Rebellion and Revolution: Japanese Fashion Subcultures

Sunnia Chen
Fashion is an inescapable facet of life. Whether its the influx of skinny jeans or the spread of
cozy sweaters, fashion is the dynamic tide of the ideas we adorn ourselves with in the modern world. The
daily patterns of the wardrobe are often expressions of us, just as outrageous fashion trends are
expressions of audacity. The Western world is home to some of these eccentric styles, ranging from Lady
Gagas meat dresses to high end fashion designers like Vivienne Westwood, whose breakthrough punk
and bondage based fashion collections became controversial due to their provocative takes on femininity
and female sexuality (Evans and Thornton). Strange fashion is on the other side of the globe too; the
streets of Tokyo, Japan are home to some of the most bizarre styles. Japanese fashion subculturesor
simply Japanese subculturesare identified by their unique, often extreme, street clothes. These fashions
also pave the way for specific, also often extreme, behaviors and speech, which create completely new
identities for the youth that embrace them. A subculture is a community involving lifestyles that stray
from the mainstream (Kawamura, Fashioning 1). For the members of Japanese subcultures, being
fashionable means not only wearing the act but performing the act as well. For the people who study
them, grasping their ways of life is crucial to understanding their implications. In fact, Japanese
subcultures have gained worldwide attention as case studies of sociology and fashion. Many researchers
investigate Japanese subcultures as representations of youth rebellion.
To understand the meaning of Japanese subcultures, one must first understand what they are. The
best way to do so is to first examine the fashions of each subcultures. The two examples brought forth
today are Lolita and gyaru, as well their subgenres. Their fashions bear little resemblance to the
traditional Japanese kimono. Gyaruthe transliteration of the English word galdescribes girls with
dyed hair, heavy makeup, and clothes from popular brands. Gyaru-o is the male counterpart: young men
that dress stylishly and flamboyantly (Kawamura, Fashioning 52, 54). Gyaru has many subgenres that
can be traced from its origins to today. The trend first started with kogaru in the early 1990s, which has a
focus on high school uniforms and loose socks (Kawamura, Japanese Teens 788). Kogaru branched
into ganguro, meaning black face, and involves long bleached-blond or dyed brown hair and saddlebrown tans with heavy makeup, brightly colored miniskirts or short pants and high platform boots
(Jiratanatiteenun et. al 294). Today, shiro gyaru has become the trend, where dark tans have been traded
for lighter skin (Kawamura, Fashioning 52), but countless other genres still exist. Lolita is characterized
by anachronistic visual representations of Victorian-era dolls (Winge 47). Not to be confused with
Vladimir Nabokovs Lolita, Lolitas cover their bodies in swaths of ribbon, ruffles, and lace. The Lolita is
not supposed to show too much skin, nor is it an over-sexualized appearance. Like gyaru, there are a
multitude of Lolita genres. Elegant, Classic Lolitas lean towards modest colors and refined floral prints.
Innocent, Sweet Lolitas over-accessorize in pastel pinks, bonnets, frills, and cute objects such as teddy
bears, hearts, and stars. Demure, Gothic Lolitas wear mostly black and convey somberness, perhaps even
tragedy (Kawamura, Fashioning 72). Ultimately, Lolita and gyaru fashions deviate from the mainstream
fashion culture and invoke themes dictated by the members themselves.

Fig. 1. Gyaru girls posing in Shibuya, Tokyo (Tokyo Fashion News).

The origin of Lolita and gyaru marks the beginning of the revolution. Yuniya Kawamura, Tadashi
Suzuki, and Joel Best elaborate on the history of Japanese subcultures. In the 1990s, Japan was
undergoing drastic societal changes. The economic prosperity of the 1980s suddenly collapsed, leading to
bankruptcies of major companies and multiplying national debt (Kawamura, Fashioning 35). The
unemployment rate rapidly increased from 2.1 percent in 1990 to 4.7 percent in 1999, its highest level
since 1953 (Suzuki and Best 68). The economic downturn also brought turmoil to traditional Japanese
society. Once a society of collectivism, cohesion, and strict gender roles, Japan now had men losing their
jobs and housewives looking for part-time employment (Kawamura, Fashioning 35). Old, traditional
values such as selfless devotion to employers, respect for seniors, and perseverance collapsed with the
economy; teenagers decided that asserting their own identities was more important than expressing that of
the group. This rebellion against tradition was expressed by the creation of norm-breaking fashion styles:
subcultures (Kawamura, Japanese Teens 787). In addition, the recession created chances for the
Japanese youth to become trendsetters. Public taste shifted from conspicuous consumption to lowerpriced items that would correspond to kogarus consumption patterns. There was less pressure to study
in high school due to the declining youth population, which lowered competition for college entrance and
increased leisure time. On the other hand, college students, who were once the trendsetters in the 1980s,
abandoned their fashion roles for studying and job hunting (Suzuki and Best 68). So, with their newfound
opportunities and youthful ambition, the Japanese youth began to challenge and redefine the existing
notion of what is fashionable and aesthetic (Kawamura, Fashioning 42). They became the rebellious
leaders in fashion and Japanese society, creating the Japanese subcultures from this backdrop of societal
and economic turmoil.

The rise of kawaii is one of the most prominent examples of this new youth rebellion. Both gyaru
and Lolita fashions are based upon the idea of kawaii. Kawaii is the Japanese word for cute, but it is
more than just an adjective; it is a lifestyle. Beginning in the late 1960s and 1970s, kawaii is a visual
representation of the hyperfeminine. In her discussion about gyaru, Kawamura states that Japans
fashion teen industry revolves entirely around what girls in Tokyo say is kawaii, for this determines what
is hot and cool and therefore must be the basis of any fashionable products. What is or is not kawaii can
only be determined by the teens themselves. Adults that run clothing stores have no idea what products
will be kawaii (Kawamura, Fashioning 58). Theresa Winge calls Lolita a kawaii phenomenon and
associates Lolita to a childhood that is further removed from the contemporary trappings and
responsibilities. She suggests that Lolita enables a type of escape from the dominant Japanese ideology,
culture, and society as well as a method of expressing their dissatisfaction with the dominant culture
since Lolita fashion does not follow normal Japanese dress and often suffers public disapproval (Winge
58-60). Kawamura agrees in her analysis of Lolita power, calling Lolita an act of silent rebellion, since
many of the Lolita say their subculture doesnt have a statement. She states that by not having a message
is actually the message, whether it be helplessness and hopelessness or something else (Kawamura,
Fashioning 68). By embodying kawaii, Lolita fashion has been identified by researchers as a form of
rebellion.

Fig. 2. Lolita fashion (Jeri).

Members of subcultures often make lifestyle choices that deviate from the norm. Similar to
Winge, Terasa Younker calls the Lolita a salient symbol of rebellion through how a Lolita would
behave. By speaking in a nasal, high-pitched voice, adopting a pigeon-toed childish posture,

carrying around childrens toys, and presenting herself as weak, innocent, and vulnerable, the Lolita
sends a clear message about her inability or refusal to accept adult roles. While feminists may be
appalled by her selfish attitude, the Lolita in fact contradicts almost every traditional Japanese value.
Younker attributes this to the challenges Japanese youths face when they reach adolescence. After
elementary school, they are thrust into a fast-paced, arduous regimen of cramming for college and
preparing for the obligations of adulthood (Younker 101). To counter these societal expectations, Lolitas
act childishly. Kawamura investigates the nature of gyaru and gyaru-o street gangs to explain the
rebellious nature of the subcultures behavior. In a street gang, the more abnormal and unconventional,
the cooler. Antisocial behavior, such as jumping into a lake in the middle of the cold winter, drinking
your own urine, or setting pubic hair on fire, is viewed is positive behavior. Girls may compete to see
how many sexual relationships they can have in a month. This sort of behavior is widely deviant from the
strict and proper traditions of Japanese culture, and gyaru and gyaru-o revel in it. They want to stand out,
be outrageously different, as a statement of rebellion against mainstream culture (Kawamura,
Fashioning 62). For Lolitas and gyarus, wearing the subculture means living the subculture. That is the
ultimate symbol of rebellion.
While Japanese subcultures are outrageous and perhaps downright silly, they actually provide
new perspectives on fashion today. Their implications provide new meaning to fashion trends, social and
economic influences, self-expression, and identity, some of which cannot be found in mainstream culture.
These perspectives often reveal deeply embedded, unrealized problems in society, ideals so wired into our
world that we might not even realize that they might be an issue. Its these subculturesthese oddities
that shout the unsaid and protest the silence. So we should look towards these trends across the globe. We
should conduct more research about the strange, the eccentric, the outlandish. We should search for the
incredible so we can better understand our world and ourselves.

Works Cited
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Jeri. Lolita fashion. Photograph. Japanese Fashion. Jeri and Japan, 12 June 2012. Web. 7 December
2014.
Jiratanatiteenun, Aliyaapon, et. al. The Transformation of Japanese Street Fashion between 2006 and
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Kawamura, Yuniya. Fashioning Japanese Subcultures. London: Berg Publishers, 2012. Print.
Kawamura, Yuniya. Japanese Teens as Producers of Street Fashion. Current Sociology 54.5 (2006):
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Suzuki, Tadashi, and Joel Best. The Emergence of Trendsetters for Fashions and Fads. The Sociological
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Gyaru girl posing in Shibuya, Tokyo. Photograph. Is Shibuya Gyaru Culture in Decline? If So, Why?
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Younker, Terasa. "Lolita: Dreaming, despairing, defying." Stanford Journal of East Asian Studies (2012).