japanese fashion influencers were the high school girls of Kogyaru. What exactly did these schoolgirls do to become one of the biggest trendsetters of Japan? The answers are within their signature

particular for the viewer. While many characters have ominous, creepy appearances similar to that of a ghost, they still have large eyes, blob-shaped bodies, and they make little-to-no-noise. These three characteristics emphasize the helplessness— the cuteness—of these creatures. The ominous appearance of the characters does however quickly begin to clash more obviously with their cute defining factors. In one early particular scene, Chihiro encounters a radish spirit: a large, round creature whose body

In “The cute factor”, Natalie Angier discusses the power of cuteness and it impact in our society. Angier argues that this cuteness factor is changing the way we perceive beauty, as we have a tendency to like things that are cute. She provides different scientific studies to demonstrate why we find things like babies or tiny animals cute. Through such evidence, she further recognizes that we act this way because we like the vulnerability, harmlessness, and innocence these cute things give off. And

Young Japanese women and girls are suffering from the Yaeba Complex. Unlike their counterparts in many other developed nations who view straight teeth as perfection, the Japanese are instead opting to undergo the expensive and painful procedure of creating crooked teeth. In this essay, through the lenses of the growing Yaeba trend, I will account for the reasons that contribute to this seemingly weird Japanese obsession of a preference for an imperfect smile, and study the possible societal issues

Inclusion through Universal Design: Influence of Japanese Monozukuri in Accessible Design He swings left to right, growing more agitated with each passing second and then abruptly stops. Looking overwhelmed and defeated, he appears to have given up on his cause. Approaching cautiously, I ask if I may offer my assistance and he gladly accepts. Hand in hand we cross the dangerously busy intersection and part ways. As I cross back, I recall my professor’s lectures on the pervasiveness of bad design

exploited fact that the Japanese subculture has a fascination with the West and creatively sophistry his works to put on the market. However, what makes Murakami a successful international artist is not based on how much his artworks worth in numbers but how he was able to transform ‘cuteness’ element of a subculture into his “Superflat” movement and reached the highest

FASHION Another distinct change in Japanese culture is the way they dress, from traditional clothing to modern day. In the olden days, the kimono was a Japanese garment that was worn by women on a daily basis. However, today, they are mainly worn for special occasions such as funerals, wedding ceremonies, church, etc. Fashion represents an important component of Japanese popular culture due to its tremendous contribution in enabling people to express themselves through their clothing. This is done

English in the Japanese language 2.1. Adaption and Integration: Influence of English on Japanese Language Use It has been many years since English was first introduced to Japanese society. In the progress of the 19th, 20th and 21st century, the English language was a continuous but varying influence on the Japanese language and its culture. The result of this centuries long process is a Japanese language that contains more than its fair share of English loanwords. Although most Japanese people, even