You’ve probably heard the Japanese word “kawaii” at least once before.
In its simplest form, it means cute or adorable.
It’s something you admire for its youth and innocence.
Wherever Japan is mentioned, you’ll see cute stuff associated with it.
From cute cartoonish mascots to products on store shelves, it’s become a huge Japanese identifier.
Even food has had its share of kawaii influence.
Japanese cute culture is everywhere.
So, how did kawaii culture in Japan become the global phenomenon it is today?
Is kawaii just one style, or is it branching out?
Read on to find out!
How Did Kawaii Culture Start in Japan?
While many people attribute the start of kawaii to the 1970s, the roots of the culture can be traced back to the beginning of the 20th century.
An artist and painter named Yumeji Takehisa operated a stationery shop that sold prints of his drawings.
They included human and non-human characters with soft features and rounded lines, displaying cuteness as a loveable feature.
Takehisa’s art was aimed at children, which was the expectation in this period.
However, about 50 years later, the target audience for Kawaii changed.
By the 1970s, teenagers were fed up with the rigid post-war culture that emphasized traditional roles and expectations of the individual in society.
Women in conservative Japanese society were destined for the role of a wife and a mother, and not all teenage girls wanted that.
As a form of rebellion, a new handwriting style emerged among teenage girls, combining traditional Japanese characters with hearts, stars, and cartoonish symbols.
You read this new style from left to right, unlike regular Japanese handwriting, which you read from top to bottom.
The new font style was dubbed marui ji, which translates to “round writing.”
It was also called koneko ji, which means “kitten writing” and burikko ji, after burikko, the name given to a woman-child or a fake child.
Schools didn’t like the new typeface, and some even banned it, which made it grow in popularity even more.
By the 1980s, major advertisers had all adopted kawaii handwriting as a marketing tool, but that was only the beginning of its popularity.
The “Hello Kitty” Era: What Makes a Kawaii Character?
In March 1975, Sanrio, a stationery company, released the first product featuring the well-loved character Hello Kitty.
The clear vinyl coin purse had a super simple design, but its featured character was an instant hit.
The round face, large forehead, petite body, and mostly expression-less features of Hello Kitty would become the blueprint for more characters.
Their faces and proportions are taken from human and animal babies, which makes adults feel protective of them.
Sanrio and other companies started marketing their products based on the cute characters printed on them.
Not for Kids
Surprisingly, the target audience for those characters wasn’t children but teens and young adults who wanted to be surrounded by cute items.
Soon after, the media caught up with the kawaii boom, producing manga, anime, and video game characters that looked and behaved cutely.
The most popular example has to be Pokemon, whose fuzzy yellow Pikachu remains a superstar almost 30 years after its introduction.
Now, before I move on, I will say cute is subjective.
The examples mentioned will seem odd or even gross to some.
I get it.
But here, these things fall under cute Japanese culture, or Kawaii.
Examples of kawaii characters popular in Japan
● Rilakkuma: A brown teddy bear character released in 2003 by San-X, its name means “relaxing bear.”
● Pompompurin: A round Golden retriever character Sanrio introduced in 1996.
Described as a laid-back character who loves going outside.
● Totoro: An anime character from the popular movie “My Neighbor Totoro.”
This gentle giant has the appearance of a chinchilla but belongs to the spirit world.
● Badtz-Maru: A male penguin with spiky hair, Badtz-Maru is a troublemaker and a departure from the usual “nice” characters.
● Gudetama: A character whose name translates to its entire act, “lazy egg.”
It’s also one of Sanrio’s most popular characters and has its own Netflix series.
These characters are also a massive part of Kawaii bento boxes.
Food stylists arrange traditional Japanese foods in the shape of kawaii characters, making them a culinary delight and a popular style of edible art.
Maybe this should make our list of strange Japanese foods.
Is Japanese kawaii culture Just One Style?
As with any culture that takes hold and enjoys some popularity, kawaii subcultures have emerged throughout the years.
Their focus remains on child-like cuteness, but each has carved a way for itself, finding its niche audience.
The most obvious expression of kawaii has to be through clothing.
From everyday apparel to elaborate cosplay, you can find the embodiment of different kawaii styles walking the streets of Harajuku and Shibuya.
Here are some popular subcultures of kawaii style:
Lolita
Lolita is a style of clothing similar in elements to Victorian fashion.
It uses pastel colors, puffed sleeves, petticoats, and ruffles to create a doll-like appearance.
It can be angelic, using white and light color palettes, or gothic, using blacks, reds, and purples.
Yume Kawaii
Similar to Lolita fashion, Yume kawaii means “dreamy” cuteness.
It combines elements of rainbows, cotton candy, unicorns, and clouds to create adorable ensembles.
Shibu Kawaii
This is the practical solution to kawaii fashion; its name means “simply kawaii.”
Pastel-coloured everyday clothing items like sweaters, shirts, jeans, and accessories can have cute prints.
Ero Kawaii
This adult version of Kawaii fashion combines cuteness with eroticism.
Lingerie with fur, frills, and animal paws adds to its charm.
Kimo Kawaii
This term comes from “kimochi warui,” meaning creepy or gross.
It features darker themes with unsettling art or special effects makeup to combine cuteness with creepiness.
Yami Kawaii
First introduced to signal mental health struggles, yami kawaii means sick-cute.
It combines the regular hallmarks of kawaii fashion with bandaids, masks, and sick makeup to create this unique style.
What is Kawaii Culture Like in Japan Today?
Now, to me, cuteness is something like this.
But as we have seen so far, cuteness in Japanese culture takes on many meanings.
Here are some other examples of Kawaii culture in Japan.
Japanese café culture is unique
Cat cafes and other pet cafes (I saw an owl one) Japan has a café for you!
Mascots
All corporations and prefectures have a mascot, generally a cartoon animal.
Museums, schools, jails, and even the military have them!
Entertainment
Certain pop stars dress Kawaii.
They utilize huge, colored contact lenses, fake eyelashes, and heavy eye makeup to modify their eye size and color.
Some Japanese pop singers even write in kawaii calligraphy and put little pictures in their signatures.
Marketing and advertising:
Japanese food and snacks are cute, colorful, or have faces on them.
Faces make everything sweet.
Apparently!
Gaming
Japanese games are full of kawaii characters.
Kawaii art
Even busu are is a type of sweetness (ugly cute).
To Wrap Up
Kawaii culture in Japan has formed a huge part of our views about the country.
It’s a cultural phenomenon.
It arose from being a teenage rebellious marker to become the biggest identifier of Japanese life.
Japanese modern culture incorporates the kawaii concept into daily life everywhere.
From anime and manga characters to cute accessories, through to erotic cute, creepy cute, and even gross cute, you’ll find all things adorable everywhere.
Whether you enjoy fashion, food, or media, there’s a kawaii style out there for you!
