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From Kowai(Scary) to Kawaii(Cute) |
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The Irresistible Charm of Japanese Monsters |
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Emie Rideout |
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As Halloween draws near, we get excited about ghosts, goblins, and monsters. For one month, foam rubber body parts, fake cut-off heads, and everything gross and gory you can think of decorate our homes. But we're not alone in our love of the macabre; Japan has a penchant for the dark side too. Monsterific creatures appear everywhere—in folklore, manga, anime, toys, clothing, and even electronics. They create an environment where gothic fashion like Hangry & Angry can flourish.
The look and behavior of Japanese monsters is deeply rooted in traditional Japanese culture. The Japanese Shinto religion places special importance on the spirit, and just about everything can have a spirit—people, animals, and even objects (trees, umbrellas, etc). There are three terrifying types: yokai (mythical, supernatural creatures), yurei (spirits of dead people), and bakemono (unhappy spirits of animals, objects, or people). In fact, just as the United States was becoming its own country in 1776, artist and scholar Sekien Toriyama was busy creating a huge, illustrated encyclopedia of all of the yokai and yurei he could find in Japan, and he discovered hundreds!
Not surprisingly, these spirits have made their way into Japanese pop culture too. You've probably already seen them in manga and anime or at your local toy store. So while an encounter with a real monster could be scary (kowai!), the huge amount of stuff inspired by them is way cute (kawaii!). Let's sample some of the grooviest ghouls of the lot. And in case you haven't started your Halloween costume yet (tut tut, SB readers), they might give you some inspiration.
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Cuddly Afterlife: Ghost Land
What better place to go for Halloween than Ghost Land (super7store.com, $70), which is actually an ultra-freaky set of toys designed by boutique toy guru Brian Flynn. Similar to Japanese obake (ghosts) who haunt the living according to how they died, the five figures are named after the means of their own downfall: Blowfish, Working Stiff, Bump, Peg-Leg, and Six-Gun. These vinyls seem to have much more fun than the Godzilla-movie kaiju they're inspired by.
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"From Kowai(Scary) to Kawaii(Cute)" has been edited for shojobeat.com;
the complete article appears in the October 2008 issue of Shojo Beat Magazine. |
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Want more articles like this PLUS six of the most addictive shojo manga from Japan delivered to your doorstep every month—before they hit the newsstands? Click here to subscribe now! |
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