Today’s reason to sample the delights of Japan is to sample the street culture. This reason naturally follows on from yesterday’s observations about design and the way in which design – of all kinds – permeates a fresh-eyed tourist’s consciousness as they soak up the visual culture of a new and alien place.
My understanding is that Japan has a very vibrant and continually changing street culture. I have heard of many fascinating aspects; from excellent food stalls and street vendors, mass gatherings of young kids dressed exotically to the neon and video illuminations of the urban downtown areas of Tokyo and other big cities.
This all seems to be a manifestation of a very specific creativity that merges individualism with an odd (at least to Western eyes) sense of the group or the collective. I get the impression that Japanese youth (if one can seriously talk in these terms) gain considerable enjoyment from participating in a form of collective self expression that has few real direct comparisons in the West. It is not usual to meet a massed group of Elvis impersonators, teenage girls dressed as dolls or elaborately coiffed bikers as they congregate in the UK’s civic squares or thoroughfares. But it would appear to be the case that this is a usual and commonplace event in Japan. Undoubtedly UK teenagers express a communal sense of dress and identity but it rarely matches the apparent Japanese mania for dressing up, taking on a role or a character. From the outside it appears as if there is a very innocent and engaging theatricality at work here; almost an attempt to create a parallel or fantasy universe that happily co-exists in amongst the more mundane society.
Any quick glance at the search term “Japanese street fashion” on Google would lead one to think that pink is the number one favourite colour for all young Japanese girls. There seems to be an amazing amount of the sugary pinkness everywhere. Fashion is obviously the incredibly sticky glue that binds many different street trends together in Japan. The harajuku trend is incredibly interesting in the way in which young girls express or dramatically over-emphasise their femininity by dressing in pink baby-like clothes, with lots of layers , contrasting patterns, heavy face make-up and lots of ruffles and lace. Alongside the obvious punk references in the seemingly casual combination of styles and theatricality these creations owe so much to manga cartoon characters. These creations and the many other diverse fashion mixtures I’ve seen portrayed lead me to think that some parts of urban Japan must feel like one has landed in some alternative, futuristic universe where one instinctively recognises some things from the past but one is continually baffled and confused by the seemingly random and eclectic combinations that have been thought up. It is all a manifestation of the most rampant creativity and as far as I am aware there is no similar trend here in the UK.
Twelve Good Reasons 