Magazine (and Character) Mania

Want to know what's REALLY going on in the world of Japanese popular culture? Visit a large bookstore and browse through the magazine section. The range of special interest periodicals, especially, is nothing short of phenomenal.

One of the most interesting display racks holds the myriad publications aimed at the female -- particularly the young female -- consumer. As has been pointed out by scholars of marketing research, the Japanese divide a woman's life course into several distinct and discrete periods -- childhood, adolescence, youthful womanhood, working OL ("office lady"), young married, new mother, mature, grandmother and matriarch. Each type of female is subjected to specific and specialized consideration among those directing Japan's consumer market, and this leads to a proliferation of specialist publications.

Donald Richie's most recent book, The Identity Factory, wrote about one of these specialist magazines when discussing teen fashions. POPTEEN, he reported, sold 500,000 copies of every monthly issue of their guide to teen clothing trends! What surprised me when I picked up a copy of the July 2003 issue was the relative "maturity" of the featured models; all slender and willowy and amber-tressed, they seemed to be in their early twenties, not at all resembling the sailor-uniform-clad, gangly teenaged girls one encounters on the street. Clearly the magazine is marketing an image, a particular "look" -- and a rather "slutty" one at that, judging by some of the rather risque garments featured. And how about that section headlined (in English) "Lingerie is Love-Jewelry"? Each issue touches on every aspect of a teen's fashion aspirations, including shoes and other accessories, exercise routines to flatten the tummy and expand the bust line, makeup trends and "how to decorate your room" advice. And everything is very upbeat and positive; no advice here to the lovelorn or on how to deal with obstreperous parents -- this is all about looking good and having fun!

Interestingly, in a city somewhat "balkanized" by a tendency to concentrate fashion phenomenon in one particular city neighborhood or another (Harajuku for teens, Daikanyama for those in their "counterculture" early twenties, Shibuya for hip thirty year olds, Ginza for the trendy forties), I haven't encountered lots of young women who have taken up the POPTEEN look -- but, then, I may not have wandered into the right part of town yet!

When I do come across an example, however, I am struck by how "individualized" the look becomes even as it is instantly recognizable, This just goes to show how successful marketing experts have become in Japan advocating a very specialized image but providing as well the enormous range of choices within that look allowing each consumer to feel she has some creative control over the outcome without risking being viewed as "beyond the pale" or, worse yet, hopelessly out of touch with current trends.

FRUITS is another fashion magazine, but one which takes a radically different tack. About ten years ago a photographer started taking snapshots of young Japanese encountered on the streets of Tokyo wearing what he saw as "typical" fashions of the moment (in a society known for rapid change and faddish imitation). He published his findings monthly, a kind of guide to what the hippest of the hip were into at the time. Although in reality a documentation of trends already taken up rather than a barometer of the future, the magazine has flourished over the decade since.

I have tried to pick up the current issue whenever I'm "in country", but this time I bought STREET instead. STREET extends the franchise to "street fashions" current (in the July 2003 issue) in London and New York City, including a feature story on the "club scene" at a spot called Cash Point in London. Nowadays as well one can turn to the Internet for a weekly update on several web sites wherein the latest trends on the streets of Harajuku, Daikanyama and Shibuya are visually documented for those who just must have the latest duds hanging in their closets.

One last periodical worth mentioning, at least briefly: KITTY GOODS COLLECTION, the official Hello Kitty handbook published by Sanrio, the past masters of "character consumerism". I have at hand volume 22 in that venerable series in which (gasp) Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel are shown dressed as Bride and Groom! Has the time come for the two to tie the knot? Hardly. Those analyzing the Hello Kitty phenomenon (yes, there are academic specialists out there doing just that), such character figures as Hello Kitty are seen as provoking two distinct reactions among those drawn in by them. One is to possess, that is, to collect and display as many of these objects as possible; the second is to become something like what one assumes the character represents. Sanrio has decided Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel are to be invited to the wedding, providing the young woman collector one last opportunity to "be like Kitty" before settling into a placid domestic life.

But, if that's still not of interest, one can always pick up a fully Hello-Kitty-equipped automobile! I kid you not. There's also the option of taking up with a newer rival, someone like Yonda, the cuddly (and fully accessorized) panda.

- June 24, 2003