is a
Japanese term literally meaning "beautiful youth (boy)" and describes an
aesthetic
Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,'' , acces ...
that can be found in disparate areas in
East Asia
East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
: a young man of
androgynous
Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex or gender expression.
When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in humans, it often r ...
beauty. This word originated from the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...
poem ''
Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup'' by
Du Fu. It has always shown the strongest manifestation in
Japanese pop culture, gaining in popularity due to the androgynous
glam rock bands of the 1970s,
but it has roots in ancient
Japanese literature
Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japa ...
, the androsocial and androerotic ideals of the medieval
Chinese imperial court and intellectuals, and
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n aesthetic concepts carried over from
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
, imported with
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
to China.
Today, are very popular among girls and women in Japan.
Reasons for this social phenomenon may include the unique male and female social relationships found within the genre. Some have theorized that provide a non-traditional outlet for gender relations. Moreover, it breaks down
stereotype
In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...
s surrounding
feminine male characters. These are often depicted with very strong
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...
abilities, sports talent, high intelligence,
dandy fashion, or comedic flair, traits that are usually assigned to the hero/
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
role.
Origin

The prefix ''bi'' (
美) more often than not refers to feminine beauty, and ''
bijin'', literally "beautiful person", is usually, though not always, used to refer to beautiful women.
means "beautiful middle-aged man".
''Biseinen'' is to be distinguished from ''bishōnen'' as is used to describe men who are of age, including those who have entered or completed tertiary education. The term ''shōnen'' is used to describe boys of middle and high school age. Last, ''bishota'' can be used to refer to a beautiful,
pre-pubescent male child or a childlike male.
Outside Japan, ''bishōnen'' is the most well-known of the three terms, and has become a generic term for all beautiful boys and young men.
The aesthetic of the ''bishōnen'' began as an ideal of a young lover, originally embodied in the , or adolescent boy, and was influenced by the
effeminate male actors who played female characters in
kabuki theater. The term arose in the
Meiji era
The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feu ...
, in part to replace the by then obsolete erotic meaning of the older term ''wakashū'', whose general meaning of "adolescent boy" had by this point been supplanted by the new term
shōnen.
The ''bishōnen'' was conceived of as "aesthetically different from both women and men
..both the antithesis and the antecedent of adult masculinity".
The ''bishōnen'' typically has the same traits as idealized female beauties in Japan: lustrous black hair, opaque skin, red cheeks, etc., but simultaneously retains a male body, making them aesthetically different from either men or women.
Western audiences may perceive the ''bishōnen'' as the feminized masculine, but the Japanese perception is more that the ''bishōnen'' embodies both the male and female.
Minamoto no Yoshitsune and
Amakusa Shirō have been identified as historical ''bishōnen''.
Ian Buruma notes that Yoshitsune was considered by contemporaries to be not physically prepossessing, but that his legend later grew and due to this, he became depicted with good looks.
Abe no Seimei was depicted according to the standards of a Heian-era middle-aged man, but since 1989 he has been depicted as a modern-style ''bishōnen''.
Kyokutei Bakin wrote many works with ''
nanshoku'' undertones featuring ''bishōnen'' characters, and in 1848 he used the term ''bishōnen'' in the title of a work about the younger ''wakashu'' partner in the ''nanshoku'' relationship.
[
The ''bishōnen'' aesthetic is continued today in ]anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
and manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
, especially '' shōjo'' and ''yaoi
, also known by its abbreviation , is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that depicts homoerotic relationships between male characters. It is typically created by women for a female audience, distinguishing it from the equivale ...
''.
Usage
Some non-Japanese, especially American, anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
and manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
fans use the term to refer to any handsome male character regardless of age, or any homosexual character.[Beauty Up: Exploring Contemporary Japanese Body Aesthetics. Laura Miller. University of California Press, 2006.] In the original Japanese, however, ''bishōnen'' applies only to boys under 18. For those older, the word is used. In the place of ''bishōnen'', some fans prefer to use the slightly more sexually neutral or the Anglicized slang term "bishie" (also spelled "bishi"), but these terms remain less common. The term ''binanshi'' was popular in the 1980s. ''Bishōnen'' is occasionally used to describe some androgynous female characters, such as Takarazuka actors, Lady Oscar in '' The Rose of Versailles'',[ or any women with traits stereotypical to ''bishōnen''.
Scottish pop singer Momus notably used the term in his song "Bishonen" from the '' Tender Pervert'' album (released on Creation Records). Almost 8 minutes long, the song is an epic tale of a young boy raised to die young by an eccentric stepfather.
]
Popular culture
According to Pflugfelder, the bishonen concept can be related to the "smoothie/roughneck" dichotomy of the Edo period. Sophisticated Japanese young men (''smoothies'') competed for hierarchical sexual dominance with so-called "roughneck" (juvenile delinquent) men, with occasional reports of violence between the two groups. By the 1920s the "smoothie" men had won out over the roughnecks in the popular imagination; "''rough was no match for smooth''", writes Pflugfelder.
In particular, Japan's largest male talent agency, Johnny & Associates Entertainment Company, specializes only in producing male Tarento idols. Accepted into Johnny & Associates in their early teens, these boys, collectively known as 'Johnnys', are trained and promoted to become the next leading singing-acting-commercially successful hit sensations. Almost all can be classified as ''bishōnen'', exhibiting the same physically feminine
Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and Gender roles, roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there is also s ...
features combined with a sometimes deliberately ambivalent sexuality
Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...
or at the very least, a lack of any hint of a relationship to maintain their popular availability. Many of the bishōnen stars hired by Johnny & Associates eventually abandoned their princely image, and became stock characters in variety shows and other normal day-to-day programming.
Art
Besides being a character type, ''bishōnen'' is also a distinct art style not usually forgotten in books about drawing manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
. In art, ''bishōnen'' are usually drawn delicately, with long limbs, silky or flowing hair, and slender eyes with long eyelashes that can sometimes extend beyond the face. The character's "sex appeal" is highlighted through introducing the character by using an "eroticized" full-page spread.[Wood, Andrea. (Spring 2006). "Straight" Women, Queer Texts: Boy-Love Manga and the Rise of a Global Counterpublic. '' WSQ: Women's Studies Quarterly'', 34 (1/2), pp. 394-414.] Characters with "bulging muscles" are rarely considered ''bishōnen'', as they are too masculine.
Bishōnen characters are fairly common in shōjo manga and anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
. Many of the male characters show subtle signs of the ''bishōnen'' style, such as slender eyes or a feminine
Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and Gender roles, roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there is also s ...
face.
Some manga are completely drawn in the ''bishōnen'' style, such as ''Saint Seiya
, also known as ''Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac'' or simply ''Knights of the Zodiac'' (translated from the French title ''Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque''), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada. It ...
''. ''bishōnen'' manga are generally shōjo manga (girls' comics) or yaoi
, also known by its abbreviation , is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that depicts homoerotic relationships between male characters. It is typically created by women for a female audience, distinguishing it from the equivale ...
(girls' comics focused on homosexual relationships between beautiful boys), however shōnen manga
is an editorial category of Manga, Japanese comics targeting an audience of both adolescent boys and young men. It is, along with Shōjo manga, manga (targeting adolescent girls and young women), Seinen manga, manga (targeting young adults ...
(boy's comics) may use casts of ''bishōnen'' characters for crossover appeal to female readers. Mainstream shounen and seinen fare also often uses such characters as rivals for a traditional masculine protagonist, with some degree of comic relief, or for the blander everyman, whether as the embodiment of his insecurities in a grittier realism, or as a more lighthearted constant reminder of his less than advantageous social status and the constraints thereof. Comics for younger boys tend to use arrogant ''bishōnen'' in the role of the recurring minor rivals readers love to hate, though their effeminate good looks there will often appear older, bigger, stronger, and thus in fact more masculine than the commonly shorter and less mature protagonists.
''Bishōnen'' and ''bishōjo''
''Bishōjo
In Japanese popular culture, a , also romanized as ''bishojo'' or ''bishoujo'', is a cute girl character. characters appear ubiquitously in media including manga, anime, and computerized games (especially in the ''bishojo'' game genre), and al ...
'' ('beautiful girl') is often mistakenly considered a parallel of ''bishōnen'', because of the similar construction of the terms. There are major differences between the two aesthetics. The ''bishōjo'' aesthetic is aimed at a male audience, and is typically centered on young girls, drawn in a cute, pretty style; ''bishōnen'' is aimed at a female audience, centered on teenage boys, and drawn elegantly. Another common mistake is assuming that the female characters in ''bishōnen'' manga and anime are ''bishōjo''. In truth, female characters in ''bishōnen'' manga are very different from those in ''bishōjo''; ''bishōjo'' females are usually more petite and drawn in a style that is cute rather than beautiful, whereas ''bishōnen'' females exhibit the long limbs and elegance of the ''bishōnen'' themselves.
Critical attention
Several cultural anthropologists and authors have raised the multifaceted aspect of what ''bishōnen'' represents and what it is interpreted as, mostly to fit a particular external viewpoint. Ian Buruma noted that although Western comics for girls also included "impossibly beautiful men" who are clearly masculine and always get the girl in the end, the ''bishōnen'' are "more ambivalent" and sometimes get each other.
For Sandra Buckley, ''bishōnen'' narratives champion "the imagined potentialities of alternative enderdifferentiations"[Buckley, Sandra (1991) "'Penguin in Bondage': A Graphic Tale of Japanese Comic Books", pp. 163–196, In ''Technoculture''. C. Penley and A. Ross, eds. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota ] James Welker describes the ''bishōnen'' as being "queer
''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...
", as the ''bishōnen'' is an androgynous aesthete with a feminine soul "who lives and loves outside of the heteropatriarchal world".
Jonathan D. Mackintosh believes that the ''bishōnen'' is a "traditional representation of youth", being "interstitial" between both childhood and adulthood and between being male and being female, regardless of the sexual issues.
Ishida Hitoshi makes the case that the image of the ''bishōnen'' is more about a grounding in sexuality than a transcendence of it, drawing on the idea of the image as being a refuge for alternative methods of looking at sexual natures, and sexual realities, at least since the 1960s, rather than the elegiac aesthetics of usages in an earlier era.
Representations of men in manga by and for men show "an idealized man being ultramasculine and phallic", ''bishōnen'' are conversely drawn to "emphasize their beauty and sensuality", and female artists have been said to react against the ultramasculine representation by showing androgynous and "aesthetically beautiful" men.
Ian Buruma, writing in 1984, considered the "bishonen in distress" to be a recurring motif in popular manga. The ''bishōnen'' in distress is always rescued by an older, protective, mentor. This scenario has an "unmistakably homoerotic" atmosphere. He also notes that ''bishōnen'' must either grow up, or die beautifully. He considers the "worship" of the ''bishōnen'' to be the same as that of the sakura, and notes that "death is the only pure and thus fitting end to the perfection of youth."
See also
* '' Bijinga''
* ''Bishōjo
In Japanese popular culture, a , also romanized as ''bishojo'' or ''bishoujo'', is a cute girl character. characters appear ubiquitously in media including manga, anime, and computerized games (especially in the ''bishojo'' game genre), and al ...
''
* Dandy
* '' Ephebos''
* Himbo
* '' Ikemen''
* '' Kkonminam''
* Metrosexual
* '' Shōnen''
* ''Yaoi
, also known by its abbreviation , is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that depicts homoerotic relationships between male characters. It is typically created by women for a female audience, distinguishing it from the equivale ...
''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishonen
Androgyny
Culture of Japan
Japanese words and phrases
Japanese sex terms
Male beauty
Male stock characters in anime and manga