Fashioning Japanese Subcultures

215 Pages·2013·4.273 MB·English

by  Yuniya Kawamura

Fashioning Japanese Subcultures
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Fashioning Japanese Subcultures
Yuniya Kawamura
London • New York
English edition
First published in 2012 by
Berg
Editorial offi ces:
50 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3DP, UK
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA
© Yuniya Kawamura 2012
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form
or by any means without the written permission of Berg.
Berg is an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kawamura, Yuniya, 1963–
Fashioning Japanese subcultures / Yuniya Kawamura.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-84788-948-5 (hardback)—ISBN 978-1-84788-947-8—
ISBN 978-0-85785-216-8 1. Fashion—Japan. 2. Fashion design—Japan.
3. Subculture—Japan. 4. Japan—Social life and customs. I. Title.
GT1560.K35 2012
391.00952—dc23 2012004413
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
PDF ISBN 978 0 85785 215 1
ISBN 978 1 84788 948 5 (Cloth)
978 1 84788 947 8 (Paper)
e-ISBN 978 0 85785 215 1 (institution)
978 0 85785 216 8 (individual)
www.bergpublishers.com
To My Family
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Contents
List of Plates and Tables ix
Acknowledgments xiii
I: INTRODUCTION
1 Understanding Subcultural Studies: Dick Hebdige Revisited 7
2 Placing Tokyo on the Fashion Map: From Catwalk to Street Style 21
3 Japanese Youth in a Changing Society 33
II: GEOGRAPHICALLY AND STYLISTICALLY DEFINED
JAPANESE SUBCULTURES
4 Shibuya: The Youth in Outspoken Rebellion 51
5 Harajuku: The Youth in Silent Rebellion 65
6 Akihabara and Ikebukuro: Playing with Costume as Entertainment 76
7 Shinjuku: Girls of the Nightlife Using Beauty and Youth as Weapons 85
8 Kouenji and Other Fashion Districts: From Secondhand
Clothes Lovers to Fast Fashion Followers 93
9 Individual and Institutional Networks within a Subcultural
System: Efforts to Validate and Valorize New Tastes in Fashion 99
III: THE POWER OF THE YOUTH: TRICKLE-UP/
BUBBLE-UP THEORY REVISITED
10 The Deprofessionalization of Fashion 119
11 The Globalization of Japanese Subcultures
and Fashion: Future Possibilities and Limitations 126
– vii –
viii CONTENTS
Conclusion: The Future of Japanese Subcultures 136
Appendix 139
Notes 149
References and Further Reading 155
Index 173
List of Plates and Tables
PLATES
Plate 1: Shibuya 109 department store.
Plate 2: A group of Gyaru in Shibuya.
Plate 3: A group of Gyaru-o in Shibuya.
Plate 4: A fl yer for Yusuke Arai’s retirement party.
Plate 5: A Gyaru at her retirement party in Shibuya.
Plate 6: Manami Abe in Classical Lolita.
Plate 7: Sara in Punk Lolita.
Plate 8: Momo Matsuura in Classical Lolita (left) and Sphere
in Ouji (right).
Plate 9: Zuki (left) and Haru (right) in Twin Lolita.
Plate 10: Haru in Sweet/Pink Lolita.
Plate 11: Cosplayers on Jingu Bridge in Harajuku.
Plate 12: Cosplayers on Jingu Bridge in Harajuku.
Plate 13: A maid café waitress handing out fl yers in Akihabara.
Plate 14: A waitress in a high school uniform at Cosplay Café.
Plate 15: Rice and curry served at a cosplay restaurant in Akihabara.
Plate 16: Cosplayers at Comic Market.
Plate 17: A cosplayer at Comic Market.
Plate 18: Ayumi Saito in a Ninja character in Nintama Rantaro.
– ix –