Harajuku
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- For other uses of Harajuku, see the disambiguation page
Harajuku (原宿) is the common name for the area around Harajuku Station on the Yamanote Line in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo, Japan.
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[edit] Misconception
For external observers, it has been primarily known as a hangout for teens and contains the department store Laforet, which has many trend-setting brands for young people. But the majority of shoppers are from Saitama, Chiba, or other areas outside of Tokyo.
[edit] Origin
Harajuku became famous in the 1980s due to the large numbers of street performers and wildly dressed teens who gathered there on Sundays when Omotesando was closed to traffic. Those movements lead to the vibrant "Hokoten Band Scene". This was stopped at the end of the '90s and the number of performers, Visual Kei fans, rockabilly dancers and punks has steadily decreased since. Today on Sundays one can see many Gothic Lolita as well as many foreign tourists taking pictures of them on the way to Meiji Shrine. Some tourists are surprised to see such a large exhibition of Japanese youth dressed up in often shocking outfits.
Near the train station there is the Meiji Shrine, which is famous for the large number of people who come to visit every year, as well as Yoyogi Park. Also nearby are Takeshita Street, a street lined with fashion boutiques and various goods mostly for young teenagers, and Omotesando, a very long street with cafes and upscale fashion boutiques popular with residents and tourists alike.
[edit] Urahara (backstreet Harajuku)
The area known as "Ura-Hara" (backstreet Harajuku) has become well-known for independent casual fashion designs, footwear and so on. The more playful styles are exposed globally in publications such as FRUiTS.
Its origin goes back to the early '90s, with the opening of Bounding Hunters and following gathering of fashionable on the residential backstreet of Omotesando. The street is called "cat-street" for the fact that there are many cats crossing the street. The streets are heavily crowded on the weekend when teens gather to shop and hang out with their friends. Local landmarks include the headquarters of NHK.
[edit] Harajuku as an icon
Harajuku is a popular iconic location in the entertainment world, both inside and outside of Japan. The girls of Harajuku have been said to be the "Star beauty of Japan". The American singer Gwen Stefani references Harajuku in several of her songs and incorporates four female dancers dressed like Americanised Harajuku Girls into her background act. A song is even dedicated on her album, Love.Angel.Music.Baby, titled 'Harajuku Girls' and the word "原宿" (Harajuku) is depicted on the stage surface during her music video for Hollaback girl. Her use - what critics call her appropriation - of Harajuku girls and Harajuku fashion has been criticized by many Asian-Americans for perpetuating stereotypes of submissive Asian women. [1] In 2006, Stefani launched a second clothing line called "Harajuku Lovers," [2] said to be inspired directly by Japan's Harajuku district. Harajuku is also used as an avatar style for new registrants to the popular online world Second Life.
[edit] Harajuku in media
The Scottish group Belle & Sebastian also refers to Harajuku in the single "I'm a Cuckoo" from their album Dear Catastrophe Waitress.
A winter-themed special edition of Takeshi's Castle (known as MXC in the United States) contained a scene filmed at the station where Hayato Tani (aka "Captain Tenneal") gives one of his pep-talks to the contestants.
Joe Strummer (of The Clash) had a song "Sanposuru Harajuku" (A Stroll Through Harajuku) that he sang live at concerts with his band The Mescaleros in 2002, although the song did not appear on his posthumous album.
Well known pop-artist Gwen Stefani also dedicates an album and fashion line to Harajuku and its subcultures in her song "Harajuku Girls". She also refers to them in the song "What You Waiting For?" and " Rich Girls. "
Japanese female duo Puffy AmiYumi refer to the area "we ain't no Harajuku girls" in the track "Call Me What You Like (If You Like Rock-N-Roll)" from their album Splurge.
Japanese musician Matsumoto Hideto (松本 秀人) (“hide”) refers to the area with "Ichi, Ni, San, Juu, All the way from Harajuku" in the track "Space Monkey Punks from Japan" in the Zilch album “3.2.1.”
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Tokyo/Harajuku travel guide from Wikitravel
- Harajuku Guide @ Picturetokyo.com Harajuku Information & Gallery
- Pictures of Harajuku, Tokyo ( including Jingu bashi, Takeshita street, Cat street, Jingumae and Omotesando )
- Harajuku @ Japanese Lifestyle - Pictures & Harajuku shopping Information
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