KAWAII SMILE

The word kawaii is an important part of Japanese culture. … Kawaii is used for everything, from clothing to food, from fun to physicality; and describes something charming, vulnerable, childish or lovable.

The phenomenon was born in the 80s with the boom of gadgets related to anime characters, from then on “Kawaii” tends to indicate mainly a cute, adorable object, with small and tender features, usually in light pastel colors (how to forget by Hello Kitty, the pink and white kitten nca became a symbol of a nation?). Over the years, however, it takes on a different connotation, expanding in meaning no longer only to inanimate objects but to a real lifestyle, becoming a culture, the way of life of a band of Japanese children that will eventually extend up to the ‘unlikely, crossing any age or state boundaries.

Giant eyes, rounded shapes and simplistic features are the hallmarks of one of the most beautiful art forms. It is known as “kawaii”, for the Japanese word cute, and has been adopted into a subculture that can be found all over the world.

The concept began as a rebellion against traditional Japanese culture in the 1970s. Girls wrote, scribbled, and adopted more elegant clothing styles in order to stand out from the roles their society was pressuring them. As is quite common for cultural rebellion, it resulted in the art world: visual arts, performing arts and music were created in this genre. It’s safe to say the most ubiquitous form of kawaii is visual art and fashion (really, they go hand in hand).

This kawaii oblique started with women imitating a style called “burriko”, which means “woman acting like a child”. You will see it in kawaii clothing styles and kawaii subcultures such as Lolita (dresses, tights and tights), fairy-kei (pastels, colored hair, wings), decoden (countless accessories, all dazzled), etc. Think of the sweetness you’d like to associate with a preschooler, apply it to an adult female, and you have an understanding of burriko. Now, to be fair, kawaii isn’t limited by gender. It is a product of culture to refer to images as stereotypically feminine.

The Kawaii box is a box full of strictly Japanese and / or Korean surprises that arrives by post every month. kawaii box, in a nutshell, is a way to go back under the age of 12 once a month, unwrapping a box full of sweets and little surprises. Each package, in fact, contains a selection of 10-12 pieces including dolls, sweets, DIY materials.

Among the many limited edition and exclusive gadgets, there will certainly be surprises with famous Japanese characters, such as Hello Kitty, Pusheen, Alpacasso, Rilakkuma, Pokemon, Sanrio and Totoro; a real treat for fans of the Kawaii world!

SMARSHMELLOW GIRLS

Society has labeled women that is anywhere fro 10 pounds overweight, fat, plus size, chubby, thick, curvy and any other derogatory term to describe a woman who doesn’t fit the image of what Hollywood and glamour magazines call attractive and perfect women.

Usually when the word Japanese girls comes into our minds, we would picture a skinny and small figure but there’s a sad truth behind their skinny figure. Society has discriminated those who are not “skinny” but rather on the chubby side. In the other parts of the world, being chubby is a normal thing but in Japan, they don’t approve of women being chubby. The ones that are on the heavy side are being called debu which means fatso online and even in front of them.

Netizens have invented a new nickname for the chubby ladies which will change the people’s attitudes towards them. They’re now called as the “marshmallow girls”!

Did you know that chubby girls are also cute? Mr. Saichu, who has a tummy fetish, had commented how society is against fatties. Sometimes they get criticized for lacking self-discipline or neglecting to maintain a balanced diet which is the reason why they got fat. But to him, a chubby girl’s stomach has a some sort of marshmallow feel to it. Mr. Saichu thinks that  “marshmallow girl” is a cute name that might lessen the tension that is being thrown at them.

A “Marshmallow Girl” model, Goto Seina, was introduced in a magazine as a “marshmallow girl”. She spoke positively about the term in her blog. She said, “It’s something that makes me really happy.” Being called a Marshmallow girl is a positive name for those girls who are on the bigger side but not to extremely fat. “Marshmallow Girl” can be in the middle!