The Savior and the Savage: How Resident Evil 5 Inherited the West’s Racial Imagination
The Savior and the Savage: How Resident Evil 5 Inherited the West’s Racial Imagination When Capcom released Resident Evil 5 in 2009, the fifth chapter of one of gaming’s most beloved horror franchises arrived carrying something heavier than a viral … Continue reading The Savior and the Savage: How Resident Evil 5 Inherited the West’s Racial Imagination
From Tokyo Diplomacy to Boca Raton Fields: The Journey of Japanese Fashion
How fashion served as a tool in transforming Japan into a modernized nation, maintaining gender roles, and acclimating Japanese immigrants to a foreign land. The Meiji Restoration and Era The Rokumeikan after its completion in 1883. Source: Wikimedia Commons, “Rokumeikan.jpg.” In the late nineteenth … Continue reading From Tokyo Diplomacy to Boca Raton Fields: The Journey of Japanese Fashion
Walking on Landmines: The Dark World of Jirai-Kei
How a “cute but dangerous” fashion subculture became a mirror for the anxieties, overwork, and quiet despair of Japan’s younger generation. The Landmine Aesthetic Menhera culture set out to raise mental health awareness and give taboo subjects a more positive … Continue reading Walking on Landmines: The Dark World of Jirai-Kei
The Anxieties of Power and Gender in Japanese BL (Boys Love)
Content warning: This article examines Boys Love media and includes frank discussion of sexual violence, adult sexual themes, and other taboo subject matter, including the depiction of minors and coercive relationships in fiction. These topics are treated critically and may … Continue reading The Anxieties of Power and Gender in Japanese BL (Boys Love)
Maid Cafes and Maid Dental Hygienists: Japan’s Performance of Care
What Japanese maid-themed industries reveal about the supply and demand for cuteness, care, and the business of intimacy. Origins of the Maid Outfit In the 1800s, women employed in independent households to take part in cooking, cleaning, and child-rearing often … Continue reading Maid Cafes and Maid Dental Hygienists: Japan’s Performance of Care
Pokémon At 30: Why the Catch Still Matters
Why Pokémon Still Matters 30 Years Later Pokémon is a phenomenal video game franchise that, 30 years later, still inspires people around the world to catch every monster they see and go on adventures to be the very best. Whether … Continue reading Pokémon At 30: Why the Catch Still Matters
Reworking the Uniform: Fashion, Taboo, and Resistance in Japanese Subcultures
How Harajuku turns symbols of conformity into acts of self-expression In Japan, the uniform is more than clothing. It is a visual rule. School uniforms, work uniforms, service uniforms, and corporate suits all carry expectations about behavior, identity, discipline, and … Continue reading Reworking the Uniform: Fashion, Taboo, and Resistance in Japanese Subcultures
Seeking a Solution to Gaming Addiction in Japan
Japan’s Legal Response to Gaming Addiction In 2022, the Takamatsu District Court in Japan issued an ordinance addressing concerns about gaming addiction. In the meeting, the court decided that the local government was authorized to place a limit on video … Continue reading Seeking a Solution to Gaming Addiction in Japan
“White Face Monsters” of Tokyo: Inside the Shironuri (白塗り) Subculture
On a spring afternoon in 2013, Harajuku’s famous Jingūbashi near the Meiji Shrine filled with a surreal sight: dozens of people of all ages, their faces painted a ghostly white, drifting through the crowds dressed in elaborate costumes. Some wore … Continue reading “White Face Monsters” of Tokyo: Inside the Shironuri (白塗り) Subculture
The J-Horror Video Game Craze and Its Folkloric Beginnings
Japanese Folklore and Yokai in Horror Video Games Japanese horror video games draw inspiration from various parts of Japanese culture. Although not all Japanese horror video games are inspired by Japanese folklore, urban legends, and other ‘grotesque’ cultural elements, they … Continue reading The J-Horror Video Game Craze and Its Folkloric Beginnings