Japanese Subcultures

Cosplay

• Short for "costume roleplay"
• Participants wear elaborate costumes and accessories, depicting a specific character or idea.
• Originated in Japan, but is quickly spreading through North America, Europe, and more recently in South America and Australia.
• Often influenced by manga, anime, graphic novels, comic books, video games, and fantasy movies.
• Centered around wearing costumes and reenacting scenes or behaviors inspired by their source.
• Tokyo's Akihabara district has housed a large number of cosplay cafe's catered towards devoted anime and cosplay fans since 1998.
• Semiannual COMIKET event held in summer and winter attracts hundreds of thousands of manga otaku and many thousands of cosplayers.
• A recent trend in cosplay stems from online social networks, where users can share, rate, and socialize with other characters. (See: http://www.cosplay.com)
• Cheap costumes range from around 70 U.S. dollars, and expensive ones sell for over 600 dollars.
• As cosplay becomes more and more of a household name, many businesses are seeking ways to profit from this new phenomenon, and various print media seek out cosplayers for featured editorials.

Visual Kei

• Movement among Japanese musicians, characterized by eccentric and often flamboyant looks.
• Typically involves striking make-up, unusual hair styles, and elaborate costumes.
• Influences from Western phenomena including glam, goth, and cyberpunk.
• Visual Kei emerged in the late 1980s because of bands such as X Japan, Buck-Tick, and Color.
• Fans of Visual Kei bands will often dress up for concerts, group meetings, and other events where they think they will see people who enjoy Visual Kei.
• Visual Kei began declining in mainsteam popularity by 1999, mostly due to to the death of X Japan's lead guitarist Hideto Matsumoto.
• Then, in 2007, the genre begn to emerge again as X Japan came back onto the music scene. Visual Kei bands enjoyed a boost in public awareness, which the media described as "Neo-Visual Kei."

Kogal

• Popular among girls and young women in urban Japan.
• Kogal phenomenon emerged in the mid-1990s.
• Characterized by excessive materialism especially in fashion, music, and social activities.
• The "look" roughly resembles a California "Valley Girl."
• A Kogal's look typically consists of mini skirts, platform boots, excessive makeup, bleach blonde hair, artificial suntans, and designer accessories.

Lolita

• Primarily influenced by Victorian children's clothing.
• Due to its popularity, several substyles have emerged including Gothic Lolita, Sweet Lolita, Classic Lolita, and Punk Lolita.
• Mass-marketed and widely visibile in the streets of Tokyo and Osaka, on television, in manga, and computer games.
• A magazine called the Gothic & Lolita Bible, is said to have played in instrumental role in the promotion and standardization of the style. The magazine includes fashion tips, photos, and sewing patterns.
• Characterized by a knee length skirt or dress, headdress, blouse, petticoat, knee high socks, and high heel or platform shoes.
• Followers of the style do not consider it overtly sexual, and instead consider themselves Victorian children or baby dolls who look "cute" rather than sexy.

Bōsōzoku

• Japanese subculture associated with motorcyle clubs and gangs.
• First seen in the 1950s when the Japanese automobile industry began expanding rapidly.
• Often engage in reckless driving, weave in and out of traffic, excessive speeding, and running red lights.
• The stereotypical Bōsōzoku is often portrayed in Japanese media including anime, manga, and films.
• Often wear jumpsuits or a military-issued overcoat, usually worn open with no shirt underneath, to show off their bandaged torsos.
• Uniforms are usually adorned with militaristic slogans, rising sun patches, or ancient Chinese characters.
• Favor hairstyles typical to that of a greaser/rocker look, and punch perms are often considered standard.
• Female are known to dress in a similar style, but in a more feminine manner. They favor long, and often dyed, hair, high-heeled boots, and excessive make-up.

Freeter

• Japanese expression for people between the ages of 15 and 34 who lack full time employment, or are unemployed, excluding homemakers and students.
• The word freeter or freeta was first used in the late 1980's as a result of the bubble economy. It is a combination of the English word "free" and the German word "arbeiter," meaning worker.
• Freeters do not begin a career after high school or university, and instead elect to live as so called "parasite singles" with their parents.
• In the beginning, freeters were somewhat glamorized as people pursuing their dreams and living life to its fullest.
• Freeters that DO work seek employment in convenience stores, supermarkets, fast food restaurants, and other low paying, low skill industries.
• Their low income makes it difficult to start a family, and their lack of qualifications make it difficult to find a career later in life.

Modern Geisha

• Geisha are traditional, female Japanese entertainers who skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classic music and dance.
• Young women who wish to become geisha must often begin their training after the completion of high school or even college.
• These women study traditional instruments, such as the bamboo flute and drums, as well as traditional songs, dance, team ceremony, literature, and poetry.
• In modern Japan, Geisha are a rare site. In the 1920s there were over 80,000, but today estimates range from between 1,000 and 2,000.
• Geisha are often hired to atten parties and gatherings.
• Their purpose is to entertain their customer by dancing, reciting verse, playing musical instruments, or engaging in light conversation.

Sources:

http://www.mookychick.co.uk/style/visual_kei.php