Japanese youth culture is a
style
Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to:
* Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable
* Design, the process of creating something
* Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...
for the youth and teen. The youth culture include
Japanese idol
An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements b ...
,
visual kei
is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock.
Some ...
,
Gothic Lolita
is a subculture from Japan that is highly influenced by Victorian clothing and styles from the Rococo period. A very distinctive property of Lolita fashion is the aesthetic of cuteness. This clothing subculture can be categorized into three ...
,
Nagoya kei
is a subgenre of the Japanese visual kei movement that developed in the early 1990s music scene of Nagoya, Japan. The term actually developed before visual kei was coined, and gradually died out as the latter gained more popularity. Often consi ...
and
gyaru
( ja, ギャル) , is a Japanese fashion subculture. The term ''gyaru'' is a Japanese transliteration of the English slang word .
The term for was introduced in Japan by the American jeans company ''Lee'', who introduced a new line of je ...
. The cultures such as
Japanese idol
An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements b ...
and
visual kei
is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock.
Some ...
began as youth culture in Japan.
History
The youth culture in Japan began in the mid-1980s with the style
visual kei
is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock.
Some ...
with bands such as
D'erlanger
D'erlanger (stylized as D'ERLANGER) is a Japanese rock band from Kyoto Prefecture, formed in 1983 by guitarist Cipher and bassist Seela. While they originally played speed and power metal, after recruiting drummer Tetsu and vocalist Kyo they ...
,
X Japan
was a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements, they later gravitated towards a progressive soun ...
and
Buck Tick
Buck-Tick (stylized as BUCK-TICK) is a Japanese rock band, formed in Fujioka, Gunma in 1983. The group has consisted of lead vocalist Atsushi Sakurai, lead guitarist Hisashi Imai, rhythm guitarist Hidehiko Hoshino, bassist Yutaka Higuchi and d ...
. In the 1990s the idol began with idol group
Morning Musume
, formerly simply and colloquially referred to as , are a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon, Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most top ten singles ...
. Other cultures for youth was
Nagoya kei
is a subgenre of the Japanese visual kei movement that developed in the early 1990s music scene of Nagoya, Japan. The term actually developed before visual kei was coined, and gradually died out as the latter gained more popularity. Often consi ...
and
Gothic Lolita
is a subculture from Japan that is highly influenced by Victorian clothing and styles from the Rococo period. A very distinctive property of Lolita fashion is the aesthetic of cuteness. This clothing subculture can be categorized into three ...
. The youth culture in Japan began in the 1980s with cultures such as
Japanese idol
An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements b ...
and
visual kei
is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock.
Some ...
. Japanese idol groups such as
Cute
Cuteness is a subjective term describing a type of attractiveness commonly associated with youth and appearance, as well as a scientific concept and analytical model in ethology, first introduced by Konrad Lorenz. Lorenz proposed the concept ...
,
Morning Musume
, formerly simply and colloquially referred to as , are a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon, Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most top ten singles ...
and
Arashi
is a Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. Arashi officially formed on September 15, ...
began in the youth fans and teen fans. Visual kei bands such as
An Cafe
was a Japanese pop rock band formed in 2003 and signed to Sony Music Japan. Their visual image is Japanese street fashion#Oshare kei, oshare kei,''Shoxx Bis'' No 3 October 2004 issue, pg 69 and they describe their music as "Harajuku Dance-rock, ...
,
Ayabie
is a Japanese visual kei rock band signed to the label Tokuma Japan Communications. Their music consisted of a wide variety of sounds and moods, ranging from catchy and upbeat to heavy and hard-edged punk songs. Many of the band's costumes wer ...
and
Lynch.
Lynch (stylized as lynch.) is a Japanese visual-kei metal band formed in 2004. The band's concept is "uniting heavy music with beautiful melodies." As of 2021, the group has released three EPs, eleven albums, and 25 singles.
History
Lynch was ...
began with more fans of youth and teen and girl groups
AKB48
AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with ...
and
Berryz Kobo
was a Japanese girl group formed by Up-Front Promotion in 2004 and associated with Hello! Project. The group's members consisted of Hello! Project Kids members Saki Shimizu, Momoko Tsugunaga, Miyabi Natsuyaki, Chinami Tokunaga, Maasa Sudo, Y ...
sing at more concerts in the Asia, USA and Europe. The gyaru began in the 2000s as youth culture and ''gyaru'' began in the song "Watchin' Girl" from alternative rock band
Shonen Knife
Shonen Knife is a Japanese pop-punk band formed in Osaka in 1981. Influenced by 1960s girl groups, pop bands, the Beach Boys, and early punk rock bands such as the Ramones, the band crafts stripped-down songs with simple yet unconventional l ...
and
Gothic Lolita
is a subculture from Japan that is highly influenced by Victorian clothing and styles from the Rococo period. A very distinctive property of Lolita fashion is the aesthetic of cuteness. This clothing subculture can be categorized into three ...
began as youth culture in the 1990s and in the 2000s with Japanese visual kei rock musician
Mana
According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being ...
from visual kei bands
Malice Mizer
Malice Mizer (stylized as MALICE MIZER) was a Japanese visual kei rock band active from August 1992 to December 2001. Formed by guitarists Mana and Közi, their earlier music and themes were characterized by their strong French and classical ...
and
Moi dix Mois
Moi dix Mois (lit. "Me Ten Months" in French) is a Japanese visual kei gothic metal band, founded in 2002 by Mana after Malice Mizer paused activities. The guitarist and sole songwriter has been the only constant member in a series of lineup chan ...
.
Youth cultures
*
Nagoya kei
is a subgenre of the Japanese visual kei movement that developed in the early 1990s music scene of Nagoya, Japan. The term actually developed before visual kei was coined, and gradually died out as the latter gained more popularity. Often consi ...
, the subgenre of
visual kei
is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock.
Some ...
*
Visual kei
is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock.
Some ...
*
Japanese idol
An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements b ...
*
Gothic Lolita
is a subculture from Japan that is highly influenced by Victorian clothing and styles from the Rococo period. A very distinctive property of Lolita fashion is the aesthetic of cuteness. This clothing subculture can be categorized into three ...
*
Gyaru
( ja, ギャル) , is a Japanese fashion subculture. The term ''gyaru'' is a Japanese transliteration of the English slang word .
The term for was introduced in Japan by the American jeans company ''Lee'', who introduced a new line of je ...
*
Gyaru-oh
''Gyaruo'' (which can be written as ギャル男, ギャルオ, ギャル汚 in Japanese) are a sub-group of modern Japanese youth culture. They are the male equivalent of the gyaru. The ''o'' suffix that is added to the word, is one reading of t ...
*
Para Para is a synchronized dance that originated in Japan. Unlike most club dancing and rave dancing, there are specific synchronized movements for each song much like line dancing. Para Para has existed since the early 1980s when European countries starte ...
*
Cosplay
*
Otaku
is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in '' Manga Burikko''. may be used as a pejorat ...
References
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