Japan’s wacky pop culture was bought to the world’s attention by the likes of Nintendo and Pokémon. Today anime, cosplay, manga and JPOP are known across the planet and are getting increasingly popular, used as an escape from the stress and chaos of everyday life. If you’re not sure of the difference between your ‘kodomo’ and your ‘pikachu’ here is the lowdown on a few of Japan’s most popular trends.
Manga
Manga, which translates as ‘whimsical drawings’ are, very simply, Japanese comic books. The current, easily-recognisable style developed in the late 19th century but its roots are far older, deep in the artistic and literary traditions of Japan’s history. In Japan, manga accounts for 40% of all publications sold and is read by people of all ages. It is typically printed in black and white and is particularly well-known for its in-depth characters and plots – some stories can run to hundreds of pages. Manga covers a huge range of genres from action-adventure and horror to comedy and romance and all that’s inbetween. A good place to start when first looking into Manga is Osamu Tezuka, who created Astro Boy – he is considered the god of manga in Japan, or the Japanese Walt Disney.
Anime
Anime is a style Japanese TV and film animation. Sharing it’s look with manga, many animes are simply animated versions of manga stories – Pokémon for example is both an anime and manga (as well as a computer game and so on). Either hand-drawn or computer-generated, anime is famous for its fantastical themes, vibrant heroes with their big eyes and the bright use of colour. To us in the west, ‘anime’ are animated films from Japan, whilst in Japan itself, the definition isn’t as specific. As with manga, in Japan anime is watched by all age groups and covers a huge range of genres. Try out Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and My Neighbour Totoro as an anime beginner.
Cosplay
Cosplay, a splicing of costume play, is the practice of dressing up like a character. Whilst manga and anime characters are the most popular, films, books and video game characters are also popular choices. Cosplayers fall into two categories: basic cosplay, which is just dressing up as a character, and masquerade, which involves acting as the character would as well as dressing like them. As cosplay has become increasingly popular the number of conventions and fairs have offered players to turn their hobby into a performance art, with role playing and improvisation. Head to Tokyo’s Harajuku district at a weekend to see cosplayers in action.
JPOP
JPOP is the term coined for a genre of popular music in the 1990s, but today is more general, covering Japanese popular mainstream music in general. Starting out as an eclectic combination of traditional Japanese music and 1960s pop and rock, such as The Beatles and The Beach Boys, this style of music has, in turn, become influential across the world, particularly in Asia. JPOP singers and groups epitomise the highly valued quality of ‘cuteness’, and play on cute and childish character. These popstars cultivate a perfect public image and serve as a role model for the younger generations. To experience the JPOP phenomena, tune in to Perfume and E-girls (click on the band name to go to their official YouTube channels).
If you’d like to experience Japan’s culture, old and new, for yourself, call one of our Tailormade team now to start working on your dream trip. Click here for more information on Japan.