Ero kawaii (エロ可愛い, literally "erotic cute"), or "erokawa", is a Japanese subculture that draws on Western notions of sexiness, in contrast to the popular cuteness (kawaii) trend. The term, coined in 2005, is a fusion of ero (shortened from the English word 'erotic', which has negative connotations in Japanese culture) and the lighter 'kawaii', meaning something like 'cute'.[1][2]
Ero kawaii started with singer Kumi Koda using the term to describe her own style.[1] Recently, fashion magazines have taken to using the term "erokawa" in captions. There have been accusations of poor taste directed at such fashions as onēkei which are very conscious of erokawa. There are also similar terms "ero kakkoii" (エロかっこいい lit. erotic cool), "ero kakko kawaii" (エロかっこ可愛い erotic cool-cute), and "ero kakko warui" (エロかっこ悪い erotic uncool).
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