Cuteness in Japanese culture

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"Kawaii" redirects here. For the Hawaiian island with a similar spelling, see Kauai.

Promotional sign for Japan Self-Defense Forces auxiliary

Since the 1970s, cuteness (可愛さ, kawaisa^?) has become a prominent aspect of Japanese culture, entertainment, clothing, food, toys, personal appearance, behavior, and mannerisms. Western observers often find this cuteness intriguing and sometimes strange because the Japanese employ it in a vast array of situations and demographics where, in Western culture, it would be considered incongruously juvenile or frivolous (for example, in government publications, public service warnings, office environments, military advertisements, and commercial airliners, among many others).

1 Prevalence
2 Perception in Japan
3 Influence on other cultures
4 See also
5 References
- 5.1 Notes
- 5.2 Other references

[edit] Prevalence

An All Nippon Airways Boeing 747 in Pokémon livery.

Cute elements can be found almost everywhere in Japan, from big business to corner markets, national government to ward and town offices.^[1] ^[2] Many companies, large and small, use cute mascots to present their wares and services to the public. For example:

Pikachu, a character from Pokémon, adorns the side of three All Nippon Airways passenger jets
Asahi Bank used Miffy, a character from a Dutch series of children's picture books, on some of its ATM cards
Monkichi, a cute monkey character, can be found on the packaging for one line of condoms ^[3]
All 47 prefectures have cute mascot characters
The Japan Post "Yū-Pack" mascot is a stylized mailbox. ^[4]
The Japan Post also uses other cute mascot characters, for example on stamps.
Each police force in Japan have their own moe mascots, many of which adorn the front of koban (police boxes).

Cute merchandise is extremely popular in Japan. The two largest manufacturers of such merchandise are Sanrio (manufacturers of "Hello Kitty") and San-X. This character merchandise is a hit with Japanese children and adults alike. ^[5] ^[6]

Cute can be also used to describe a specific fashion sense^[7] ^[8] of an individual, and generally includes clothing that appears to be made for young children, outside of the size, or clothing that accentuates the cuteness of the individual wearing the clothing. Ruffles and pastel colors are commonly (but not always) featured, and accessories often include toys or bags featuring anime characters.^[9]

[edit] Perception in Japan

As a cultural phenomenon, cuteness is increasingly accepted in Japan as a part of Japanese culture and national identity. Tomoyuki Sugiyama, author of "Cool Japan" believes that "cuteness" is rooted in Japan's harmony-loving culture, and Nobuyoshi Kurita, a sociology professor at Musashi University in Tokyo, has stated that "cute" is a "magic term" that encompasses everything that's acceptable and desirable in Japan.^[10]

On the other hand, the minority of Japanese, those skeptical of cuteness, consider it a sign of an infantile mentality.^[10] In particular, Hiroto Murasawa, professor of beauty and culture at Osaka Shoin Women’s University asserts that cuteness is "a mentality that breeds non-assertion ... Individuals who choose to stand out get beaten down."^[10]

[edit] Influence on other cultures

Cute merchandise and products are especially popular in other parts of east Asia, such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.^[11] ^[12]. While many of these products are imports from Japan, indigenous creations have also appeared. "Supercute" things have become so synonymous with Japan that many people often mistake non-Japanese creations (Such as the Thailand made POKU-PON[1]) to be Japanese in origin.^{[citation needed]}

In some western cultures, the Japanese word for cute (kawaii, 可愛い) has joined a number of other Japanese words borrowed by Western fans of Japanese pop culture. While the usage is almost entirely limited to the otaku subculture, it has been used by American singer Gwen Stefani, who gave kawaii a brief mention in her Harajuku Girls music video^[13].