Kawaii!!!!!

Ugly little manga monsters, eroticism, Kitty-chan, pop stars, small children - in Japan, all of these things can come attached to the word kawaii. Normally inadequa- tely translated as simply 'cute', kawaii is not so much a word as a cultural force. But what is it, where did it come from and what does it say about the adherents to the cult of kawaii?

Since the 1970s kawaii has became more and more important as a selling tool for Japanese industry. Everything - clothes, food, furniture - decorated with a cute motif can be sold easier than products with a serious image. That's why kawaii spread through Japan very quickly. Until now, after more than 30 years of kawaii products, it is for sure that kawaii cannot be seen only as a mere fad or gimmick.

Kawaii is creating its own language: consider kimokawaii, a combination of kimochiwarui (ugly, revolting) and kawaii, and which is used for manga monsters that are somehow ugly and cute at the same time. Another is erokawaii, made from adding 'erotic' to kawaii. As the word is compounded with other words to create new words, we see new strengths in the cult of kawaii.

Usually trends from Japan can be found in Europe or America after one or two years. And this was the same case with kawaii products like Hello Kitty or Dorae- mon. Nowadays you can find a lot of cute Japanese products not only in Japanese shops but also in European shops. But how come this time a popular Japanese trend has not been picked up outside the country? Is this one piece of evidence that kawaii is unique to Japan and there- fore not transferable to all kinds of pro- ducts and cultures?

Kawaii cannot be adequately translated into western languages; there is just no direct equivalent to it. The only things one can find by looking up the word kawaii in the dictionary are various words that don't seem to fit together (cute, important, nice, pretty ••• ). In German, for example, kawaii is often translated as süß or niedlich, or cute in English, which are words gene- rally connected with childish things. There- fore, cute clothes can only be for children and not for adults. At least this is one reason why the German fashion couldn't adopt the kawaii fashion from Japan.

The variety of fashion styles in Japan is striking for most Western visitors, but what the apparent anything-goes attitude says about individualism and gender is misleading. It is conspicuous that many Japanese spend their free time in bookshops reading fashion magazines. After taking a closer look at Japanese fashion for young women, categories are easily observable, and all are, so some extent underpinned by the notion of kawaii.

There seem to be three main styles for women in the age range of 15-30:

Older sister-style (お姉系)

This newly made-up word oneekei descri- bes a grownup, elegant look. Pastel colours and golden accessories are chara- cteristic. Usually women at the age of 20 and older wear this fashion. Students for example seem to change their whole wardrobe in their semester holiday when entering the fourth year at university.

Girlish (ギャル系)

Flashy colours, glamorous accessories and a striking hairstyle are characteristic for this style. It is often used as a party outfit, but can also be seen on students and free-time worker (freeta). The new trend 'erokawaii' builds a new category for this style.

Casual (カジュアル系)

As the word explains itself, this style is casual - sneakers (trainers), jeans and wide pullovers in discreet colours.

These are the three principle fashion styles for women in Japan. Each style has its own magazine and in bigger clothing shops, its own floor. Even men know of these divisions. This demonstrates that fashion is not individual expression but a set of categorisations.

When asking someone about the origin of this new kawaiiversion, everyone answered "Koda Kumi", a popular Japanese singer. Various magazines show her on the front page under the headline "Kumi - new sexy-powerful, sexy, cute and independent style" ("強さも、セクシーさも、かわいさも自由に表現する").

Of course this combination is not transferable to Western culture. Especially "sexy" and "kawaii", because of the connection kawaii and child-like, can easily be misunderstood as a Lolitafashion. But this is definitely not the idea of the erokawaii style.

On the one hand it even seems to be a kind of revolution in the Japanese fashion. Not long ago it was vulgar for women to show too much skin and wear striking accessories and the current trend can therefore be understood as a step forward. But on the other hand, it is questionable if these young women only wear this kind of new fashion because they want to wear it.

Magazines for women often have a section where men talk about their favourite styles, which suggests that Japanese women do care about the opinions of men.

There may be kawaii in abundance, but it seems equality and individuality need more time than the latest game gadgets to spread through the country.

Text: Sina Yumi Wagner • Illustration: Yoko