Japan Fashion: Doll

There are these people, well women, in Japanese society that I often refer to as dolls. Primarily because they make themselves, or at least their faces and hair to look like that of a dolls.

These dolls are not really spotted by the fashion of their clothes, but more the fashion of their visage. Their faces are highly colored with tanning or whitening and powered to the max. They have bright spots of color that adorn their cheeks and their eyes are a drama all to themselves. They are dark with long fake lashes, with seductive moody glances. They have shadow up top that can vary from natural shades to those that are more vibrant. Sometimes and sometimes more often than that, you will find their eyes heavy with eye liner. And then their lips of course have some shiny colorful sparkly gloss to them.
Their hair is another sort of matter entirely. There is something that a Japanese friend of mine calls 'a Nagoya girl' in honor of their hair. What he means by this is that it is dyed and curled and placed all on top of and really all over their head. It looks like it simply either must be a wig ( which is not a stretch in this culture) or that they spent three hours to get it to look like that. This do can vary from being elegant seeming or extremely trashy and disheveled. But either way it is, curling seems to be the way to go for people of this sort. I suppose it is because the vast majority of Japanese persons' hair is straight that they curl it in order to stick out; as I try to call up a memory of any doll with straight hair I come up empty. Their hair is often dyed to a fashionable brown that is a bit hazelnut in color or sometimes even an orangey color that is clearly the product of trying to reach some sort of blonde. Browns are very 'in' right now, and I suppose it might have been this way for a long time. It is a way to stick out from everyone and not be the natural elegant black of the vast majority of Japanese people.

Their clothes. Their clothes make me think that there simply must be no other explanation other than that they work in a hostess club. They go with short shirts or skirt-like shorts (how modest!) or even dresses. Either way there seems to be a theme about their clothing. Revealing. Accompanying their leggyness, are tights. These range in color from nude colored to tights to accent their sleek legs to printed tight for added cuteness or sex appeal. Their shirts and blouses are also pretty varying. It seems to be a bit popular right now to have loose blouses that leave more for the imagination but still seem to be a touch elegant and a touch revealing if they fall a bit off the shoulders. Also popular is a knit, see through short sleeved sweater blouse. Since the Japanese census is that shirts must have sleeves to be proper, they can wear sleeveless shirts with one of these on top to still be considered proper. These sweaters do nil in the way of warmth in the winter as they are knit such that the holes give you a very clear image to the interior clothes.
But perhaps the most important aspect to their clothing is their heels. You will hear me complain time an again about how Japanese women do not know how to walk in heels. And it is very true, just look at the size of them. No wonder they have back problems when they are older! But you will hear them clunking along the side walk in stilted sloppy paces or tipping their feet while standing on the subway, when they are very clearly tired of wearing them already. There is no moderation in heel size either. The higher the better. In fact, for as many nice moderate heels I see being sold in Kobe (famous for shoes), I see rarely a soul wearing them. I feel like shoes must at least be 4 inches to be properly worn out in public be this sort of folk. And indeed it gives their figures a lovely leggy appearance. As for the shoe design, I feel like wedges are a slight be more popular than the stilettos, I suspect there is a minor comfort difference here. Additionally platform heels are entirely acceptable raising oneself an additional few inches to tower over any fancying men.
Jewelry is not an option. It is a necessity. Hair accessories are the most popular but necklaces and bracelets are not far off. And I feel like the one stipulation to their jewelry requirements is that it must be shiny, for that is by far and large the case more often than not. Rings are not as popular here as they are in the west; I feel like this is because if you are wearing a ring, any ring, and on any finger, you might possibly be married. I know I have a ring on my middle finger of my right hand and my students often like to ask me if I am married or if my boyfriend gave it to me. Apparently rings are often tokens of affection from boyfriends and such here. It could also be the significance that Koreans give rings, where rings are often seen as possible couple rings, in which any couple could be in possession of them and it does not necessarily mean they will get married...just that they are a couple. They seem to be a bit like promise rings from the west, but they are a bigger deal to Koreans. Those are normally more elegant and shiny (especially more so than the one I wear!). Earrings I also haven't noticed as much of, but they are occasional accessories. I get the feeling here that more people in the west have their ears pierced than those in Japan. Perhaps this is because of the view they have on piercings. You will also notice in any accessory shop a lack of earrings, with more significant placed on hair products.

So without further a-do I give you what I have titled in terms of Japanese fashion, a doll:

 And two more here. The left one has a more appropriate look I am trying to describe. The right seems a bit more care free and less in control with her features such as a doll would be.

蕨餅: Wannabe Mochi

I have no idea what it is exactly, but it is not mochi and yet I know that is in the naming of this Japanese summer dish. 蕨餅 is technically called warabi mochi and yet, every time I hear it I could swear they call it Wanna-be Mochi (or that is could easily be interpreted that way). 

This is not mochi as you might think of it. Mochi is rice that is pounded again and again so thoroughly that is is effectively mush re-solidified again. Ok that was a very un-eloquent way to put it...Mochi is rice that is indeed pounded very thoroughly, though they might also have machines that are able to perfect this technique in lieu of human hammering, and as pounded the rice becomes very sticky and naturally will mush and stick together forming a spherical like mound of dough-looking substance. It is then pulled apart and made into these sticky bite-sized dough-like balls and served to be dipped in a number of fixings, such as sesame powered, soy sauce, ginger soy sauce, sometimes innard fixings of red bean or sesame, and many others, but really I can just stop with the sesame powder, it is by far the most popular that I have seen and for this post, the only one that matters.
But again as stated, wanna-be mochi is not mochi. It is more so as my name states it. It is not made of rice but a transparent gelatinous substance. It is often clear, green or pink. The clear should be normal flavored and the green is green tea, and the pink might be sakura, but if you ask me those have no natural flavorings. I suspect that wanna-be mochi is made of some sort of agar or gelatin, but then again I cannot read the Japanese in the ingredients and cannot accurately tell you this is the way it is. They are the same shape, the bite-sized little balls, as mochi and are just as stick as it. They have a sticky jello-like feeling to them but more solid than jello, as you stick a toothpick like object in them to pull them apart to eat them. If you do the same to jello and try to eat it with toothpick prodding, then you have far more patience than I for all the jello you will be able to obtain in a single bite...If you eat them plain, there is again the jello texture and hints of flavoring but really there is not much to it. For their flavoring you are supposed to roll them around in sesame powder, much like you would with plain mochi, and then stick them with the little pick and pop them into your mouth.
This mochi can be served cool or room temperature and is a special summer delight for Japanese people. The texture and ingredients of the mochi give it a naturally cooler sensation and therefore it is seen as refreshing in the face of the splendid summer heat.

Aye Aye Captain!

There is a stereotype that started probably somewhere around the time of WWII and has since been provoked by anime, that Japanese girls wear sailor outfits to school.

Well I am here today to completely confirm these reports. My students sport these super traditional outfits that have probably never been modified since the schools open some 50 years ago now.
They have actually two different outfits: a summer outfit and a winter outfit. The girls have a white short-sleeve affair during the summer. Their shirt has a sort of a collar/black flap with cream detail around it. The shirt zips up in the front and is embellished with a scarf they wear about their neck (but under the back flap) and ties around front. They all wear a navy blue skirt of varying heights, but that is only because they hike them up. Lastly, they also sport black (or white but that is extremely unpopular and only seen as a last resort) knee high socks. In the winter the color of their top changes to a navy blue with long-sleeves and a red detail about the collar. When it gets really cold, they will wear a cardigan over their outfit that is often black, navy or brown (colors for which is not mandated).
Of course the men have two different outfits too, just theirs are hardly any different. Their summer outfit is black pants and a white short-sleeve button down, while their winter one is much of the same, only with a long-sleeve white t-shirt and an added black overcoat with gold buttons with the symbol for middle school on each (中).
All of the students of any gender and grade have a little colored plastic name plate that says their last name sewn upon their lapels. The older students who have since ripped theirs off, have glued safety pins to the backs of theirs. The colors of the plaque represent grade level of the students. The colors are blue, white, and green. The students do not get new plaque each year with new colors, rather the old colors are recycled and the new students will get the graduated students old color.
In addition to normal schools clothes, students get a set of P.E. clothes that are navy shorts with red strip detail down the sides as well as a shirt that sports their name and often class number. The P.E. clothes also have a pants set especially for the winter. If students are in a club they may acquire other gear and clothing through that club, but those are put through special order and are not school assigned. They are also typically a little nicer looking.
A little about changing. My schools is extremely old as I mentioned, therefore this practice may be out of date for newer and nicer and certainly private schools. But at my school, when it is P.E. time, it is a combined effort of two classes. All of the girls will file into one room and the boys into another. There are curtains to block the windows that face the corridor as well as the outside, so that no one can see them changing. Though for the girls many of them might wear their gym outfit under their school outfit, especially when it is cold.
Students only get one set of clothes and must wear them all week and not get them dirty. They are also mandated to wear them at all times on the campus. I cannot say how many set of P.E. clothes they get, but seeing how dirty they get after playing volleyball one afternoon, I certainly hope it is more than one.



Other schools, newer ones, have adopted other manner of dress for their students. Really cute uniforms in my opinion. A high school near me has their students sporting sweater vests and has bows around their necks. Of course with skirts and blazers (in the winter) as well. The mens suits are upgraded as well and slightly more professional looking and blazer-like jackets. This particular schools does a rather cute thing and the different colored bow-ties and bows all represent a different grade, so there is a mustard yellow, a navy, and a deep red. I don't know which color is for which grade as I do not work there, I just live really close to see them all the time.

Our winter outfits!

And in summer:

Geisha

Largely disappeared in the increasingly modern if not advanced world of Japan, one stills seems to have a place in ones memory for the matter of the white-faced geishas.

Recently a friend inquired me if geishas still existed.
The extremely direct answer is that yes they do and I have actually had the luck to see one. But the other answer is that they are not quite like they were from the movie Memoires of a Geisha.

Previously, geishas were more often thought of as high priced whores, also seen in Memoires of a Geisha. But moreover, they got their start as more of an expression of art and entertainment. You see, back in the day, well I suppose it really isn't that far back in the mentalities of most Japanese, but for the purposes of this story you need to go back, back to when men were supreme and women their mere servants and heir bearers (see 50 years ago isn't that far back, but I speak of hundreds). Men of this time were often samurai, as well as butchers, heads of offices, merchants, you name it. The important part is that men were the one with the jobs. This means that men also had positions in the performing arts as well. Well more like every position. Geishas they were. The art of grace and style of beauty actually came from men! Can you believe it?! But the point of all of this was a discussion on the origins of geisha-ism, so with this knowledge you cannot say that the origin of geishas was prostitution (I mean unless there was male geisha prostitution of which I am unlearned).



It was later that women took over the role of being a geisha. Perhaps just for the prostitution aspect? I cannot say. But they would preform for clients with expensive tastes and would often entertain people such as the emperor himself. And men, being the selfish pigs they are, turned these geishas into concubines (one woman is clearly not enough, how dare you speak such heresy). And of course seeing the plethora of job opportunities on the market for entertainment and pleasure acts, geisha brothels did appear. Though I suppose one can argue whether or not these are true geishas at this point. Such was the reaction to these brothels that the city had to institute a number of rules on the whore house perhaps to maintain somewhat of an air of modesty and class to their cities. For example:

• they limited their existance to specific districts called yukaku 
• they instituted a rule where no male was allowed to stay there for more than a 24 hour period straight 
• the employment was not allowed to leave the peremmississ without authority to do so 
• and the employment was to wear simple died kimonos, to a lesser quality than the finer courtesans

These rules and tight control came upon a time when female geishas were flourishing and daughters were easily given up to a geisha or brothel house. A woman's dowry can be quite expensive you see and women are no cheap things themselves, just compare a woman's and a mans kimono. Please reference the movie again to understand why they were given up and auctioned off...


In today's time, geishas still exist as the exquisite beauties of white face and striking make up. They wear beautiful and elaborate kimonos that must be sweltering with the many layers of fabric. They do still do dance performances as well as tea serving at select tea houses. They are a top dollar commodity, a luxury expense for the wealthy elite. They play instruments, they dance, recite poetry, they sing, write calligraphy, they story-tell, they pour tea; but they are not auctioned off to any bidders with virginity as a price.

Living in the kansai region, a stones throw from Kyoto, I can attest that you can still see many of geisha present there, if you know where to look. By that same factor, I will also be the first to tell you that there is no real geisha scene in Tokyo. I would tell you this because the culture and the traditions as well as the buildings themselves and atmosphere of Kyoto is so well preserved that the modern and technologically advanced Tokyo cannot hold a candle to it. Indeed in Kyoto there are ordinances input to maintain as much historical buildings and areas as possible. Even the atmosphere is important: you know McDonalds red sign with the golden arches? Well because back in the day, they would not have acheived such unnatural colors, they have modified the sign and appearance to be somewhat dulled and the red is a ruddy brown and the golden arches are more or less a bit more golden in appearance.

It is true that many of the 'geishas' you might believe to have met are actually maikos, a younger, less experienced apprentice version of the same thing. At what time a maiko becomes a geisha, I cannot say. It used to be at a certain age, a maiko would graduate into a geisha, but today's skills and requirements tend to vary from ancient times. Others that you might see, especially if they are out and about, are actually tourists, who pay a fee to be dressed up as such and visit the relics of Kyoto.

tourists in dress 

Where to see them? At big events that call for a celebration. I saw them at a recent matsuri (festival) where the pair, a geisha and a maiko put on a beautiful dance.

Japan Fashion: the Otaku

I think that one of the biggest misconceptions I had about Japan dealt with the word Otaku.

For the most part, I imagined an otaku being some unshaven overweight undesirable who would frequent maid cafes in order to fulfill real life fantasies that he envisions with the help of anime or manga. Often I picture them wearing glasses and in need of...well, SOMEthing to happen on their head (normally some kind of a haircut, but I suppose there are some cases where it really just needs a shower). Pretty much I imagined them to be more or less like this:




Turns out I am pretty far from the truth with my imagination. Otakus can be anyone or anybody, and you can't tell them apart normally. Sure some might be on the local train reading the latest One Piece, but then again most people read One Piece. So how do you tell them apart?
Well I was told that they look a bit more nerdy like an I.T. worker and I automatically conjured up a Japanese-American image, but here the nerds aren't so nerdy. I actually could not tell you who was an otaku and who wasn't. So the explanation had to be brought a bit further. Sure they look like and hell they are normal people who just happen to use a ton of their free time playing games or reading manga or watching anime.
Their fashion is more or less a casual business Japanese office worker fashion. Often wearing jeans or something Japanese people call Chino pants, which are more casual than khakis and they tend to roll them up at the ankle, and a white button down shirt that is more often than not, tucked in. I should also mention a stereotype of plaid or check button down shirts. Sounds pretty normal right? Apparently what sets them off the most is a bookbag that they carry about. I can't tell you what is inside it; maybe manga. But apparently they are sort of known for carrying about bookbags. I never noticed it until someone said that otakus seemed childish carrying about their bookbags, as if they were still in school. Their hair might run a bit on the longer side, but unlike manga and anime would lead you to believe, they do try to socially conform a bit...

But personally I think images like this take it too far again...sure they have the roll pants (but let me point out, these are NOT chino pants), and the button down shirt. Cross body converted belt backs have actually made a bit of a resurgence in Japan, especially among men (as carrying a bag here is not queer), but I don't ever really see the belt bags as shown here. The raincoat...well it certainly can be true, but again I think this poor soul is taking it too far when all of Japan is fairly fashion concerned. You can see the backpack I was talking about and the longish hair (again, taking it too far in my opinion). And as for the glasses, glasses are again fashionable in Asian countries, but I think this is still a mis-perception of a stylized, excessive otaku that probably has trouble socializing with the rest of the world.



Some better examples:

Can I take your order?

One of the things I first loved about Japan, was their plastic food.

Outside of a great many restaurants you will find their menu. In food format. In Japan there is a whole industry on the construction and life-likeness of plastic food. The food of course displays what the menu is for the restaurant and for someone who spoke and read exactly no Japanese save for sumimasen, these visual menus were the perfect way to see what a restaurant had. You might find a good amount of the menus of places are written in stylized kanji and will need someone to order for you. It seems that, save for very well populated and well positioned restaurants, a good amount of menus have a sincere absence of visual aid to help you decide what you would like to order. Making these little outdoor look-alikes a nice blessing.
Plastic food seems to last forever. Honestly one restaurant where I live I swear probably installed their display in the 70's and hasn't opened it since. Granted there are newer and better models of the same thing that are now in production. Models that look nearly real. Of course models still need a good dusting now and again to maintain their life-like qualities or the food will sincerely begin to look a bit drab.
Occasionally there will be real models of the food outside. If there is a special that day or a slight change in the menu or what not. But be advised not to eat it. I am sure they will look at you very strangely for that indeed. Also it will probably be cold.

Can't speak Japanese? Not a problem. When I first visited Japan and went to restaurants alone, I would take a picture on my phone of whatever I desired to eat and show the waiter/waitress/or cook. And oh they loved it. I was such a funny little gaijin to them.

I miss you

Many people like to ask me what I miss the most being abroad.

Well as it turns out I miss a lot of things. I have been abroad for nearly two years now and I can say that living in Japan makes me miss America more. I think this is because E-mart allowed me easy access to many American foods and items when I was in Korea. Therefore a piece of home was always nearby. In Japan American food is much much more expensive. Even the base ingredients. Needless to say, I cook and eat out American style ( or any kind of Western style ...I won't even tell you how expensive it is to cook or go out for Mexican!) way less. Now I love Japanese food you will hear no qualms from me about most any dish, but sometimes there are things from the heartland that are near and dear and just hit the right spot from time and again. 

I think another thing that kind of frustrates me about Japan that I know I have mentioned before, is the prices. Gas is 140 yen per liter ( it just went down. during golden week it was 160 yen). Mangoes are 300-400 yen. Blueberries 600 yen. A sewing machine ...you won't find one for less than 100.00 usd over here. Oh! And bikes! you won't find one for less than 120.00 usd over here. Well not new anyway. If you are accustomed to living a certain lifestyle in America or even Korea, it will cost you much more in Japan. Road trips? Several hundred dollars. Even if you avoid the toll roads. A nice dinner meal twenty bucks for all the cooking ingredients at bargain prices. Even the hotels are more expensive than in America. Here they often have a little thing called love motels which are typically cheaper than a nice hotel though a large bit more shady. And those will often charge by the person (or by the hour if you prefer). Actually hotels charging by the person is a pretty normal thing in Japan. They do not charge by the room. So a 5000 yen hotel very quickly becomes a 10000 yen hotel when traveling with a companion. 

Let me back up. In Korea my experience was extremely different. I took buses every where and they were cheap. 15 dollars for a three hour ride or so. And then I would stay the night in a place called a jimjilbang ( a large bath house with sleeping areas) for about 5 dollars a night. Food in Korea? I never spent more than 10 dollars for the best meals ( I think meals are typically on the cheap side and they make more of their money off the alcohol most people want with the meals). These prices are certainly cheaper than American places where sleeping bath houses are just unheard of, but in comparison to Japan, it seems like robbery. 

If you are living in Japan or have lived (or living!) abroad anywhere for any length of time. Please leave me a comment on what you missed the most about your homeland when you were away. 

Japan Fashion: Hippie

If you see anyone with a head band in Japan they are probably not in fact hippie; rather, they are more likely to imagine themselves as some sort of fashion icon of the modern pop culture.

Hippies in Japan are not the same as we envision them in America. They are not the bright colored dread-locked unwashed masses listening to the Beatles with rose colored glasses. In Japan they stick to a more natural sense of the word. Actually it is just that, natural. Hippies in Japan carry about themselves a natural style and air.

Here they are the ones adorned in plain cotton, linen, or hemp clothing in plain but interesting fashions. There is no extravagance to their clothing and the cloth itself is typically not overly processed or synthetic. They often wear naturally dyed clothing (Japan is famous for indigo colors, often called Japanese blue) that does not have any shiny or superfluous accouterments that many of their societal counter parts might possess. Their clothes are a bit more loose, though not in a baggy sort of way...more like if a breeze were to happen by, their clothes would billow a bit in it. They don't stick to the skin in the slightest and have an extremely simple, natural air about them.
Hippies here often like to fashion their own simple clothing and are rather adverse to the color-techniques of the  pop culture. They pride themselves on being pretty simple. Though oddly they still seem to remind me a lot of hipsters in America. Not that they were the big glasses or the stupid clothes that they think are ironic or fashionable, it is just that they do like to grow their own food here, and they do like it organic, and that does make them judge others a little bit. Oh I don't mean in a bad way, but the majority of people who like organic food, especially if it was wrought with their own hands tend to be a tad bit more reserved than most. You will not find them bumping around in the bustling downtown Umeda with shopping bags all over their arms, and in fact you might not hardly find many in that area at all. I have found the majority of them frequenting craft fairs or located closer to the suburbs (whatever that might mean in Japan) or inaka. There are quite a few who live in Kyoto as it is a large culture hub in Japan, welcoming every aspect of society.
I find that their style often draws imagery to Buddhism with their very peaceful manners and composure. It probably is no help that they are most likely Buddhists themselves (what with a country that is for the vast majority Buddhist). Their careful thought process is another tell tale sign. Let me back up and tell you that I am mostly referring to an older crowd when I make these remarks. For the last half year I sat next to someone in the office who was more or less (with lots of Japanese mal-translations and broken English) a self described hippie. Our conversations were few, but I did glean quite a bit from her.
And as a last piece of fashion advice for Japanese hippie-ism, is that jewelry is extremely minimal and simple in taste. Sandals are largely preferred because of the calm composure they keep; they see themselves in no rush and as such have less of a need for tennis shoes. And lastly headgear, hats and these cloth tube-like hat headband variations are also worn, where many Japanese, especially women will not often wear hats, unless it is a sun hat, but more on that later.

  

These last two are more fashionable than most but also
 younger than most. Still, the baggy, flowy style is still the same.