I think it is very important to talk about how japan is so romanticised in western culture as well to the point some people believe nothing bad every happens. which is just untrue. there will always be unsafe places no matter what country you go to. I am very glad you guys talked about that in the video.
Well the way Japan itself is also to blame for that. They market themselves as a soft power on purpose and promote this kind of thinking to drum up better quality prospects. It's not *just* by accident and you have to truly dig deep to see how absolutely toxic the culture is. Like the kpop, kdrama wave was wholly calculated. No one is immune to propaganda, especially when said propaganda is subtle af.
@ponpon I would absolutely agree but say that to any mainland SEA person. I'm not saying you're wrong but just like America there's some stuff Japan hasn't apologized at all for and they downplay it.
@@Sailorlluna they use the same marketing tactics to drum up more financial and international business to their respective countries. But both industries do that at the detriment to the very people that live there and perpetuate the stereotypes that harm the communities there. Similar to Hollywood but there's no such things as unions so they grind creators and workers into the dust. They try to create these perfect images of their countries when in actuality not everything is peachy keen. I'm not trying to demonize the industries themselves but the propaganda and sh*tty working conditions they put their workers through gets downplayed or completely silenced. There's also the cultural aspect of just literally not admiting to their being a problem with exploiting their workers to the point where they make the US look better (which is wild cause the US is also dookie). Not saying that no one should consume any of these things, just be aware.
Western discourse surrounding jirai kei is so frustrating. Most of the criticism I’ve seen has been by people who are uneducated on preexisting and VERY long standing social problems Japan. I’m a strong believer in art being a result of current culture, and jirai is a perfect example of that. Blaming jirai for harmful behavioral trends in japan is just reactionary and uninformed. Instead, question why teenagers feel compelled to run away from home and express mental turmoil with unhealthy amounts of drinking and partying. I promise you the problem is with the circumstances of the world they are fighting with, and not the fucking clothes they wear. Lol
When people complain about the usage of the word "jirai", they are NOT referring to any specific types of clothing worn being the problem, but rather the stereotypes the word brings as it's a slur and an insult towards those w/ BPD + it's (unfortunate) association with girly-kei. The word is a harmful stereotype in itself that makes fun of said teenagers who "express mental turmoil" as you describe.
@@roachvalentine2163 why are these ostracized teenagers/people who supposedly exhibit symptoms of BPD not allowed to reclaim this “slur?” It seems very weird and invasive to try and police how people choose to identify with or reframe words that were once used in a derogatory way. Are you saying we should surrender this word to bullies instead of trying to let them reclaim it? And why is it’s association with Girly kei “unfortunate?” It honestly sounds like western girly kei enthusiasts are perpetuating the same stereotypes believed by misogynists in japan by rejecting jirai girls from their fashion umbrella.
@NitroFairyWing yeah its very reminiscent of scene/emo discourse. I remember seeing people accuse scene/emo subculture of encouraging eating disorders, cutting, etc. Emo can also be seen as a derogatory word against people who struggle with depression etc but i never see the same kind of pushback against the word being used as a genre descriptor the same way jirai has pushback. Idk it just seems like shallow reactionary takes to me all around
@@pomme2903 not sure why you'd relate to something meant to be an insult towards you, but go ahead I guess. Again, the problem lies with the association of that word w/ the fashion. The fashion already had a name and does not need to be renamed. That's like trying to call lolita or fairy kei something other than what it already is.
those kids are being exploited. *exploited*. they are not "working" in these places, their status as unhoused teens are being taken advantage of by these bars, by the adults who choose to *use* that vulnerable status to get something out of them. and that's a *massive* social problem which needs compassionate solutions that actually give these kids the care that they need and sought when they ran away.
also, the responsibility is *fully* on any adult that decides it's fine for them to exploit and abuse a vulnerable child who has most likely already experienced abuse or neglect; none of these girls or children should be blamed or considered "fully" responsible for their actions in these highly exploitative and volatile situations.
sex work is work unless you're a child... BUT a lot of even sex workers forget what survival sex work is and that for a lot of the marginalized groups, the majority that work and are unaccounted for... don't have a choice but again this is from a western culture perspective.. we don't know if being homeless teen in their country is the same need of survival or if they were given a fair choice
@@suicideshy451 i want to be gentle here, cuz i believed sex work is work for a good long time, but coming to terms w/ my experiences of coercive financial & living situations as well as analysis from people who've exited the sex trade and ppl in the sex trade who would like to exit but are kept from the resources to do so, i've come to the conclusion that *most* "sex work" is, at the very least, *economically* coerced, if not outright trafficking---it isn't the same as "any other job" because you are not as highly likely at risk of being raped in "any other job". i believe ppl in the sex trade deserve to be protected & not criminalized, & also offered resources to exit the trade if/when they are wanting to do so. "survival sex work" is coercive--ppl w/ no other choices left often enter the sex trade because they see no other means of financially surviving in their conditions. homeless teens cannot *consent* to entering the sex trade--they do not have other feasible options a lot of the time. it's hard to talk abt but i think there's a fair enough amt of evidence that Japan has its own culture of child fetishization/sexualization which encourages predators to.... predate... which is perhaps somewhat distinct from western & particularly American child sexualization/fetishization, but it results in similar things: children being trafficked & economically coerced into selling their bodies and/or likenesses in order to survive devastating circumstances. if you are unhoused and vulnerable and often multiply oppressed (i.e. have a mental illness, are trans or gendernonconforming, are disabled or a POC, or, in this case, are a child or teenager), you are much more likely to be manipulated by traffickers and/or economically coerced into the sex trade. unhoused children and runaways around the entire world end up in these situations more than most of our societies, particularly Western societies, would like to admit. from my rough understanding now, moving the legal age of adulthood from 20 to 18 seems like a pretty insidious move on the part of the Japanese government to *legitimize* child trafficking and sexual coercion & rape of children, given the entire context of even just this video. unhoused people, but particularly children and underage unhoused people, do not have the ability to fully & enthusiastically consent to trading 'sex' for money. they are inherently deprived of choices. particularly in a place like Kabukicho that is historically known for "adult-oriented entertainment", which to me sounds like it's been and perhaps still is a bit of a "red light district" in Shinjuku, Tokyo. that is not a safe place for any child to live in, especially alone or at the mercy of predatory adults, which, again, it seems like many of these children *are*.
""which needs compassionate solutions that actually give these kids the care that they need and sought when they ran away. Parents who dont suck at being a Parent you mean.
For all the young girls looking at this video, if you do go to Japan by yourself now that it's opening up again, do not be mistaken, Kabukicho is still very much dangerous for women specially at night. Disclaimer: I'm not denying the experience of the girls who spoke in the video, maybe they always go in groups, or because they're visibly foreigners they didn't get approached, however my experience with kabukicho has been different. So here's my story: I never really dress up, usually wear jeans and a shirt and I'll be done with it, but one time I decided to make myself look pretty! Before this day, I always walked through kabukicho in the daylight or with a friend, and nothing ever happened so this lulled me into a false sense of security, I even thought "hey kabukicho is not as bad as I thought!"... However, this particular day where I looked cute and more in the japanese street style, I got followed by 2 different older men who approached me and tried to talk to me (pretty sure to proposition untoward things, as this is the way some sex workers get clients as they wander in this major red light district in tokyo, watch an ig reel by therealcyberbunny posted on October 4th for another similar happening), they weren't regular men either, they looked REALLY shifty... I'm a bigger girl so maybe they wouldn't think about grabbing me, but if you're younger, more vulnerable, and by yourself, you would definitely be in danger, so do not tempt kabukicho because it is still dangerous. If you go during the day, or with friends, you should be ok. I recommend avoiding the areas behind the cinema (the Godzilla head building). Recently I had to go there at night to watch a movie and it was the last day, so I had to take a shortcut through kabukicho because I was late, and because I was dressed like a hobo, I thought no one will want to talk to me, yet I still got approached 🙄🙄🙄🙄 I think being a cute foreigner dressed in jirai also could attract unwanted attention, or the creeps could make assumptions since you're wearing jirai you're a sex worker or hostess already. But I don't mean to tell you to not go, or to not dress jirai, on the contrary! You dress and serve looks darling, but I just want you to be safe ok? Be careful out there ladies. If you have an interest in visiting kabukicho, do educate yourselves on the scams that happen there, and all the sketchy stuff there. Lots of love 💕 Edited for clarity and grammar Edit 2: For more background on how these men approached me, one of them kept following me and talking next to me while i clearly had headphones on, i tried to ignore him and walked super fast to try to lose him, and he stopped but who knows what other drunk people could do. For the 2nd one, i saw him randomly picking up girls in front of the cinema where i was waiting for my friend, and he looked at me once so i tried to leave the area and look for a bathroom to go inside so he wouldn't approach me, however the bathroom was locked and i had to turn back and when i turned around HE HAD FOLLOWED ME, and he started to talk to me in Japanese, then in English, i pretended i didn't know either and walked away and entered a store while my friend got there. It was scary, never before had men followed me anywhere in Japan 😡 it was honestly super scary as I was on my own and some parts of kabukicho can have few people, and no police patrolling depending on the day, and time of the day
Japan as a whole is actually very dangerous for women. The Western attitude towards "consent" and "respect" does not apply in Japan. People shouldn't be fooled by the low crime rates of Japan. Sexual assault towards women is so, SO common but crime rates stay low because women in Japan are afraid to report these incidents to authorities. I've neve heard any Japanese person in my 15 plus years of living here ever talk about consent. My Japanese family never taught me about consent, or how to protect myself. Every time I've been sexually assaulted here in Japan and reported it to the police, I was told there was nothing the police could do due to lack of physical evidence (meaning I needed to physically have my assailant present which is usually like what you mentioned, super sketchy old men) That's how they keep crime rates so low. In reality, there are many studies about women keeping quiet about their sexual assault and not reporting it. Japan is very dangerous for women both physically and emotionally. Boys do not learn about consent unless they have extremely liberal free-thinking parents which is very uncommon. Japan is still one of the most patriarchal societies in a developed nation even according to global statistics on gender discrimination. Especially as a foreigner in Japan, I've heard many stories of international students being the victim of a lot of sexual assault, because of their limited language capabilities, meaning they'll have a harder time reporting the crime to the police (even though the police won't take sexual assault seriously anyways)
@@gooeater1544 totally!! And mind you Tokyo is a city where no one will approach you just to have an innocent chat, everyone is pretty much doing their own thing so if someone approaches you that's already red flag number one!
first of all im really sorry that happened to you, second of all thank you for this! ik some people are always like “its my body I’ll dress however I want” and im totally here for that ! but sometimes you really gotta put ur safety first alr
This was such a good discussion. I never stopped to think of how the pandemic impacted the fashion/movement, and I definitely didn’t know this much about the runaway teen situation. I lived in Japan for a bit for school but I was already an adult and not in the loop about teen issues. I have so much more to research now!
As someone who is mainly on JP Twitter, I see people clearly having mental episodes under these tags all the time, very very common (like genuinely only had to scroll under a minute). I'm glad yet quite confused how these girls haven't seen it? The glorification is bad, but I'm hoping that it's the starting of something great (like how emo made us in the west aware of self harm). I feel like this style just speaks a lot to people who are neurodivergent/feeling depressed/having severe mental illnesses (like myself). And maybe this is me seeing myself in others, but I remember when I was having a very bad time a few years ago, I'd openly show my scars. Not hiding them felt like I had nothing to be ashamed of/nothing to hide if I outright showed them off. And I think that maybe when other people are having episodes, maybe it's a similar feeling? (Not that I'm trying to excuse it of course, showing self harm to random people is awful, but when you're in an episode it's so hard to tell right from wrong)
its crazy to me that the girls in the interview dont see any of the selfharm/drinking pictures. I follow a lot of Japanese girls that wear this fashion and they post pics/videos of their selfharm and drinking on a daily basis in their insta stories. and its not uncommon, basically any random insta girl i see with that fashion does it. now when it comes to the fashion insta ´´models´´, thats where you dont see it. i think the reason why you cant find it under the tags is that these girls arent using the tags and most people that use the tag only use the style itself for the fashion and so that other people who are interested in the style can find them. jirai fashion has been around for years, its just your standard liz lisa or MA*RS clothes where you combine dark and bright colors, so its still super weird to me how this whole subculture came around. kinda reminds me of the whole yami kawaii subculture a few years ago, guess they just changed their style of clothing? i truly hope japan and the whole world can one day get better in the mental health aspect.
In General I would have wished that for this interview you could have talked with actual Japanese girls in this „community“, not the girls that use this style for their fashion Insta, but the girls with these problems that are into this style. There always has to be a correlation between a style and what the people are doing, especially if it’s a more eye catching type of look. There always was this fight about people being into the emo style and looking down upon the emo‘s that actually selfharm even tho that was literally the reason the style existed. To let out your emotions and have them be visible, I know this because I was part of it. These two girls did a great job at scratching the surface level, yet it’s obvious they’re only into this fashion style because of the look, not the meaning behind it ( not saying that’s a bad thing, I’m actually glad people take things outside it’s bad reputation and try to give it a better meaning!) Overall great video to talk about this topic and let people know more, yet it’s the wrong people that are talking about it I believe :)
No yeah, it just felt kinda outside-looking-in and judgemental…i dont think two americanadian girls have much authority to speak on the subculture, especially when they’re admittedly disconnected from it’s grimier darker roots
"" I follow a lot of Japanese girls that wear this fashion and they post pics/videos of their selfharm and drinking on a daily basis in their insta stories."" You can say that about every Subculture out there. Punks/Skins/Metal Heads/Rap etc.
@@your-username-here2308 speaking for rap, it’s rooted in black empowerment and encouragement and having fun that took a dark tone ie Naz->Public Enemy. So it’s not the same thing. You can literally see the transition by listening to the music
@@idongesitx1873 "" it’s rooted in black empowerment"" Wich includes Gang-Life, Nightlife and all sorts of fun stuff. And it depends on your understanding and definition of what empowerment is. It never took a downturn, it was already int here as it got born.
Unfortunately, the manga translations for Tomorrow, I Will Be Someone's Girlfriend (Ashita, Watashi wa Dareka no Kanojo) have been dropped by the current scanlator at the end of Volume 8... I really hope someone can pick it up soon, since it's a very interesting, frank, and realistic portrayal of the dark side of these Kabukicho "services". In addition to host clubs and sex work, it also explores the rental girlfriend business and the psyche of people seeking out sugar daddies. Yua's character is actually what introduced me to jirai kei, since I liked her fashion style so much! I'm glad to see this manga being talked about in the context of the real community ♡
totally agree with everything you said. really really enjoyed reading Tomorrow, I Will Be Someone’s Girlfriend. loved the themes explored in the first arc and the super grim reality of the most recently translated one. i love when manga give a realistic, no nonsense portrayal of Japan and the culture there. for anyone wondering if they should read - go for itttttt it’ll definitely be an enjoyable read and if there’s more interest that’s also more reason for it to get picked up again!
Personally I've seen SH in jirai hashtags (the jp tags in specific) but it was all on twitter, never instagram or other social media. I think people should be careful searching for dark aesthetics in general on twitter bc of how common vent art and gore pictures are on there.
yeah i agree. I am an artist who focuses on yami kawaii but I have warnings on my page that there is blood and alot of vent art. i stay off twitter because of how uncensored it is. Twitter also has an awful SH problem in general where accounts that have extreme graphic sh will still be up if you search it. i tried to report some as I never want anyone to come across it. I am not sure if it was taken down
as someone who follows lots of japanese jirai girls on insta, they will post pics and vids about their selfharm and drinking DAILY on their stories. dont get me started on twitter, stuff there is even more graphic :(
as an active twitter user one of the reasons i ended up switching to it was because the post restrictions are less strict than instagram, but the consequences of that is it's very easy to stumble upon graphic self harm by typing in the wrong combination of words. it's a bit weird to me for someone to say they've never seen any of the s/h or drinking because it is so easy to find evidence of it, intentionally or not. not to say that anyone should be actively searching out these images, but even on instagram it's not uncommon to see at least drinking pictures.
yeah i was really interested in this fashion and when i searched it up on twitter to get more pictures of it it showed me a lot of sh and then it made me go onto edtwt and shtwt for like a while. it sucks and that happening is a problem.
worldwide its starting to be an issue...when i was 16 and in high school, i had a friend the same age who was always talking about how she couldnt wait to turn 18 to make an onlyfans. i havent talked to her in a while but i hope shes doing okay.
@@dreameva1400 i did??? i think the context i added pretty clearly shows that I am out of high school now and i didnt try to impede her. literally just stating how women younger and younger are getting groomed into getting into sex work before the brain is even finished developed
@@dreameva1400 "she'll learn" yeah, let the girl get groomed, and used like a napkin, once she's crying she'll understand, right? /S God, have some empathy....
I get a huge rush of adrenaline when someone else has read something I like. I really relate to the desperation and loneliness in Tomorrow I’ll Be Someone’s Girlfriend so thank you for sharing the cultural context around the inspired fashion and location.
Just like Yumechi said in this video, the bad side of jirai kei is actually involving in the “mentally ill lifestyle” by drinking, smoking, cutting,…; but there is also the good side which is afternoon tea party, themed cafe, going to idol concert or collecting oshi merchs - and of course there is nothing wrong with those. So i’m a little confused here - i can see how some people are against jirai kei because both the name and the history behind it point towards problematic lifestyle, but no matter how you call it, isn’t it still a reality that a lot of people who enjoy this style are not participating in harmful stuff and just living their best life? Yet they are ridiculed just for wearing what they love? I saw someone mention Takayan as an artist well-known for many songs that represent jirai kei, and his lyrics mostly are about mental issues & dark topics, like fangirls’ POV on getting obsessed over an idol or fictional character. So i got reminded of some other popular works like “Oshigoto” and “Kawaikute Gomen” by Honeyworks - these songs are widely recognized as “jirai kei songs” too, but they portray the jirai girls in a positive light and validate their style, their hobbies, their choices; showing that you definitely don’t need to live a self-destructive life to put on jirai fashion, and that jirai girls can be just wholesome & passionate people trying to live their best life, with a healthy amount of “fixation” on things they love. I don’t listen to much of Takayan’s music since it’s not exactly my type, even though the lyrics do sound relatable (i’ve been struggling with mental health for years too). But i love the type of songs from Honeyworks i just mentioned, since it’s a lifestyle i want to continue pursuing because it brings me happiness. I literally cried when i read the lyrics of “Kawaikute Gomen”, the song also receives lots of positive feedback for its message of encouraging young people to live their life, despite being called “cringe” for wearing girly clothes and supporting idols, etc. So what i’m seeing here is, both of those are jirai kei, but very different, and people are actually making contents to reduce the prejudice that jirai joshi or anyone that wear the jirai clothes are toxic, mentally ill, harmful,… (the artist Tetto (@onnoveltet) mentioned in the video is another example of wholesome jirai kei contents). Which, i don’t think is a bad thing at all…? I like the jirai kei fashion simply because it suits my tatse - a perfect mix between a little edgy/ emo vibe and lots of sweet, girly elements. I like emo fashion, i like yami kawaii, i like ryosangata too, but none of them makes me feel like “oh!! this is me!!!” until i found jirai kei. Of course i try to educate myself on the origin and meaning of it (which is why i am here rn). But personally, i just feel like there is no need to be so against of jirai kei, since it’s clearly showing signs of promoting positive messages about self-confidence, and helping to battle the unreasonable ostracism towards those who choose to wear the style - like no matter how you call it, jirai or dark girly kei, if it’s still associated with bad and taboo things, people would still be prejudiced against it. So i think it’s better to let people who like the fashion wear it (without neglecting the dark side of it, yes) - and be themselves. Be positive, be kind, be passionate with things they love - while wearing jirai kei - so that it’s no longer tied to only the bad things, and other people who want to pick up the style can see that they don’t have to become a certain unhealthy way to wear the clothes they love.
The music video is Menhera Janai mon if im not mistaken! Its really cute but also has a quite real relatability if that makes sense? at least with the whole mental health thing
hi! im fully japanese and i was born in tokyo japan and lived there for 10 years then moved to the us, and i go back to japan quite often around 2 times a year. ive been doing jirai kei fashion for about 2 years and i get my information from twitter and other social media platforms and my friends in japan because i am fluent in japanese. i just wanted to say this video was SOOOO WELL MADE!!!!!!!! often times foreigners and people from the outside perspective is kind of off and a bit wrong but you guys explained it so well especially jesse. i love the fashion and the concept but it's important to learn about the culture and the dark side of it. it's really sad because lots of my friend who lives in japan actually do sugar daddy business and i know that's also a thing here and all the OF stuff, ( i'm not against sex work!) but it's just insane how many people do it and how many young people do it. i hope people can learn what these kids struggle with
the whole fashion concept of romanticizing mental illness is also a thing in america. although i feel like it's very dangerous for that fashion to be very open about it... for example ik "morute aesthetic" was a thing, where it's an aesthetic romanticizing eating disorders, self harm, sexual a$$ault in young years, abuse, etc. it became problematic and artists who contributed to that (ex: nicole dollanger) got "canceled" or whatever but right now SOME of the lolita fashion/lana del rey, miss dior girls (im not saying all lana fans are like this!!! i like her music!) like to romanticize eds, ive seen it happen. i feel like it's soooo so so dangerous to romanticize mentall illnesses because it really just make people ignore the dark side of it..... i've been struggling with so many mental illnesses and disorders, i'm autistic, i've had bulimia and anorexia nervosa and EDNOS for years, (i've had it since 13 yrs old) i have depression anxiety ocd ptsd...... you name it. it is SO stressful and irritating when people make music and fashion out of these that romanticize it. im fine with music that i can relate to or like show the actual side of mental illnesses but i hate it when self harm scars are part of fashion now? i've seen some people DRAW red lines for jirai kei fashion. like that is fucking insane.
Thank you for this interview, it gives a nice dive into the fashion part of Jirai. However, it seems strange how lightly the undermining issues behind the trend are talked about. Before the pandemic, there was a rise of yami kawaii and the menhera "culture", although its also strange to talk about menhera as a culture, since it's revolving around expressing your mental struggles and illnesses in fashion or art. What I've seen, jirai kind of evolved from the yami kawaii trend, and imho the trend should never be discussed without acknowledging the main idea behind it - teens and young adults are ill, they express themselves through fashion that's comfortable for them and I don't think that yami or jirai should be seen as "only a fashion trend". The illnesses and sh behind the trend are the main reasons why jirai is seen as problematic by the main public. In the music scene, Takayan is one of the artists, the main demographic of which are jirai/yami girls. If you dive into his lyrics, you'll see the correlation between the trend and mental struggles. Please do acknowledge, that there is a problem, and it's very real, not just a plot in a drama or anime.
Intresting video. I just had a comment about the "hyperfixations being escapism". Alot of people hyper fixate due to ocd, bpd, anxiety, asd, adhd, etc. I personally have ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), and I don't hyperficate because I'm trying to not deal with my problems, its just how my brain works. And a lot of people are the same way. Other than that I really enjoyed the video. I would have also loved to see the perspective of people who grew up in japan or are Japanese.
Yeah I have ADHD. When I’m not hyperfixating that’s because I’m sick or depressed. My brain needs to get super excited to get the dopamine it needs. Maybe that’s escaping my dopamine deficiency 😂 But on the flipside, one could argue any hobby is escapism or that watching a movie or reading a book etc is escapism. Realistically I think escapism is a normal part of being human. We all need things that can draw or attention to something other than the day to day, it’s the way it’s done that can be an issue. It’s just strange to see that tied to hyper fixation, which is more of a term that describes what a lot of us ND people do naturally. Maybe using it outside of those conversations with other ND people is what throws me off 🤷🏻♀️
I also have high functioning autism and bipolar and the “hyper fixation” comment didn’t sit well with me. Since that is something I can’t control..and do when I’m triggered or trying to calm myself.
exactly! this greatly annoyed me as well. i don't have any of those diagnoses but it really bothers me that people use "hyperfixate" as a buzz word when they could really just say "fixation". hyperfixation is a symptom of those disorders, as you say, and using them in other contexts just warps its meaning
@@xo_oblivion I just wanna point out that it is not true that hyperfixation is a ''symptom of those disorders'' only. Many people have hyperfixations, even outside of neurodivergency. People used to only use it for people who have ASD or ADHD (me having ASD and being tested for ADHD), and finally accepting that MANY people have it. People with depression, anxiety, OCD, BPD etc. can also have it. It is just a word, just cause its a symptom of neurodivergency doesn't mean it can't exist outside of that. Just like a common symptom of ASD for example can be struggling to make eye contact, that doesn't mean people who arent ND can't have the same thing going on. It might be more common for people who have ASD or ADHD in general, but through the years its become more clear that MANY people can have this happen, with many different disorders. Hyperfixation wasn't even a thing associated with anxiety and is not a symptom of anxiety disorder AT ALL, yet people have accepted that it does happen. Just like it isnt a symptom of BPD AT ALL in the DSM 5 or even the BPD community itself, but it can happen. It's fine to be uncomfortable with it, and I do agree the way she worded it and how she was talking about hyperfixation wasn't really accurate as its something people can't really control. But it really is not true that the word is only for specific disorders only, if that were the case people with anxiety disorder, depression, BPD and many other disorders wouldn't be allowed to say they have it either, since they have never been part of the DSM-5 symptoms or a common occurence with most of them, unlike with ADHD, ASD and OCD where its very common and a thing psychiatrists do look for. For me personally I'm just glad that hyperfixations are talked about more, including outside of the ND community. Its more common then people think, especially in subcultures, and talking about it can help. Though hopefully people won't think its just escapism.
I gotta say the escapism of collecting and indulging in hyperfixations really helped fill the void I had when I quit drvgs and heavy drinking it was sorta like therapy so I totally get the jirai ppl that do the same thing it can get “toxic” and can become another addiction but overtime with selfcontrol it goes away 😅
I would also say there's a difference between romanticizing issues and coping with them by taking away stigma. If you have bags under your eyes that is traditionally seen as ugly and a sign youre not doing well. Jirai having that be a beauty standard helps to take away the negative stigma of this trait. Youre not ugly, you're just tired and that can be ok sometimes. We could see drinking problems in a similar way. Usually, when one has an issue with drinking we urge them to feel guilty, which may make them just deny it is happening or feel ashamed for having this issue. Jirai to an extent normalizes this issue as something many girls have, which possibly makes people feel less shame, and thus feel more comfortable reaching out for help. It also makes people feel less hopeless if they see you can still be beautiful even while dealing with these issues
Jirai doesn't do that, at all, actually. There is an actual fashion movement in japan that ACTUALLY was created with the intent to minimize stigma around these exact issues, it's the Menhera community. Jirai actually adds more stigma, if you read what actual japanese people in japan say about it. Jirai is nothing like what this video says it is.
Menhera works to address the societal stigma of mental illness, I’m saying Jirai works to help with person shame and stigma one might have. This doesn’t have to influence society, just the people who are employing it as a coping mechanism. What people in Japan say about Jirai is a different thing than how those who wear it do or what help they receive from it
"" We could see drinking problems in a similar way. Usually, when one has an issue with drinking we urge them to feel guilty"" Please tell that to any Member of Sodom or a common Punk.
@@cladllessyou know there can multiple movements to address the same thing? the issue of romanticizing these problems is prevalent in every alternative lifestyle for young people like this. even for emo, goth and scene kids had problems like this. there was a lot of glorifying blood, mental health issues, and SH. the stigma in japan doesn’t stem from the movement itself, but the more harmful elements. many people like and are accepting of the fashion. and there are people in japan who like the subculture, not everyone is against. the people against it are yami kawaii and dark girly fashion people who think the subculture is redundant
this video was super needed! there’s so much misinfo out there that just needs to be spoken about, and lowkey a lot of people shaming teenagers for being exploited and being forced into the adult industry, and stereotyping jirai kei girls as enablers, when this is just all around an issue with japanese society. it’s really sad to see. i have never felt so loved and accepted in a jfashion community honestly, especially as a plus sized person who cannot afford expensive clothing. it’s such an accessible fashion and accepting and i really adore it ! and also the whole hyper fixation thing, being neurodivergent this is something i have been doing and shamed for in my life. and it is embraced in jirai kei and ryosangata which makes me so happy. 💗
12:47 one international coworker of mine has serious BPD/major depression and wanted to "out" themselves a couple times while they were here working in Japan, and had been away from work because of those mental health issues. One time, they had a serious episode and so had to get an ambulance. My coworkers helped them out and were distraught by it. However, at the hospital, the Japanese doctors only gave her heavy medication for it and no psychiatric treatment or advice whatsoever. This country is still behind on mental healthcare. 13:03 it's important to state that japan is very much a conservative, right-wing country 🙃 they support smoking too despite its obvious detrimental health effects (even now in anime and even in movies like Ghibli Studio movies, we can see smokers) they focus on the economy more than social progress or issues. Legalizing gay marriage has been a struggle in JPN. Drinking heavily is part of Japan's history and image, so it makes sense as to why they want to support it despite the obvious detriments.
Why does the emo scene and jirai scene want to distance itself from the reality that people face with mental health issues? Part of the problem in the early 2k emo scene was that everyone kept downplaying the mental health side and claimed it was bigger than that and most people were only there for the fashion when the reality is that if you're drawn to this type of culture, it's likely due to underlying issues that are not going to be addressed by placating it as fashion. A lot of people continue to suffer because of claims of fashion and overlooking the outward expression of damage. The same thing happened to the punk and goth scenes of USA.
Exactly what I was trying to say, these girls are not from japan nor have ever lived the live of a Japanese girl like the ones that are talked about. They always say „I don’t know about this, it’s just what I heard etc etc.“ but it’s the harsh reality of this style. There’s no reason to downplay this just to make the style more appealing.
If anything, the emo scene was where I felt most understood. Now pretty much all of my friends are in various subcultures from goth to lolita to hippies because I just connect best with people that tend to gravitate to subcultures in general. I don’t think I have any “sane” friends but that doesn’t mean we don’t work on ourselves or sit around encouraging each other to SH. Man if early 2000s me saw me now, they’d be shocked it was possible to make that much progress lol But emo is very much a part of that- it helped me express myself and find people that understood as a teen and there are certain albums that will always be therapy to me.
Bro the problems will always be there with or without the specific fashion. Why do all of yall hyper focus on the clothing? The clothing isn't the problem. Like telling black men to pull up their pants will stop them from getting unfairly stopped by police 🙄. Yall are annoying.
@@maybemablemaples2144 exactly our point. Just because some people want to minimize the reality of people suffering by saying "oh, only a small minority of people actually are suffering, most people are just into the fashion and that's all we should give attention to" is what we are against.
I can say for myself growing up as the emo scene came up; we downplayed it because of the stigma there still was with those issues. If we let out that the way we were dressing was because of our mental anguish then we would just be told we couldn't dress that way, since obviously if we're dressing this way cause we're depressed then we'll stop being depressed if we stop dressing this way. We were protecting our ability to express our pain by trying to seem like we weren't in pain.
Jirai isn't called that because the people who dress this way are depressed etc.. so they might "Bust off at any second" like a landmine. It's a derogatory term towards women, that began circulating on Japanese internet spaces to describe girls who were very physically attractive, but has mental health issues, so it was like stepping on a landmine because they women are so cute and unassuming until you dated them and they turned out to be mentally ill, or having trauma. It was and still is a term that makes it seem like having mental health issues is bad, and that women must be quiet, subservient and not have any 'deficits' such as mental health struggles and physical disabilities. This isn't a problem with the people dressing this way themselves. they are victims of circumstance, and I feel very bad for them. It's also not an issue with the clothes themselves. It's what it represents. The people in the video try and defend jirai by comparing it to emo culture, like how 'emos' in the early 2000's would self harm nd glorify depression. Just because one bad thing happened in the past, doesn't make this bad thing right. If I was in the spot I am today, and saw the razor necklaces with blood on them from hot topic, or saw emo kids glorifying depression online, I wouldn't defend it. Even if I dressed emo, and enjoyed everything but those parts, I would NOT be able to defend making light of these sorts of things. It as true then and it's still true now, little accessories with razors on them should not be accepted, and cutting should not be seen as an accessory in Jirai kei either. The problem I have with Western people dressing in Jirai fashion is not with the clothes themselves, but with people defending, or just calling it the dark side of jirai culture. Sure, Japan has many nice aspects to its culture like the art, fashion, ect... but that does NOT excuse the problems with the culture and shouldn't be brushed off, or swept under the rug. If you, as a Westerner or from any other country outside of Japan fully understand all these problems with Jirai fashion and what it represents but you still choose to dress this way, be my guest. Nobody is going to stop you. However, I feel like as an outsider looking in, ESPECIALLY if you dress this way, you have the responsibility to point out things that are wrong. You can't just say "Cultural differences" The mental health crisis in Japan is not just a cultural thing. It shouldn't be brushed off as that. The problem I see with the people in this video, and with Jirai in general is that there is no attempt to change anything. To make anything better. We acknowledge the issues, but just accept them as fact. Jirai fashion just incorporates these terrible things into the fashion, but there's no movement within jirai subulture "reclaiming" femininity, or "reclaiming" drinking and making it responsible etc. Strict helicopter parents and broken households being the cause of teenage runaways should not "Just be a part of the dark side of Jirai kei". The pedophilia issue of Japan that sees school uniforms as sexy, and highly sexualizes children which ties heavily into jirai is not just the dark side of the subculture. The strict hierarchy system in Japan, causing people to be pressured into binge drinking should not just be brushed off as "A culture that really enjoys drinking" triarchal society of Japan that only looks at women as objects to be cute, subservient and pretty should NOT be forgotten as an aspect of j-fashion. The patriarchal society that has create host clubs in the first place, and has sad, young, lonely girls resorting to prostitution (that they'd rather not do) just to provide for their favorite host and be stepped all over shouldn't be forgotten like as in the video. The mental health crisis in Japan is not just a difference between western and Japanese culture. THESE ARE PROBLEMS. It's not rude or disrespectful to say that these things are wrong, and it's not disrespectful to raise your voice, even as a westerner and say that things need to change. If you do stand up and say something, Japanese people will probably tell you to mind your own business and go back to your country because racist ideology is also very strongly rooted in Japanese society. To sum it up, I think there's nothing wrong with dressing like this. However, if you understand the background and all the dark parts of the subculture, you should at the very least, not defend these things. You should call it out and say it's wrong.
this whole interview is like so interesting to me because it takes me back 10-13 years when I was this like 16-19 years old german "girl" still dealing with so much trauma around my gender and what I didn't know then turned out as me being transsexual. but back then I was hyperfixating like so much on Visual Kei. all I did back then was like drink, take drugs and obsess over Ruki (Vo. the GazettE) as my form of escapism. after that getting into host/gyaru-o culture and later on japanese gay porn which was kinda connected back then. but seeing men live out a kinda feminine style that was giving me this kinda vibe that "not all men need to look like men" gave me a feeling of not being so wrong after all. also I was absolutely romantizising sex work back then. and now it's like coming back in a different costume. which is kinda intruiging in a way since I just recently came out as transsexual to my therapist to finally start transitioning hopefully and I am totally drawn back to my old VK obsession atm though I'm turning 30 soon and in a way much more aware than I was as a minor, of course. but there is this kind of attraction because there really is a big feeling of escapism behind all these things. so, yeah... thanks for this honest insight! I really enjoyed watching your interview.
i dont see to many canykei girls anymore, holds a soft nostalgic place in my old tumblr emo heart anyway very informative video and it was a pleasure hearing you ladies speak on this i honestly just thought this new style was the natural progression for the whole lolita/cottagecore fashion that had been melding together for a few years now but wow been taught wrong lol
i thought the same thing. i just assumed it was japan's "alt", like we have in western countries, we went to "alt" culture and i assumed this fashion style was the "alt" version of lolita
Interesting video. As someone who lives in Japan and has been here for decades, I didn't agree with a lot of the information being said in this video (Mostly towards the beginning) but it was all really well presented, so it was easy to say "Hmm, I can see why they think that."
I do want to note, as someone who's been on the emo community for over 10 years, along with family members who have been for much longer, showing off things like that is not very common AT all. If anything a lot of emos were ona superiority complex because they DIDNT do that, which is bad in it's own right :(. This is s really good video, and with her talking about how westerners tend to over exaggerate things, especially in japan, without talking about the very real depressing downsides of some subcultures. I just wanted to point that out! EDIT: also, unfortunately, hyperfixating on a random idol/person to not think about your own issues can cause a plethora of other issues. Mostly with very unhealthy attachments and responding to people who dont like the person you do, or even if they do.
As someone who was in it in the early 2000s, while I’m glad to hear that it absolutely was common back then. So people legitimately would say you’re a poser if you don’t self harm (also is you called yourself emo lmao) There was also a lot of “you’re not really mentally ill” which is one way to display one’s mental struggles ig but it doesn’t make em right It felt like people wanted the emo scene to be a special thing just for them and so they pushed out others left and right. A lot of subcultures were like that back then too. Things seem less intense now but being in my 30s, that might just be within my peer group and generally low tolerance for melodramatic behavior (unless it’s for fun and isn’t harmful)
@@sourgreendolly7685 also emo, and agreed, there was an openness and cavalier-ness for me too, though I’m younger than you (in my 20s now). However in my experience that mostly stopped being the case when we were a bit older (at 15-16, talking about it openly wasn’t so much a thing,even tho plenty still suffered from that). That may have been because there was an incident where me and my friend, who talked and joked abt it (tho we didn’t SHOW the self harm physically) were reported to our school by someone else, parents found out, etc. it was a whole thing so that def impacted how much we shared. That said, I also agree with OP that some had a superiority complex about not dealing w it and there were also plenty of people who mocked SH & depression, who were into the subculture & music. That was less prevalent in my experience but still absolutely something I saw. In my mind I divide emo into three waves - late 80s -early 90s (birth of the actual music genre) , early 2000s (birth of the subculture & scene), and early 2010s (last hurrah of true emo being popular). Maybe we will get a true 4th, but I’m not convinced yet lol. I was/am a 2010s emo kid, and things were a bit different by then. I didn’t see people calling those who didn’t SH posers,but it was very common, normalized, and glorified, as well as suicidal ideation. And that’s not to say our feelings were CAUSED by the subculture (at least for me. And I still like that music, even tho I don’t deal with SH or suicidal thoughts anymore) but the way me & my friends treated the issue wasn’t the right way to deal w it. Being in an echo chamber makes, well, echoes.
The to-yoko kids thing reminds me a lot of the origins of gyaru and sukeban culture, the kids back in the late 90s who ran away from home in the countryside and moved to Shibuya. Very interesting video!
I think it's so crazy how a lot of people in western countries think japan is such a perfect country because of all the ploiteness, kawaii stuff, anime, video games etc. But only few talk about the negative sides of the culture there which just proves that no country is perfect. Also south korea, Kpop is so popular and everybody wants to go there but the body image there is so fucked up. Being skinny is such a huge thing in these countries and there are also a lot of negative aspects being shown about the kpop industry. So I am very thankful for this video as well!
Its not crazy its like any other countries with dark histories and you only see what's on the outside and not inside most of the part. Educating people about other countries help with that. Just remember we dont know every single thing that goes on
Great video once again 💓💓💓 Also, happy to see my 推しメン featured in the video haha (Kanau from herosyn/twinpale) I think the part about Kabukicho's history was so fascinating, I would love to do more research about it. Either way thank you for the video💕
Thank you for this part 2!! I watched the first video about jirai kei and I've been obsessed since. I really enjoyed learning about the origin of the fashion and what kinds of sterotypes I would be getting into wearing this style publically. I hope to learn more in the future and help create a positive impact on the jirai kei community. Again, thank you for this video and the other japanese fashion/culture videos!
Thank you and your guests Jessie and Chiara for discussing a very difficult subject, and revealing a dark side of Japanese culture. A Western person is probable only interested in the fashion, thank goodness, and the real landmine girls in Kabukicho will probably change their fashion as they see it become popular, and they want to keep a fashion of their own, so they can identify each other and have a sense of community, even if they are tip toeing around the edge of disaster. Very well done.
i apologize for not catching the girl at the top left's name, but i think shes really cool. bypassing how pretty she looks and her clothes, her voice is AMAZING and her way of speaking and points she made made me think she is very intelligent:)
dude this is fascinating. i just moved to japan 2 weeks ago (study abroad) n i remember on my tiktok a girl in dark clothes holding a strong zero came up and i tbh didnt give it much mind she was using dialectical speech i couldnt understand so moved on but looking back on it im almost certain it was just playing into the jirai stereotypes. i'm also curious abt the drinking culture here bc i was like shocked when i went to the chemist and one of the big medicines they promoted was anti hangover stuff and like ???????/ idk how normalised is it they have it in mass production like that.
It’s so interesting how I was looking at some of the styles in emo/scene kid era and they took a lot of inspiration from gal which has been pin pointed by a kawaii fashion enthusiast before. like if you put gal and jirai kei together, especially hime gyaru and jirai kei there is a big similarity in structure. Like if scene kid was mixed with hime gyaru the result would be really interesting
Thank you for this video, it's always so interesting to hear about this ! But I have one doubt left that I was hoping would be talked about here. I've seen some people claim that Jirai Kei fashion style is actually called Girly Kei. Are there actually any differences besides the negative sides of Jirai?
docs.google.com/document/d/1NvA8mjL9ZxiC1BucflB2MFnCl8dwGlFWXFN0JmAgngw/edit?usp=sharing this article was very fascinating after viewing the first half of this video.
@@MenheraTV Hi there! So I personally don’t know much about girly kei or larme to speak on them but I know that Otome Fashion does exist and has for many years. I’ve seen many people in the international lolita comm wear the style (I found lots on IG with the #otomefashion & #otomekei hashtag) and Lovely Lor even did a video on it 3 years ago: ua-cam.com/video/FKN_FWFwrks/v-deo.html
@@MenheraTV It’s more of an international j-fashion community thing. Here are some links of people talking about it (I’ll add more later if I find more): - lolita-indies.livejournal.com/3166.html - egl.livejournal.com/19906957.html - dippedinchocoarchive.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-lolita-sister-guide-to-otome-kei.html?m=1
Girly Kei is a really broad term, that's the difference. It's basically as if you called Jirai Kei Yami Kawaii/menhera (the umbrella terms, not fashion styles, it's just that a lot of people consider it to be included in), it falls under the umbrella term but it's not really specific or the same thing. Dark girly just describes darker girly clothes in jp, it's not like it's a trend or style in itself but everyone is free to call what they wear however they want.
It’s crazy hearing her say western medicine is considered more accessible because I think health care is terrible here in the US, therapists are terrible too and it’s so expensive that you can only afford one session… I wish people cared about mental health more.
I think its "accesible" because its more open like u can be like i want a therapist, because im from singapore and its literally mental health is so stigmatised and singapore is one of the more relatively progressive asian countries, so like if even then its that stigmatised and hard to book and access, its harder in more conservative areas like jp
@@espeon871it kinda depends, america is very diverse. im mexican american and my family heavily stigmatizes mental health. also things like self harming are very stigmatized here, drinking and drugs are glorified. so even tho healthcare is more “accessible” many things about mental health are either downplayed or made fun of. mental health is more accessible here than other places but its so stupidly expensive and difficult to find good care that its basically useless. you either get put off from it because you cant find a good psychiatrist or therapist, or you simply cannot afford it.
They seemed very defensive and also downplaying a lot of the very toxic and red flag portions of this, like she rushed through the 14 year old homeless kids part and then went on to defend jirai for not being the only culture inviting this mentality of being emotional and basically an alcoholic for “love” or affection. Seems like some weird p*do thing going on to attract specifically emotional young girls and boys especially with making basically a red light district more “family friendly” 🙃
Exactly, like the fact that yume chii constantly hangs around the red district of japan where these specific girls do their sex work just to take photos and post them for her aesthetic little Insta is just downright creepy… This whole video series is an entire mess and I truly wish it wouldn’t exist.
i stayed in the hotel with that godzilla in 2019 and that area was quite sketchy, especially at night. but i didn't even know anything about this :'D now it makes much more sense
Super interesting! Just please let's try to be careful about language, hyperfixation is a term from the neurodivergent community, it's fine to use it out of context, but taking it to express that it is inherently wrong could be harmful for undiagnosed/uninformed neurodivergent people watching: That's just how our brain works in a normal way and there's nothing we can or should do about it. It sure can be challenging and if it's being used as a coping mechanism trying to get rid of it could potentially create another one that's not as healthy. In that case we sould be focusing on changing what's triggering it, not what's soothing it. Luckily we can enjoy our hyperfixations while working on ourselves, not only that, we can find community and support of likeminded people through that connection, that's the best part. To be clear I'm not saying everyone that has an interest is ND, just talking about the importance and impact of the words used here. Neurotypes aside, men can get crazy with sports and nobody bats an eye so let's let women keep obsessing over boybands/idols if it's not hurting anyone.
Hyperfixation is not a term exclusive to neurodiverse people, everyone experiences hyperfixation, it’s just that neurodiverse individuals experience it much more intensely. There’s nothing incorrect about how it was used in the video
I'm really glad there's light being shone on the background of this kind of fashion and topic. Especially coming from a POC perspective, it's very taboo to speak out on mental health and other negative life factors. When seeing Jirai from this perspective the fashion is a way of expression. I think it's super super important to look at these fashion trends and new forms of expression will always have controversy but IG and twitter and Facebook and tagging, all of this is making sure that it gets seen. I think the most important part is discussing the difference between glorification and a cry for help due to having these mental health issues. I'd probably be considered a Landmine Girl because of my mental health and instability and being that "unhinged gf" is just as glorified here in the US.
hyperfixating isnt always a bad thing and the way u guys talked about it made it seem like a character flaw. reminder that neurodiversity is a thing and some of us literally just hyperfixate because we dont see other ways to live (the concept of the special interest) which is literally what u guys are decribing when talking about the girls who pick one idol or character etc,
@@levelheadier yeah they just don’t bring that up at all (the nd part) maybe they just didn’t know it’s ok I just don’t think Acting like it’s strictly negative to hyperfixate lol
I find it kind of ironic they're talking about how safe it is around the cinema now but there are multiple tiktoks around tohoe that show all this garbage in the street, in the walkways, and cardboard on the ground where people are sleeping, nearly directly across from the movie theater. I think they can't just push the homeless out of the district, they need to have somewhere to relocate them.
Not to mention the sexual harassment issue that Japan has as well, and that a lot of girls unfortunately don’t get the help they need when it’s occurring
I dunno.. I was there 2019 before the pandemic qnd I was walking kabukucjo and saw hist trying to get girls.. even saw host with flowers on a mop head lol... and people in the back alleys were aggressive.. I didn't feel safe unless I was in the main tourist area.. I still think even as a foreigners they are still seeing it through different eyes. me as a wandering tourist went into non tourist areas did not feel gentrified- many clubs were in these areas that weren't as open. Def stuff is going on
I've heard about that! I'm also quite concerned about young girls possibly chasing after harmful coping mechanisms for the sake of achieving the "jirai girl lifestyle"
I appreciate what you and the people interviewed here are trying to do, but as someone who lives in Japan and has Japanese friends outside of fashion circles who struggles with mental health, this style, it’s name, and it’s negative associations spit in the face of any progress Japanese people are making towards mental health acceptance. Japanese people involved in bettering mental health in Japan do not see this style as a positive thing for their cause. The amount of negative stereotypes associated with this is immense. Especially the name. And every foreigner and Japanese person here knows to stay away from Kabukicho. The area is known as incredibly unsafe, especially for young people who are likely to get preyed upon. The fact that people involved in this fashion can spout all of these issues about the fashion and the culture surrounding it, and yet not see why perpetuating that without pushing drastically for change is harmful, is ridiculous to me. Yes, push for and cope with the societal issues in Japan however you need to. But don’t participate in another part of the problem by associating with something that participates in the abuse of minors, illegal behaviors, drinking culture, self harm, and sex trafficking. You can enjoy the same cute fashion without associating with something so problematic. Just enjoy dark girly fashion instead.
THANK YOU. Your comment is one of the best on this entire hell of a comment section, I'm so tired of western people blatantly ignoring everything japanese people have to say on this matter, it's si frustrating.
@@saumyavig8964 fair, but it’s in my original comment haha. TLDR a lot of the people wearing the style are associated with underage prostitution, self harm (and the promotion of it on social media and in public, as well as sharing graphic images), binge drinking, and other negative behaviors. And the name is a slur used to demean women with mental health issues. The clothes are fine, the name, and associated behaviors, are not.
I really like that style and it's close to what I want to wear, alongside with jirai subculture (sorry can't remember the name) but the comments and the darkside made me a lil scared of trying it. From what I understood in this video, there are a problematic origin and a problematic side, but there are also people trying to disassociate the fashion from that side and just wear what they like. Maybe I'll give it a try, especially because it can be worn in hot places like my country (sorry for bad english btw)
After watching the whole video, I wonder if they are going to talk about jirai danshi one day? It must be a totally different experience being a jirai lifestyler as a guy rather than a girl. (I know they're not all lifestylers, but as for those who are the runaways etc, it is probably a lot different as a guy). Also, I wonder if hosts are eventually going to go for the jirai danshi look to attract jirai joshi, or if they'll continue maintaining the idol look since that's what jirai girls tend to like?
Hello! There are a lot of Jirai Danshi hosts and mens con cafe workers actually! Some mens con cafes have only Jirai danshi specifically. The host clubs need to have men suitable for all personal tastes lol Also a lot of Jirai girls date Jirai boys and it is really common to see Jirai kei couples walking around Tokyo. The kpop and idol looking boys are more for the Ryousangata girls who are typically more into idols.
@@yumechi15 that’s good to hear! I follow a few people on Instagram that I’m pretty sure would consider themselves jirai danshi. I really like the style, and hope it sticks around (not for the sad backstory, but I like the fashion part of it)!!
It's kinda hard for me cause I got like interested in both. Just as I was getting back into Gyaru I also got so much inspo from Jirai. And as a self proclaimed emo/scene kid. The big hair, depressive attitudes, but also expressive makeup, bows, 00's fashion, down turned makeup, lots of blush, the combo of black and pink... THEY ARE SO OPPOSITE YET I somehow want to combine them...
I've seen the j'irai kei artist before on Twitter and that for me started my love for this aesthetic. Like I've seen the clothing before but I've never really thought that it was a whole aesthetic.
You should watch the Japanese series "Tomorrow I will be Someone's Girlfriend" It shows the darkside of jirai kei while also highlighting the red light district in Japan.
oh yea the hashtags on twitter, i found out about it late 2019s and i know 3 hashtags of self h/rm and at that time the pictures were literally gory and now its mellowed out because westerners are using it more often and less japanese people
Nice dialogue. Feels specific to the folks here talking about it versus a lot of the video content reflecting on life exps that none of the hosts came out about having lived if they did in any analagous ways so that whole parts of it feels privileged. Much of the “negative behaviors” talk triggers shame for me around ways I’ve left home as a young person and spent time figuring out what to do after “anywhere’s better than home rn”. First time I heard of kabukicho was from a bdsm educator who is awesome named Midori. There’s always places we run away from and places that queer and neurodivergent and otherwise survivors, make intergenerationally so I hope if anyone reads this it can turn the question on its head some. Maybe don’t tone police the expressions of ppl in survival situations. Altho I don’t know the first thing about this- expression is good, global interactions, when people who are privileged gentrify a style and place the style is from, by which I do mean try to “clean it up”, do not do violence to the people’s this style is from by trying to distance yourself from the “problematic” of us. I’m a nikkei person living in the states who’s never had the opportunity to visit Japan, just reflecting on what clothing means to me and the friends I’ve seen survive leaving home
Is there any side of Jirai-kei that is not dark lol? I live in Japan and I know a lot of jirai-kei girls. I have one who is a close friend and she is obsessed with hosts
I have this weird thing where I love all the maximalist styles and feel like I'd love wearing them...but i would ABSOLUTELY HATE PUTTING IT ON EVERY DAY. but the ones I know I would be ok with the 'set up' cost of getting it all on aren't eye catching enough for me. one day i will find a flashy style that fits my atention span
As someone who doesn’t like leaving the house the pandemic didn’t affect me much because I’m used to staying home all the time and yes I don’t have much friends to begin with. I don’t like going out to hang out with friends because I like being alone at home that just how my introvert mind works.
if ur gonna talk abt hyperfixation please actually learn what it is 😭 its not the same as escapism or obsession. It affects so many people and its not a trend.
(I'll be commenting this here as well) genuinely asking: where did the girly kei/dark girly kei term came from? because I haven't seen japanese people using those terms... and if "girly/dark girly kei" came from non-japanese people then I dont think it's a good idea to change the term, cuz at the end of the day, this style is something that came from japan again, I'm genuinely asking, I don't wanna sound rude...
The comparison to emo culture in the west really makes sense to me, and I think early 2010s Tumblr ~a e s t h e t i c~ culture (a lot of soft grunge and "heroin chic" type of vibes) feel sort of similar to me. Both of them were very, very stigmatized by outsiders and "Tumblr girls" especially was synonymous with mental illness and being "crazy". Both it and emo did have people in the community who genuinely lived destructive lives, had people who made vent art that others could point to as "romanticization" of negative things, and had people who were there just for the aesthetics they liked and/or the communities that grew around it. Obviously there's a lot of differences, but throughout a lot of the discussions about how YES there are people who fit the stereotype, but that doesn't reflect everyone in the community, I kept thinking "isn't this normal for a lot of subcultures?" I think a lot of what's so shocking to westerners and what makes them latch onto the darker aspects of jirai is because the western perspective of Japanese subcultures has been "kawaiified" and sanitized so much that any darker associations that a popular style has stands out so much more. If you even hear a western person bring up gyaru they're probably thinking more of cute nails and cellphone cases with kawaii decorations all over it instead of a sexier style, or when they think of Japanese gothic fashion they'd think of EGL. Maybe I'm wrong but I genuinely can't think of a Japanese subculture fashion with any "taboo" elements to it thats actually become viral in the west like this, and I think that's why that aspect of it has become so sensationalized. In time though once the shock has blown over and the fashion sticks around like I'm sure it's going to, the aesthetic is going to outlive the shock and it's going to keep evolving and becoming normalized.
I was thinking it's *just* like American Scene Emos!! I also really wonder how much is due to less options for meds for things like ADHD- we tend to be.... prone to addiction and hyperfixation.
Isn't Jirai kei just dark Girly-kei? I mean Ryousangata is also mostly a slur stamp on Girly-kei for people who all buy from the same brands and look almost like a blueprint + obsessive idol culture. And dark Girly-kei got the Jirai stamp mostly because of the girls in kabukicho, specifically Toyoko Kids who wear that dark girly style a lot, then again who wouldn't be in a bad mental space from that environment (Their ages range from 11 to around 21 so MANY ARE CHILDREN and runaways, many DO have self harm scars). Yua from the Rental Girlfriend manga is basically the story of most girls in that gang, that's where the Jirai+Dark girly fashion stereotype came from as far as I know, not to mention that the whole name started with a makeup challenge to look like a "Landmine girl". I do think that you could compare it with the "Heroin Chic" trend in the west? In the end I don't like the name at all because it comes with a lot of negativity and basically already had a name before, so I just call it dark Girly-kei :')
Yeah agreed- Not only that but Jirai Kei almost seems to promote the self-harm aspect of things. Not only is it a misogynist stereotype by men but its also doing more harm than good. It feels like a lot of the issues just weren't brought up due to misinformation or just brushed under the rug. All the fashions they mentioned in the introduction of this fashion were just Sweet Girly Kei and Dark Girly Kei styles and those have been around since 2010/2012 so its just fine if they wish to keep on wearing this fashion but relating it to Jirai Kei is only appealing to the stereotypes and further promoting its problems.
genuinely asking: where did the girly kei/dark girly kei term came from? because I haven't seen japanese people using those terms... and if "girly/dark girly kei" came from non-japanese people then I dont think it's a good idea to change the term, cuz at the end of the day it's something that came from japan again, I'm genuinely asking, I don't wanna sound rude...
@@chuchu00444 Girly Kei and Dark Girly Kei do come from Japanese people. The name doesn't really SOUND too japanese but has been around for far longer than "Jirai Kei" has- As far as early 2010s to even prior to that. The reason as to why people are mentioning that perhaps its best you just calling it Girly Kei rather than "Jirai Kei" is because this so called "new style" isn't new at all. The style "Jirai Kei" uses is quite simply putting just a very specific style within Girly Kei (thus why some people are confused and claiming they have seen this style prior to 2020, its because it HAS existed prior), except "Jirai Kei" just adds a harmful concept into it. Its honestly a long story but resuming it, "Jirai Kei" isn't really a name of a new substyle it was born from insulting people who wore Girly Kei. This isn't the first time an insult towards this style is taken as a style of its own by both people of japan and overseas, neither is it the last. "Jirai Kei" unlike what the video wants to admit, is purely the concept of the poor mental health part because that's all it has to add to this pre-existing style. That's what this "style" promotes without really adding anything onto the clothes itself. By promoting it I mean it truly, there has been a literal host-club in September of 2021 that has promoted a "full Jirai Kei" complete with a class worth 1000 yen on "how to cut your wrist cutely". This is just one of the many, many things that people who self-identify into this "Jirai Kei" "style" tend to seek after. There has been public group cuttings, physical aggression towards other women in order to act "yandere", run aways, group self harm or suicides in overall cute rooms, prostitution to older men, heavy drinking, ect.. The list goes on. "Jirai Kei" in a more simpler example, would be like someone looking at a woman wearing revealing Punk clothes and calling her an "Edgy Whore". Suddenly people hear that term and dress Punk while claiming that the style they are wearing is "Edgy Whore" style and begin to heavily rely on sexual actions in order to pass further that image of the style they are wearing. At the end of the day, the style they are wearing is still just Punk but with a weird insulting agenda now added onto it. That's exactly what "Jirai Kei" is, an insult to people wearing a certain style that just grew widely popular. That's why people wish for the style to be just called Girly Kei, because that's all the style is fashion wise without any of the harmful self-harm and unhinged imagery.
Wait so basically only Kabukicho was running illegally during the pandemic? while Japan also had the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in ages ?? oh .. OKAY ANYWAYS this was super interesting! and particularly cool were the comparisions to emo and gyaru imo - it's really the same for emo like some kids were self-harming and partying too hard (like in some pop punk concerts or some scene/kandi ravers crowds) but certainly not all and some were just kids who dressed weirdly and shopped with their moms. In the same vein that some shirogyaru were also just being rebellious in an "okay" way. Like happens to any "problematic" style it's not really the style that is problematic just that some people with problematic behaviors feel attracted / flock to / feel like they can relate to them. Which is not a problem in itself, but the media will always say shit.
The thing is,as much as i wanna wear that style,i cant help but cringe at myself. I find it absolutely gorgeous on others but on myself,it just looks off. I love goth fashion and the lifestyle but i also love cute things and very girly stuff. This fashion style is exactly what i want but,there is no way i can wear it in my country,and in japan,idd either get harassed or people would think im a weeb or a tryhard. I know i shouldn't care but still,i wanna feel like myself and be myself,i just dont know how. Im already sick and tired to be shouted at by people,telling me im an emo etc etc,no way i can handle any more of that.
I see lots of people saying "don't call it jirai kei, that's derogatory!", yes, it was originally, but these girls kind of took back the term as a sort of F you to the folks who started calling them landmines. Living in Japan I do see lots of seemingly normal girls wearing this style, even in rural Fukuoka, they definitely aren't teen runaways here in this rural town at least. The style is so almost mainstream in Japan that just normal girls in small towns even wear it on weekends now. The hardcore lifestylers at most are just bringing out the mental health stigma as a fashion in some cases, trying to express it and bring some sort of dialogue to it. Maybe in Tokyo they have severe issues. I don't know, I haven't been to Tokyo in years.
The normal girls wearing the style might consider their style to be "dark girly-kei". But I'm just confused about how "jirai girls" are taking back a derogatory slur if they are acting exactly like the negative stereotype they were associated with in the first place? It doesn't exactly help that they're kind of promoting harmful behaviours such as sh, drinking, underage sex work, and blowing their paychecks on host clubs... I do wear girly kei and also have some mental health issues, but I don't know man... Jirai kei kind of makes me uncomfortable
8:00 I wouldn’t even called those family friendly because of the nature they were created from and that they’re more targeted to adults, but they are a step level higher with more appeal then host clubs.
I really love the people you got to interview for this one, the fact it'S grounded into people who actively lived in japan and are part of the japanese community is great and truthful to what it is, the pretty, the bad and the ugly, I went back to older video of this project and It was a very Americanized twitter version of J-fashion, I felt like I was listening to 16yo lolita me, trashing everyone who didn't respect every single guideline the livejournal community decided was the truth, I remember being very shocked when i met japanese lolita for the first time and realized how much bullshit the fashion went through by going west..
i think what bugs me about this video is that a lot of subcultural fashion icons have also dabbled in sex work as well as gone through difficult times similar to jirai kei. Some have to do this even to keep wearing their preferred fashion into adulthood. I think it'd be nice to give the girls who also experience these hardships their flowers, too; so I felt sad when the jirai kei girl says 'they do bad things'. Separating the art from the artist in this case can feel a bit saddening.
I think it is very important to talk about how japan is so romanticised in western culture as well to the point some people believe nothing bad every happens. which is just untrue. there will always be unsafe places no matter what country you go to. I am very glad you guys talked about that in the video.
Well the way Japan itself is also to blame for that. They market themselves as a soft power on purpose and promote this kind of thinking to drum up better quality prospects. It's not *just* by accident and you have to truly dig deep to see how absolutely toxic the culture is. Like the kpop, kdrama wave was wholly calculated. No one is immune to propaganda, especially when said propaganda is subtle af.
What do K dramas and Kpop have to do with Japan?
@ponpon exactly. There should be middle ground. Like any country, Japan has its beauty and its more dangerous areas .
@ponpon I would absolutely agree but say that to any mainland SEA person. I'm not saying you're wrong but just like America there's some stuff Japan hasn't apologized at all for and they downplay it.
@@Sailorlluna they use the same marketing tactics to drum up more financial and international business to their respective countries. But both industries do that at the detriment to the very people that live there and perpetuate the stereotypes that harm the communities there. Similar to Hollywood but there's no such things as unions so they grind creators and workers into the dust. They try to create these perfect images of their countries when in actuality not everything is peachy keen. I'm not trying to demonize the industries themselves but the propaganda and sh*tty working conditions they put their workers through gets downplayed or completely silenced. There's also the cultural aspect of just literally not admiting to their being a problem with exploiting their workers to the point where they make the US look better (which is wild cause the US is also dookie). Not saying that no one should consume any of these things, just be aware.
Western discourse surrounding jirai kei is so frustrating. Most of the criticism I’ve seen has been by people who are uneducated on preexisting and VERY long standing social problems Japan. I’m a strong believer in art being a result of current culture, and jirai is a perfect example of that. Blaming jirai for harmful behavioral trends in japan is just reactionary and uninformed. Instead, question why teenagers feel compelled to run away from home and express mental turmoil with unhealthy amounts of drinking and partying. I promise you the problem is with the circumstances of the world they are fighting with, and not the fucking clothes they wear. Lol
When people complain about the usage of the word "jirai", they are NOT referring to any specific types of clothing worn being the problem, but rather the stereotypes the word brings as it's a slur and an insult towards those w/ BPD + it's (unfortunate) association with girly-kei. The word is a harmful stereotype in itself that makes fun of said teenagers who "express mental turmoil" as you describe.
@@roachvalentine2163 why are these ostracized teenagers/people who supposedly exhibit symptoms of BPD not allowed to reclaim this “slur?” It seems very weird and invasive to try and police how people choose to identify with or reframe words that were once used in a derogatory way. Are you saying we should surrender this word to bullies instead of trying to let them reclaim it?
And why is it’s association with Girly kei “unfortunate?” It honestly sounds like western girly kei enthusiasts are perpetuating the same stereotypes believed by misogynists in japan by rejecting jirai girls from their fashion umbrella.
@@roachvalentine2163 Yes but there's nothing wrong with young jp girls relating to the term and using it.
@NitroFairyWing yeah its very reminiscent of scene/emo discourse. I remember seeing people accuse scene/emo subculture of encouraging eating disorders, cutting, etc. Emo can also be seen as a derogatory word against people who struggle with depression etc but i never see the same kind of pushback against the word being used as a genre descriptor the same way jirai has pushback. Idk it just seems like shallow reactionary takes to me all around
@@pomme2903 not sure why you'd relate to something meant to be an insult towards you, but go ahead I guess. Again, the problem lies with the association of that word w/ the fashion. The fashion already had a name and does not need to be renamed. That's like trying to call lolita or fairy kei something other than what it already is.
those kids are being exploited. *exploited*. they are not "working" in these places, their status as unhoused teens are being taken advantage of by these bars, by the adults who choose to *use* that vulnerable status to get something out of them. and that's a *massive* social problem which needs compassionate solutions that actually give these kids the care that they need and sought when they ran away.
also, the responsibility is *fully* on any adult that decides it's fine for them to exploit and abuse a vulnerable child who has most likely already experienced abuse or neglect; none of these girls or children should be blamed or considered "fully" responsible for their actions in these highly exploitative and volatile situations.
They literally are working
sex work is work unless you're a child...
BUT a lot of even sex workers forget what survival sex work is and that for a lot of the marginalized groups, the majority that work and are unaccounted for... don't have a choice but again this is from a western culture perspective..
we don't know if being homeless teen in their country is the same need of survival or if they were given a fair choice
@@suicideshy451 i want to be gentle here, cuz i believed sex work is work for a good long time, but coming to terms w/ my experiences of coercive financial & living situations as well as analysis from people who've exited the sex trade and ppl in the sex trade who would like to exit but are kept from the resources to do so, i've come to the conclusion that *most* "sex work" is, at the very least, *economically* coerced, if not outright trafficking---it isn't the same as "any other job" because you are not as highly likely at risk of being raped in "any other job". i believe ppl in the sex trade deserve to be protected & not criminalized, & also offered resources to exit the trade if/when they are wanting to do so. "survival sex work" is coercive--ppl w/ no other choices left often enter the sex trade because they see no other means of financially surviving in their conditions. homeless teens cannot *consent* to entering the sex trade--they do not have other feasible options a lot of the time. it's hard to talk abt but i think there's a fair enough amt of evidence that Japan has its own culture of child fetishization/sexualization which encourages predators to.... predate... which is perhaps somewhat distinct from western & particularly American child sexualization/fetishization, but it results in similar things: children being trafficked & economically coerced into selling their bodies and/or likenesses in order to survive devastating circumstances. if you are unhoused and vulnerable and often multiply oppressed (i.e. have a mental illness, are trans or gendernonconforming, are disabled or a POC, or, in this case, are a child or teenager), you are much more likely to be manipulated by traffickers and/or economically coerced into the sex trade. unhoused children and runaways around the entire world end up in these situations more than most of our societies, particularly Western societies, would like to admit. from my rough understanding now, moving the legal age of adulthood from 20 to 18 seems like a pretty insidious move on the part of the Japanese government to *legitimize* child trafficking and sexual coercion & rape of children, given the entire context of even just this video. unhoused people, but particularly children and underage unhoused people, do not have the ability to fully & enthusiastically consent to trading 'sex' for money. they are inherently deprived of choices. particularly in a place like Kabukicho that is historically known for "adult-oriented entertainment", which to me sounds like it's been and perhaps still is a bit of a "red light district" in Shinjuku, Tokyo. that is not a safe place for any child to live in, especially alone or at the mercy of predatory adults, which, again, it seems like many of these children *are*.
""which needs compassionate solutions that actually give these kids the care that they need and sought when they ran away.
Parents who dont suck at being a Parent you mean.
For all the young girls looking at this video, if you do go to Japan by yourself now that it's opening up again, do not be mistaken, Kabukicho is still very much dangerous for women specially at night. Disclaimer: I'm not denying the experience of the girls who spoke in the video, maybe they always go in groups, or because they're visibly foreigners they didn't get approached, however my experience with kabukicho has been different.
So here's my story: I never really dress up, usually wear jeans and a shirt and I'll be done with it, but one time I decided to make myself look pretty! Before this day, I always walked through kabukicho in the daylight or with a friend, and nothing ever happened so this lulled me into a false sense of security, I even thought "hey kabukicho is not as bad as I thought!"... However, this particular day where I looked cute and more in the japanese street style, I got followed by 2 different older men who approached me and tried to talk to me (pretty sure to proposition untoward things, as this is the way some sex workers get clients as they wander in this major red light district in tokyo, watch an ig reel by therealcyberbunny posted on October 4th for another similar happening), they weren't regular men either, they looked REALLY shifty... I'm a bigger girl so maybe they wouldn't think about grabbing me, but if you're younger, more vulnerable, and by yourself, you would definitely be in danger, so do not tempt kabukicho because it is still dangerous. If you go during the day, or with friends, you should be ok. I recommend avoiding the areas behind the cinema (the Godzilla head building). Recently I had to go there at night to watch a movie and it was the last day, so I had to take a shortcut through kabukicho because I was late, and because I was dressed like a hobo, I thought no one will want to talk to me, yet I still got approached 🙄🙄🙄🙄 I think being a cute foreigner dressed in jirai also could attract unwanted attention, or the creeps could make assumptions since you're wearing jirai you're a sex worker or hostess already. But I don't mean to tell you to not go, or to not dress jirai, on the contrary! You dress and serve looks darling, but I just want you to be safe ok? Be careful out there ladies. If you have an interest in visiting kabukicho, do educate yourselves on the scams that happen there, and all the sketchy stuff there. Lots of love 💕
Edited for clarity and grammar
Edit 2:
For more background on how these men approached me, one of them kept following me and talking next to me while i clearly had headphones on, i tried to ignore him and walked super fast to try to lose him, and he stopped but who knows what other drunk people could do. For the 2nd one, i saw him randomly picking up girls in front of the cinema where i was waiting for my friend, and he looked at me once so i tried to leave the area and look for a bathroom to go inside so he wouldn't approach me, however the bathroom was locked and i had to turn back and when i turned around HE HAD FOLLOWED ME, and he started to talk to me in Japanese, then in English, i pretended i didn't know either and walked away and entered a store while my friend got there. It was scary, never before had men followed me anywhere in Japan 😡 it was honestly super scary as I was on my own and some parts of kabukicho can have few people, and no police patrolling depending on the day, and time of the day
Japan as a whole is actually very dangerous for women. The Western attitude towards "consent" and "respect" does not apply in Japan.
People shouldn't be fooled by the low crime rates of Japan. Sexual assault towards women is so, SO common but crime rates stay low because women in Japan are afraid to report these incidents to authorities. I've neve heard any Japanese person in my 15 plus years of living here ever talk about consent. My Japanese family never taught me about consent, or how to protect myself.
Every time I've been sexually assaulted here in Japan and reported it to the police, I was told there was nothing the police could do due to lack of physical evidence (meaning I needed to physically have my assailant present which is usually like what you mentioned, super sketchy old men) That's how they keep crime rates so low.
In reality, there are many studies about women keeping quiet about their sexual assault and not reporting it. Japan is very dangerous for women both physically and emotionally.
Boys do not learn about consent unless they have extremely liberal free-thinking parents which is very uncommon.
Japan is still one of the most patriarchal societies in a developed nation even according to global statistics on gender discrimination.
Especially as a foreigner in Japan, I've heard many stories of international students being the victim of a lot of sexual assault, because of their limited language capabilities, meaning they'll have a harder time reporting the crime to the police (even though the police won't take sexual assault seriously anyways)
Unfortunately it's been proven time and time again that no matter what you're wearing, some creep will always try and do something :(
@@gooeater1544 totally!! And mind you Tokyo is a city where no one will approach you just to have an innocent chat, everyone is pretty much doing their own thing so if someone approaches you that's already red flag number one!
first of all im really sorry that happened to you, second of all thank you for this! ik some people are always like “its my body I’ll dress however I want” and im totally here for that ! but sometimes you really gotta put ur safety first alr
So sorry that happened to u, thank u for telling us abt the potential damgers
This was such a good discussion. I never stopped to think of how the pandemic impacted the fashion/movement, and I definitely didn’t know this much about the runaway teen situation.
I lived in Japan for a bit for school but I was already an adult and not in the loop about teen issues. I have so much more to research now!
As someone who is mainly on JP Twitter, I see people clearly having mental episodes under these tags all the time, very very common (like genuinely only had to scroll under a minute). I'm glad yet quite confused how these girls haven't seen it? The glorification is bad, but I'm hoping that it's the starting of something great (like how emo made us in the west aware of self harm). I feel like this style just speaks a lot to people who are neurodivergent/feeling depressed/having severe mental illnesses (like myself).
And maybe this is me seeing myself in others, but I remember when I was having a very bad time a few years ago, I'd openly show my scars. Not hiding them felt like I had nothing to be ashamed of/nothing to hide if I outright showed them off. And I think that maybe when other people are having episodes, maybe it's a similar feeling? (Not that I'm trying to excuse it of course, showing self harm to random people is awful, but when you're in an episode it's so hard to tell right from wrong)
Reminds me a lot of depression/ED/SH Tumblr back in 2010-2012.
Its good that you talked about this.
🥸🤯
its crazy to me that the girls in the interview dont see any of the selfharm/drinking pictures. I follow a lot of Japanese girls that wear this fashion and they post pics/videos of their selfharm and drinking on a daily basis in their insta stories. and its not uncommon, basically any random insta girl i see with that fashion does it. now when it comes to the fashion insta ´´models´´, thats where you dont see it.
i think the reason why you cant find it under the tags is that these girls arent using the tags and most people that use the tag only use the style itself for the fashion and so that other people who are interested in the style can find them. jirai fashion has been around for years, its just your standard liz lisa or MA*RS clothes where you combine dark and bright colors, so its still super weird to me how this whole subculture came around. kinda reminds me of the whole yami kawaii subculture a few years ago, guess they just changed their style of clothing? i truly hope japan and the whole world can one day get better in the mental health aspect.
In General I would have wished that for this interview you could have talked with actual Japanese girls in this „community“, not the girls that use this style for their fashion Insta, but the girls with these problems that are into this style.
There always has to be a correlation between a style and what the people are doing, especially if it’s a more eye catching type of look.
There always was this fight about people being into the emo style and looking down upon the emo‘s that actually selfharm even tho that was literally the reason the style existed.
To let out your emotions and have them be visible, I know this because I was part of it.
These two girls did a great job at scratching the surface level, yet it’s obvious they’re only into this fashion style because of the look, not the meaning behind it ( not saying that’s a bad thing, I’m actually glad people take things outside it’s bad reputation and try to give it a better meaning!)
Overall great video to talk about this topic and let people know more, yet it’s the wrong people that are talking about it I believe :)
No yeah, it just felt kinda outside-looking-in and judgemental…i dont think two americanadian girls have much authority to speak on the subculture, especially when they’re admittedly disconnected from it’s grimier darker roots
"" I follow a lot of Japanese girls that wear this fashion and they post pics/videos of their selfharm and drinking on a daily basis in their insta stories.""
You can say that about every Subculture out there. Punks/Skins/Metal Heads/Rap etc.
@@your-username-here2308 speaking for rap, it’s rooted in black empowerment and encouragement and having fun that took a dark tone ie Naz->Public Enemy. So it’s not the same thing. You can literally see the transition by listening to the music
@@idongesitx1873 "" it’s rooted in black empowerment""
Wich includes Gang-Life, Nightlife and all sorts of fun stuff. And it depends on your understanding and definition of what empowerment is.
It never took a downturn, it was already int here as it got born.
Unfortunately, the manga translations for Tomorrow, I Will Be Someone's Girlfriend (Ashita, Watashi wa Dareka no Kanojo) have been dropped by the current scanlator at the end of Volume 8... I really hope someone can pick it up soon, since it's a very interesting, frank, and realistic portrayal of the dark side of these Kabukicho "services". In addition to host clubs and sex work, it also explores the rental girlfriend business and the psyche of people seeking out sugar daddies. Yua's character is actually what introduced me to jirai kei, since I liked her fashion style so much! I'm glad to see this manga being talked about in the context of the real community ♡
totally agree with everything you said. really really enjoyed reading Tomorrow, I Will Be Someone’s Girlfriend. loved the themes explored in the first arc and the super grim reality of the most recently translated one. i love when manga give a realistic, no nonsense portrayal of Japan and the culture there. for anyone wondering if they should read - go for itttttt it’ll definitely be an enjoyable read and if there’s more interest that’s also more reason for it to get picked up again!
Another person here who highly reccomends reading this manga!! I do hope someone else picks it up as well...
That manga is so great, a must read
I’m really hoping it gets picked up. I need more T_T
where did you get yours from? I can’t find anywhere ☹️
It was really cool to see the cultural overlap between jirai and gyaru!
I see them as two extremes :) love it
even if Jirai Kei is just a double edged sword coping mechanism and gyaru was meant to be a societal reaction
Personally I've seen SH in jirai hashtags (the jp tags in specific) but it was all on twitter, never instagram or other social media. I think people should be careful searching for dark aesthetics in general on twitter bc of how common vent art and gore pictures are on there.
yeah i agree. I am an artist who focuses on yami kawaii but I have warnings on my page that there is blood and alot of vent art. i stay off twitter because of how uncensored it is. Twitter also has an awful SH problem in general where accounts that have extreme graphic sh will still be up if you search it. i tried to report some as I never want anyone to come across it. I am not sure if it was taken down
@@axtiexe Yeah!! its great that you hae warnings!! and mm If the accounts get taken down they will just make new ones :((
as someone who follows lots of japanese jirai girls on insta, they will post pics and vids about their selfharm and drinking DAILY on their stories. dont get me started on twitter, stuff there is even more graphic :(
as an active twitter user one of the reasons i ended up switching to it was because the post restrictions are less strict than instagram, but the consequences of that is it's very easy to stumble upon graphic self harm by typing in the wrong combination of words. it's a bit weird to me for someone to say they've never seen any of the s/h or drinking because it is so easy to find evidence of it, intentionally or not. not to say that anyone should be actively searching out these images, but even on instagram it's not uncommon to see at least drinking pictures.
yeah i was really interested in this fashion and when i searched it up on twitter to get more pictures of it it showed me a lot of sh and then it made me go onto edtwt and shtwt for like a while. it sucks and that happening is a problem.
In my opinion 18 and 19 is to young for sex work it’s honestly so sad 😢
A lot are minors too...It's saddening
worldwide its starting to be an issue...when i was 16 and in high school, i had a friend the same age who was always talking about how she couldnt wait to turn 18 to make an onlyfans. i havent talked to her in a while but i hope shes doing okay.
@@0aghost0 let her do that it's her choice isn't it? She'll learn
@@dreameva1400 i did??? i think the context i added pretty clearly shows that I am out of high school now and i didnt try to impede her. literally just stating how women younger and younger are getting groomed into getting into sex work before the brain is even finished developed
@@dreameva1400 "she'll learn" yeah, let the girl get groomed, and used like a napkin, once she's crying she'll understand, right? /S
God, have some empathy....
I get a huge rush of adrenaline when someone else has read something I like. I really relate to the desperation and loneliness in Tomorrow I’ll Be Someone’s Girlfriend so thank you for sharing the cultural context around the inspired fashion and location.
Just like Yumechi said in this video, the bad side of jirai kei is actually involving in the “mentally ill lifestyle” by drinking, smoking, cutting,…; but there is also the good side which is afternoon tea party, themed cafe, going to idol concert or collecting oshi merchs - and of course there is nothing wrong with those.
So i’m a little confused here - i can see how some people are against jirai kei because both the name and the history behind it point towards problematic lifestyle, but no matter how you call it, isn’t it still a reality that a lot of people who enjoy this style are not participating in harmful stuff and just living their best life? Yet they are ridiculed just for wearing what they love?
I saw someone mention Takayan as an artist well-known for many songs that represent jirai kei, and his lyrics mostly are about mental issues & dark topics, like fangirls’ POV on getting obsessed over an idol or fictional character. So i got reminded of some other popular works like “Oshigoto” and “Kawaikute Gomen” by Honeyworks - these songs are widely recognized as “jirai kei songs” too, but they portray the jirai girls in a positive light and validate their style, their hobbies, their choices; showing that you definitely don’t need to live a self-destructive life to put on jirai fashion, and that jirai girls can be just wholesome & passionate people trying to live their best life, with a healthy amount of “fixation” on things they love.
I don’t listen to much of Takayan’s music since it’s not exactly my type, even though the lyrics do sound relatable (i’ve been struggling with mental health for years too). But i love the type of songs from Honeyworks i just mentioned, since it’s a lifestyle i want to continue pursuing because it brings me happiness. I literally cried when i read the lyrics of “Kawaikute Gomen”, the song also receives lots of positive feedback for its message of encouraging young people to live their life, despite being called “cringe” for wearing girly clothes and supporting idols, etc.
So what i’m seeing here is, both of those are jirai kei, but very different, and people are actually making contents to reduce the prejudice that jirai joshi or anyone that wear the jirai clothes are toxic, mentally ill, harmful,… (the artist Tetto (@onnoveltet) mentioned in the video is another example of wholesome jirai kei contents). Which, i don’t think is a bad thing at all…?
I like the jirai kei fashion simply because it suits my tatse - a perfect mix between a little edgy/ emo vibe and lots of sweet, girly elements. I like emo fashion, i like yami kawaii, i like ryosangata too, but none of them makes me feel like “oh!! this is me!!!” until i found jirai kei. Of course i try to educate myself on the origin and meaning of it (which is why i am here rn). But personally, i just feel like there is no need to be so against of jirai kei, since it’s clearly showing signs of promoting positive messages about self-confidence, and helping to battle the unreasonable ostracism towards those who choose to wear the style - like no matter how you call it, jirai or dark girly kei, if it’s still associated with bad and taboo things, people would still be prejudiced against it. So i think it’s better to let people who like the fashion wear it (without neglecting the dark side of it, yes) - and be themselves. Be positive, be kind, be passionate with things they love - while wearing jirai kei - so that it’s no longer tied to only the bad things, and other people who want to pick up the style can see that they don’t have to become a certain unhealthy way to wear the clothes they love.
i relate with with this comment so much
you typed this out so well
Remember to credit the producers!
The figure is based on a song "Vampire" by Deco*27
I do not know about the music video mentioned before the figure.
The music video is Menhera Janai mon if im not mistaken! Its really cute but also has a quite real relatability if that makes sense? at least with the whole mental health thing
time stamo?
hi! im fully japanese and i was born in tokyo japan and lived there for 10 years then moved to the us, and i go back to japan quite often around 2 times a year. ive been doing jirai kei fashion for about 2 years and i get my information from twitter and other social media platforms and my friends in japan because i am fluent in japanese. i just wanted to say this video was SOOOO WELL MADE!!!!!!!! often times foreigners and people from the outside perspective is kind of off and a bit wrong but you guys explained it so well especially jesse. i love the fashion and the concept but it's important to learn about the culture and the dark side of it. it's really sad because lots of my friend who lives in japan actually do sugar daddy business and i know that's also a thing here and all the OF stuff, ( i'm not against sex work!) but it's just insane how many people do it and how many young people do it. i hope people can learn what these kids struggle with
the whole fashion concept of romanticizing mental illness is also a thing in america. although i feel like it's very dangerous for that fashion to be very open about it... for example ik "morute aesthetic" was a thing, where it's an aesthetic romanticizing eating disorders, self harm, sexual a$$ault in young years, abuse, etc. it became problematic and artists who contributed to that (ex: nicole dollanger) got "canceled" or whatever but right now SOME of the lolita fashion/lana del rey, miss dior girls (im not saying all lana fans are like this!!! i like her music!) like to romanticize eds, ive seen it happen. i feel like it's soooo so so dangerous to romanticize mentall illnesses because it really just make people ignore the dark side of it..... i've been struggling with so many mental illnesses and disorders, i'm autistic, i've had bulimia and anorexia nervosa and EDNOS for years, (i've had it since 13 yrs old) i have depression anxiety ocd ptsd...... you name it. it is SO stressful and irritating when people make music and fashion out of these that romanticize it. im fine with music that i can relate to or like show the actual side of mental illnesses but i hate it when self harm scars are part of fashion now? i've seen some people DRAW red lines for jirai kei fashion. like that is fucking insane.
Ik I'm 1 year late but this needs to be pinned
Thank you for this interview, it gives a nice dive into the fashion part of Jirai. However, it seems strange how lightly the undermining issues behind the trend are talked about. Before the pandemic, there was a rise of yami kawaii and the menhera "culture", although its also strange to talk about menhera as a culture, since it's revolving around expressing your mental struggles and illnesses in fashion or art. What I've seen, jirai kind of evolved from the yami kawaii trend, and imho the trend should never be discussed without acknowledging the main idea behind it - teens and young adults are ill, they express themselves through fashion that's comfortable for them and I don't think that yami or jirai should be seen as "only a fashion trend". The illnesses and sh behind the trend are the main reasons why jirai is seen as problematic by the main public. In the music scene, Takayan is one of the artists, the main demographic of which are jirai/yami girls. If you dive into his lyrics, you'll see the correlation between the trend and mental struggles. Please do acknowledge, that there is a problem, and it's very real, not just a plot in a drama or anime.
I know this is a year later but I think Jesse means “obsession” when she’s says “hyper-fixation”, they’re two different things.
Drinking is huge in Japanese culture in general. The adults in Japan created this problem. They need to take responsibility
Intresting video. I just had a comment about the "hyperfixations being escapism". Alot of people hyper fixate due to ocd, bpd, anxiety, asd, adhd, etc. I personally have ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), and I don't hyperficate because I'm trying to not deal with my problems, its just how my brain works. And a lot of people are the same way. Other than that I really enjoyed the video. I would have also loved to see the perspective of people who grew up in japan or are Japanese.
Yeah I have ADHD. When I’m not hyperfixating that’s because I’m sick or depressed. My brain needs to get super excited to get the dopamine it needs. Maybe that’s escaping my dopamine deficiency 😂
But on the flipside, one could argue any hobby is escapism or that watching a movie or reading a book etc is escapism. Realistically I think escapism is a normal part of being human. We all need things that can draw or attention to something other than the day to day, it’s the way it’s done that can be an issue.
It’s just strange to see that tied to hyper fixation, which is more of a term that describes what a lot of us ND people do naturally. Maybe using it outside of those conversations with other ND people is what throws me off 🤷🏻♀️
I also have high functioning autism and bipolar and the “hyper fixation” comment didn’t sit well with me. Since that is something I can’t control..and do when I’m triggered or trying to calm myself.
exactly! this greatly annoyed me as well. i don't have any of those diagnoses but it really bothers me that people use "hyperfixate" as a buzz word when they could really just say "fixation". hyperfixation is a symptom of those disorders, as you say, and using them in other contexts just warps its meaning
@@xo_oblivion I just wanna point out that it is not true that hyperfixation is a ''symptom of those disorders'' only. Many people have hyperfixations, even outside of neurodivergency. People used to only use it for people who have ASD or ADHD (me having ASD and being tested for ADHD), and finally accepting that MANY people have it. People with depression, anxiety, OCD, BPD etc. can also have it. It is just a word, just cause its a symptom of neurodivergency doesn't mean it can't exist outside of that. Just like a common symptom of ASD for example can be struggling to make eye contact, that doesn't mean people who arent ND can't have the same thing going on. It might be more common for people who have ASD or ADHD in general, but through the years its become more clear that MANY people can have this happen, with many different disorders. Hyperfixation wasn't even a thing associated with anxiety and is not a symptom of anxiety disorder AT ALL, yet people have accepted that it does happen. Just like it isnt a symptom of BPD AT ALL in the DSM 5 or even the BPD community itself, but it can happen.
It's fine to be uncomfortable with it, and I do agree the way she worded it and how she was talking about hyperfixation wasn't really accurate as its something people can't really control. But it really is not true that the word is only for specific disorders only, if that were the case people with anxiety disorder, depression, BPD and many other disorders wouldn't be allowed to say they have it either, since they have never been part of the DSM-5 symptoms or a common occurence with most of them, unlike with ADHD, ASD and OCD where its very common and a thing psychiatrists do look for.
For me personally I'm just glad that hyperfixations are talked about more, including outside of the ND community. Its more common then people think, especially in subcultures, and talking about it can help. Though hopefully people won't think its just escapism.
yeah i agree her saying that hyperfixing is a way to cope with problems sort of hurt my feelings as someone with ASD and ADHD myself...
I gotta say the escapism of collecting and indulging in hyperfixations really helped fill the void I had when I quit drvgs and heavy drinking it was sorta like therapy so I totally get the jirai ppl that do the same thing it can get “toxic” and can become another addiction but overtime with selfcontrol it goes away 😅
This was so interesting! It's sad but it's important to talk about it. I'm loving this series and it just keeps getting better and better 💗
I would also say there's a difference between romanticizing issues and coping with them by taking away stigma. If you have bags under your eyes that is traditionally seen as ugly and a sign youre not doing well. Jirai having that be a beauty standard helps to take away the negative stigma of this trait. Youre not ugly, you're just tired and that can be ok sometimes. We could see drinking problems in a similar way. Usually, when one has an issue with drinking we urge them to feel guilty, which may make them just deny it is happening or feel ashamed for having this issue. Jirai to an extent normalizes this issue as something many girls have, which possibly makes people feel less shame, and thus feel more comfortable reaching out for help. It also makes people feel less hopeless if they see you can still be beautiful even while dealing with these issues
Jirai doesn't do that, at all, actually. There is an actual fashion movement in japan that ACTUALLY was created with the intent to minimize stigma around these exact issues, it's the Menhera community. Jirai actually adds more stigma, if you read what actual japanese people in japan say about it. Jirai is nothing like what this video says it is.
Menhera works to address the societal stigma of mental illness, I’m saying Jirai works to help with person shame and stigma one might have. This doesn’t have to influence society, just the people who are employing it as a coping mechanism. What people in Japan say about Jirai is a different thing than how those who wear it do or what help they receive from it
"" We could see drinking problems in a similar way. Usually, when one has an issue with drinking we urge them to feel guilty"" Please tell that to any Member of Sodom or a common Punk.
@@cladllessyou know there can multiple movements to address the same thing? the issue of romanticizing these problems is prevalent in every alternative lifestyle for young people like this. even for emo, goth and scene kids had problems like this. there was a lot of glorifying blood, mental health issues, and SH.
the stigma in japan doesn’t stem from the movement itself, but the more harmful elements. many people like and are accepting of the fashion. and there are people in japan who like the subculture, not everyone is against. the people against it are yami kawaii and dark girly fashion people who think the subculture is redundant
@@cladlless Jirai does that or bullies who target people who are into jirai fashion? Hence creating more stigma around them
this video was super needed! there’s so much misinfo out there that just needs to be spoken about, and lowkey a lot of people shaming teenagers for being exploited and being forced into the adult industry, and stereotyping jirai kei girls as enablers, when this is just all around an issue with japanese society. it’s really sad to see. i have never felt so loved and accepted in a jfashion community honestly, especially as a plus sized person who cannot afford expensive clothing. it’s such an accessible fashion and accepting and i really adore it ! and also the whole hyper fixation thing, being neurodivergent this is something i have been doing and shamed for in my life. and it is embraced in jirai kei and ryosangata which makes me so happy. 💗
Your comment warms my heart
12:47 one international coworker of mine has serious BPD/major depression and wanted to "out" themselves a couple times while they were here working in Japan, and had been away from work because of those mental health issues. One time, they had a serious episode and so had to get an ambulance. My coworkers helped them out and were distraught by it. However, at the hospital, the Japanese doctors only gave her heavy medication for it and no psychiatric treatment or advice whatsoever. This country is still behind on mental healthcare.
13:03 it's important to state that japan is very much a conservative, right-wing country 🙃 they support smoking too despite its obvious detrimental health effects (even now in anime and even in movies like Ghibli Studio movies, we can see smokers) they focus on the economy more than social progress or issues. Legalizing gay marriage has been a struggle in JPN. Drinking heavily is part of Japan's history and image, so it makes sense as to why they want to support it despite the obvious detriments.
Why does the emo scene and jirai scene want to distance itself from the reality that people face with mental health issues? Part of the problem in the early 2k emo scene was that everyone kept downplaying the mental health side and claimed it was bigger than that and most people were only there for the fashion when the reality is that if you're drawn to this type of culture, it's likely due to underlying issues that are not going to be addressed by placating it as fashion.
A lot of people continue to suffer because of claims of fashion and overlooking the outward expression of damage. The same thing happened to the punk and goth scenes of USA.
Exactly what I was trying to say, these girls are not from japan nor have ever lived the live of a Japanese girl like the ones that are talked about.
They always say „I don’t know about this, it’s just what I heard etc etc.“ but it’s the harsh reality of this style.
There’s no reason to downplay this just to make the style more appealing.
If anything, the emo scene was where I felt most understood. Now pretty much all of my friends are in various subcultures from goth to lolita to hippies because I just connect best with people that tend to gravitate to subcultures in general. I don’t think I have any “sane” friends but that doesn’t mean we don’t work on ourselves or sit around encouraging each other to SH.
Man if early 2000s me saw me now, they’d be shocked it was possible to make that much progress lol
But emo is very much a part of that- it helped me express myself and find people that understood as a teen and there are certain albums that will always be therapy to me.
Bro the problems will always be there with or without the specific fashion. Why do all of yall hyper focus on the clothing? The clothing isn't the problem. Like telling black men to pull up their pants will stop them from getting unfairly stopped by police 🙄. Yall are annoying.
@@maybemablemaples2144 exactly our point. Just because some people want to minimize the reality of people suffering by saying "oh, only a small minority of people actually are suffering, most people are just into the fashion and that's all we should give attention to" is what we are against.
I can say for myself growing up as the emo scene came up; we downplayed it because of the stigma there still was with those issues. If we let out that the way we were dressing was because of our mental anguish then we would just be told we couldn't dress that way, since obviously if we're dressing this way cause we're depressed then we'll stop being depressed if we stop dressing this way. We were protecting our ability to express our pain by trying to seem like we weren't in pain.
I could listen to you guys talk for hours! I hope you guys do a part 3 this was so enjoyable
probably one of my favorite videos of this series
Jirai isn't called that because the people who dress this way are depressed etc.. so they might "Bust off at any second" like a landmine.
It's a derogatory term towards women, that began circulating on Japanese internet spaces to describe girls who were very physically attractive, but has mental health issues, so it was like stepping on a landmine because they women are so cute and unassuming until you dated them and they turned out to be mentally ill, or having trauma.
It was and still is a term that makes it seem like having mental health issues is bad, and that women must be quiet, subservient and not have any 'deficits' such as mental health struggles and physical disabilities.
This isn't a problem with the people dressing this way themselves. they are victims of circumstance, and I feel very bad for them. It's also not an issue with the clothes themselves. It's what it represents.
The people in the video try and defend jirai by comparing it to emo culture, like how 'emos' in the early 2000's would self harm nd glorify depression. Just because one bad thing happened in the past, doesn't make this bad thing right. If I was in the spot I am today, and saw the razor necklaces with blood on them from hot topic, or saw emo kids glorifying depression online, I wouldn't defend it.
Even if I dressed emo, and enjoyed everything but those parts, I would NOT be able to defend making light of these sorts of things.
It as true then and it's still true now, little accessories with razors on them should not be accepted, and cutting should not be seen as an accessory in Jirai kei either.
The problem I have with Western people dressing in Jirai fashion is not with the clothes themselves, but with people defending, or just calling it the dark side of jirai culture.
Sure, Japan has many nice aspects to its culture like the art, fashion, ect... but that does NOT excuse the problems with the culture and shouldn't be brushed off, or swept under the rug.
If you, as a Westerner or from any other country outside of Japan fully understand all these problems with Jirai fashion and what it represents but you still choose to dress this way, be my guest. Nobody is going to stop you.
However, I feel like as an outsider looking in, ESPECIALLY if you dress this way, you have the responsibility to point out things that are wrong.
You can't just say "Cultural differences" The mental health crisis in Japan is not just a cultural thing. It shouldn't be brushed off as that.
The problem I see with the people in this video, and with Jirai in general is that there is no attempt to change anything. To make anything better. We acknowledge the issues, but just accept them as fact. Jirai fashion just incorporates these terrible things into the fashion, but there's no movement within jirai subulture "reclaiming" femininity, or "reclaiming" drinking and making it responsible etc.
Strict helicopter parents and broken households being the cause of teenage runaways should not "Just be a part of the dark side of Jirai kei".
The pedophilia issue of Japan that sees school uniforms as sexy, and highly sexualizes children which ties heavily into jirai is not just the dark side of the subculture.
The strict hierarchy system in Japan, causing people to be pressured into binge drinking should not just be brushed off as "A culture that really enjoys drinking"
triarchal society of Japan that only looks at women as objects to be cute, subservient and pretty should NOT be forgotten as an aspect of j-fashion.
The patriarchal society that has create host clubs in the first place, and has sad, young, lonely girls resorting to prostitution (that they'd rather not do) just to provide for their favorite host and be stepped all over shouldn't be forgotten like as in the video.
The mental health crisis in Japan is not just a difference between western and Japanese culture.
THESE ARE PROBLEMS. It's not rude or disrespectful to say that these things are wrong, and it's not disrespectful to raise your voice, even as a westerner and say that things need to change.
If you do stand up and say something, Japanese people will probably tell you to mind your own business and go back to your country because racist ideology is also very strongly rooted in Japanese society.
To sum it up, I think there's nothing wrong with dressing like this. However, if you understand the background and all the dark parts of the subculture, you should at the very least, not defend these things. You should call it out and say it's wrong.
This exactly. Thank you. Western discourse on this is so frustrating and feels so out of touch of the reality of women here in Japan.
Well said. Thank you.
Omg thank you.
thank you so much
I agree 100%
this whole interview is like so interesting to me because it takes me back 10-13 years when I was this like 16-19 years old german "girl" still dealing with so much trauma around my gender and what I didn't know then turned out as me being transsexual. but back then I was hyperfixating like so much on Visual Kei. all I did back then was like drink, take drugs and obsess over Ruki (Vo. the GazettE) as my form of escapism. after that getting into host/gyaru-o culture and later on japanese gay porn which was kinda connected back then. but seeing men live out a kinda feminine style that was giving me this kinda vibe that "not all men need to look like men" gave me a feeling of not being so wrong after all. also I was absolutely romantizising sex work back then. and now it's like coming back in a different costume. which is kinda intruiging in a way since I just recently came out as transsexual to my therapist to finally start transitioning hopefully and I am totally drawn back to my old VK obsession atm though I'm turning 30 soon and in a way much more aware than I was as a minor, of course. but there is this kind of attraction because there really is a big feeling of escapism behind all these things. so, yeah... thanks for this honest insight! I really enjoyed watching your interview.
The phrase "hood rich" came to mind when they were talking about cheap living with status items. My anthropology brain loves this stuff.
i dont see to many canykei girls anymore, holds a soft nostalgic place in my old tumblr emo heart
anyway very informative video and it was a pleasure hearing you ladies speak on this
i honestly just thought this new style was the natural progression for the whole lolita/cottagecore fashion that had been melding together for a few years now but wow
been taught wrong lol
i thought the same thing. i just assumed it was japan's "alt", like we have in western countries, we went to "alt" culture and i assumed this fashion style was the "alt" version of lolita
The shock of seeing screenshots my vocaloid sub at 24:27! Was not expecting that 😅 Great video^^
Interesting video. As someone who lives in Japan and has been here for decades, I didn't agree with a lot of the information being said in this video (Mostly towards the beginning) but it was all really well presented, so it was easy to say "Hmm, I can see why they think that."
I do want to note, as someone who's been on the emo community for over 10 years, along with family members who have been for much longer, showing off things like that is not very common AT all. If anything a lot of emos were ona superiority complex because they DIDNT do that, which is bad in it's own right :(. This is s really good video, and with her talking about how westerners tend to over exaggerate things, especially in japan, without talking about the very real depressing downsides of some subcultures. I just wanted to point that out!
EDIT: also, unfortunately, hyperfixating on a random idol/person to not think about your own issues can cause a plethora of other issues. Mostly with very unhealthy attachments and responding to people who dont like the person you do, or even if they do.
As someone who was in it in the early 2000s, while I’m glad to hear that it absolutely was common back then. So people legitimately would say you’re a poser if you don’t self harm (also is you called yourself emo lmao) There was also a lot of “you’re not really mentally ill” which is one way to display one’s mental struggles ig but it doesn’t make em right
It felt like people wanted the emo scene to be a special thing just for them and so they pushed out others left and right. A lot of subcultures were like that back then too. Things seem less intense now but being in my 30s, that might just be within my peer group and generally low tolerance for melodramatic behavior (unless it’s for fun and isn’t harmful)
@@sourgreendolly7685 also emo, and agreed, there was an openness and cavalier-ness for me too, though I’m younger than you (in my 20s now). However in my experience that mostly stopped being the case when we were a bit older (at 15-16, talking about it openly wasn’t so much a thing,even tho plenty still suffered from that). That may have been because there was an incident where me and my friend, who talked and joked abt it (tho we didn’t SHOW the self harm physically) were reported to our school by someone else, parents found out, etc. it was a whole thing so that def impacted how much we shared.
That said, I also agree with OP that some had a superiority complex about not dealing w it and there were also plenty of people who mocked SH & depression, who were into the subculture & music. That was less prevalent in my experience but still absolutely something I saw.
In my mind I divide emo into three waves - late 80s -early 90s (birth of the actual music genre) , early 2000s (birth of the subculture & scene), and early 2010s (last hurrah of true emo being popular). Maybe we will get a true 4th, but I’m not convinced yet lol. I was/am a 2010s emo kid, and things were a bit different by then. I didn’t see people calling those who didn’t SH posers,but it was very common, normalized, and glorified, as well as suicidal ideation. And that’s not to say our feelings were CAUSED by the subculture (at least for me. And I still like that music, even tho I don’t deal with SH or suicidal thoughts anymore) but the way me & my friends treated the issue wasn’t the right way to deal w it. Being in an echo chamber makes, well, echoes.
The to-yoko kids thing reminds me a lot of the origins of gyaru and sukeban culture, the kids back in the late 90s who ran away from home in the countryside and moved to Shibuya. Very interesting video!
I think it's so crazy how a lot of people in western countries think japan is such a perfect country because of all the ploiteness, kawaii stuff, anime, video games etc. But only few talk about the negative sides of the culture there which just proves that no country is perfect. Also south korea, Kpop is so popular and everybody wants to go there but the body image there is so fucked up. Being skinny is such a huge thing in these countries and there are also a lot of negative aspects being shown about the kpop industry. So I am very thankful for this video as well!
Its not crazy its like any other countries with dark histories and you only see what's on the outside and not inside most of the part. Educating people about other countries help with that.
Just remember we dont know every single thing that goes on
@@PrincessofKeys never said that this doesn't happen to other countries? But obviously this video is about Japan
Great video once again 💓💓💓 Also, happy to see my 推しメン featured in the video haha (Kanau from herosyn/twinpale)
I think the part about Kabukicho's history was so fascinating, I would love to do more research about it.
Either way thank you for the video💕
Thank you for this part 2!! I watched the first video about jirai kei and I've been obsessed since. I really enjoyed learning about the origin of the fashion and what kinds of sterotypes I would be getting into wearing this style publically. I hope to learn more in the future and help create a positive impact on the jirai kei community.
Again, thank you for this video and the other japanese fashion/culture videos!
Thank you and your guests Jessie and Chiara for discussing a very difficult subject, and revealing a dark side of Japanese culture. A Western person is probable only interested in the fashion, thank goodness, and the real landmine girls in Kabukicho will probably change their fashion as they see it become popular, and they want to keep a fashion of their own, so they can identify each other and have a sense of community, even if they are tip toeing around the edge of disaster. Very well done.
it seems like a small and simple thing, but the content warnings at the beginning are massively appreciated. thank you for being such a kind soul 🩷
Yooo thanks for sharing this!!! It’s significant wave of fashion trend in japan for sure
this was super informative! i really want to see a ryosangata video next
I love these series. All the people involved are so nice. Thank you for educating people!
Thank you for talking about this!
That was a great video, so interesting! You 3 should have a podcast or something! 😍
was so happy to hear the herosyn mention lol
Since the first interview with the 2 lovely Landmine-girls I was waiting for you to talk about this aspect more in detail!
i apologize for not catching the girl at the top left's name, but i think shes really cool. bypassing how pretty she looks and her clothes, her voice is AMAZING and her way of speaking and points she made made me think she is very intelligent:)
The only safe way to visit Kabukicho is to visit Kamurocho in the Yakuza games lol
dude this is fascinating. i just moved to japan 2 weeks ago (study abroad) n i remember on my tiktok a girl in dark clothes holding a strong zero came up and i tbh didnt give it much mind she was using dialectical speech i couldnt understand so moved on but looking back on it im almost certain it was just playing into the jirai stereotypes. i'm also curious abt the drinking culture here bc i was like shocked when i went to the chemist and one of the big medicines they promoted was anti hangover stuff and like ???????/ idk how normalised is it they have it in mass production like that.
It’s so interesting how I was looking at some of the styles in emo/scene kid era and they took a lot of inspiration from gal which has been pin pointed by a kawaii fashion enthusiast before. like if you put gal and jirai kei together, especially hime gyaru and jirai kei there is a big similarity in structure. Like if scene kid was mixed with hime gyaru the result would be really interesting
This is absolute favorite fashion. I love mixing cute and scary.
Amazing discussion from the three of you!
Thank you for this video, it's always so interesting to hear about this ! But I have one doubt left that I was hoping would be talked about here. I've seen some people claim that Jirai Kei fashion style is actually called Girly Kei. Are there actually any differences besides the negative sides of Jirai?
docs.google.com/document/d/1NvA8mjL9ZxiC1BucflB2MFnCl8dwGlFWXFN0JmAgngw/edit?usp=sharing this article was very fascinating after viewing the first half of this video.
@@MenheraTV Hi there! So I personally don’t know much about girly kei or larme to speak on them but I know that Otome Fashion does exist and has for many years. I’ve seen many people in the international lolita comm wear the style (I found lots on IG with the #otomefashion & #otomekei hashtag) and Lovely Lor even did a video on it 3 years ago: ua-cam.com/video/FKN_FWFwrks/v-deo.html
@@MenheraTV It’s more of an international j-fashion community thing. Here are some links of people talking about it (I’ll add more later if I find more):
- lolita-indies.livejournal.com/3166.html
- egl.livejournal.com/19906957.html
- dippedinchocoarchive.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-lolita-sister-guide-to-otome-kei.html?m=1
Girly Kei is a really broad term, that's the difference. It's basically as if you called Jirai Kei Yami Kawaii/menhera (the umbrella terms, not fashion styles, it's just that a lot of people consider it to be included in), it falls under the umbrella term but it's not really specific or the same thing. Dark girly just describes darker girly clothes in jp, it's not like it's a trend or style in itself but everyone is free to call what they wear however they want.
If you look up otome, rather than porn you'll find romance games haha...So yeah.
It’s crazy hearing her say western medicine is considered more accessible because I think health care is terrible here in the US, therapists are terrible too and it’s so expensive that you can only afford one session… I wish people cared about mental health more.
I think its "accesible" because its more open like u can be like i want a therapist, because im from singapore and its literally mental health is so stigmatised and singapore is one of the more relatively progressive asian countries, so like if even then its that stigmatised and hard to book and access, its harder in more conservative areas like jp
She's from Canada lol. They actually have a semi-functioning healthcare system unlike the US.
Yeah I think she's referring to mostly Canada cuz even alot of south European countries do not the have Canadian or japanese standard....
@@espeon871it kinda depends, america is very diverse. im mexican american and my family heavily stigmatizes mental health. also things like self harming are very stigmatized here, drinking and drugs are glorified. so even tho healthcare is more “accessible” many things about mental health are either downplayed or made fun of.
mental health is more accessible here than other places but its so stupidly expensive and difficult to find good care that its basically useless. you either get put off from it because you cant find a good psychiatrist or therapist, or you simply cannot afford it.
i want more videos on this especially cause i’m just getting into the fashion and culture and truly find it so interesting love this video 💕
Your videos are so good thank you so much for making these!
They seemed very defensive and also downplaying a lot of the very toxic and red flag portions of this, like she rushed through the 14 year old homeless kids part and then went on to defend jirai for not being the only culture inviting this mentality of being emotional and basically an alcoholic for “love” or affection. Seems like some weird p*do thing going on to attract specifically emotional young girls and boys especially with making basically a red light district more “family friendly” 🙃
Exactly, like the fact that yume chii constantly hangs around the red district of japan where these specific girls do their sex work just to take photos and post them for her aesthetic little Insta is just downright creepy…
This whole video series is an entire mess and I truly wish it wouldn’t exist.
Always had a feeling that it had a pedophilic connection. I doubted myself when she explained it that way. I guess I was right.
i stayed in the hotel with that godzilla in 2019 and that area was quite sketchy, especially at night. but i didn't even know anything about this :'D now it makes much more sense
Super interesting! Just please let's try to be careful about language, hyperfixation is a term from the neurodivergent community, it's fine to use it out of context, but taking it to express that it is inherently wrong could be harmful for undiagnosed/uninformed neurodivergent people watching: That's just how our brain works in a normal way and there's nothing we can or should do about it. It sure can be challenging and if it's being used as a coping mechanism trying to get rid of it could potentially create another one that's not as healthy. In that case we sould be focusing on changing what's triggering it, not what's soothing it. Luckily we can enjoy our hyperfixations while working on ourselves, not only that, we can find community and support of likeminded people through that connection, that's the best part.
To be clear I'm not saying everyone that has an interest is ND, just talking about the importance and impact of the words used here. Neurotypes aside, men can get crazy with sports and nobody bats an eye so let's let women keep obsessing over boybands/idols if it's not hurting anyone.
Hyperfixation is not a term exclusive to neurodiverse people, everyone experiences hyperfixation, it’s just that neurodiverse individuals experience it much more intensely. There’s nothing incorrect about how it was used in the video
This is extremely interesting! I love it! Please please please do more!
“Hatsune Miku released “ 🤢
THAT SOFTWARE DID NOT COME TO LIFE AND MAKE A SONG ISANA AND DECO*27 SAY THEIR NAMES
as a vocaloid fan I hate it when they don't credit the producers
I'm really glad there's light being shone on the background of this kind of fashion and topic. Especially coming from a POC perspective, it's very taboo to speak out on mental health and other negative life factors. When seeing Jirai from this perspective the fashion is a way of expression. I think it's super super important to look at these fashion trends and new forms of expression will always have controversy but IG and twitter and Facebook and tagging, all of this is making sure that it gets seen. I think the most important part is discussing the difference between glorification and a cry for help due to having these mental health issues. I'd probably be considered a Landmine Girl because of my mental health and instability and being that "unhinged gf" is just as glorified here in the US.
I haven't watched the video yet but you are so pretty and I love your style sm !!
I really like how you spread awareness abt this Ty
hyperfixating isnt always a bad thing and the way u guys talked about it made it seem like a character flaw. reminder that neurodiversity is a thing and some of us literally just hyperfixate because we dont see other ways to live (the concept of the special interest) which is literally what u guys are decribing when talking about the girls who pick one idol or character etc,
yeah not everyone can have hyperfixations either it just might be an obsession
27:00 it’s mentioned a bit how it can be a form of escapism which I definitely agree with, as well as it being a trait of neurodiversity
@@levelheadier yeah they just don’t bring that up at all (the nd part) maybe they just didn’t know it’s ok I just don’t think Acting like it’s strictly negative to hyperfixate lol
@@guavaberry exactly
just her blank stare in the camera has me dead
I find it kind of ironic they're talking about how safe it is around the cinema now but there are multiple tiktoks around tohoe that show all this garbage in the street, in the walkways, and cardboard on the ground where people are sleeping, nearly directly across from the movie theater. I think they can't just push the homeless out of the district, they need to have somewhere to relocate them.
Not to mention the sexual harassment issue that Japan has as well, and that a lot of girls unfortunately don’t get the help they need when it’s occurring
I dunno.. I was there 2019 before the pandemic qnd I was walking kabukucjo and saw hist trying to get girls.. even saw host with flowers on a mop head lol... and people in the back alleys were aggressive.. I didn't feel safe unless I was in the main tourist area..
I still think even as a foreigners they are still seeing it through different eyes. me as a wandering tourist went into non tourist areas did not feel gentrified- many clubs were in these areas that weren't as open. Def stuff is going on
I know u from TikTok so I just wanted to say thank you for covering this!
A weekly published manga catering to young girls called “nakayoshi” is riding this esthetic wave and it’s troubling to say the least.
I've heard about that! I'm also quite concerned about young girls possibly chasing after harmful coping mechanisms for the sake of achieving the "jirai girl lifestyle"
I appreciate what you and the people interviewed here are trying to do, but as someone who lives in Japan and has Japanese friends outside of fashion circles who struggles with mental health, this style, it’s name, and it’s negative associations spit in the face of any progress Japanese people are making towards mental health acceptance. Japanese people involved in bettering mental health in Japan do not see this style as a positive thing for their cause. The amount of negative stereotypes associated with this is immense. Especially the name. And every foreigner and Japanese person here knows to stay away from Kabukicho. The area is known as incredibly unsafe, especially for young people who are likely to get preyed upon. The fact that people involved in this fashion can spout all of these issues about the fashion and the culture surrounding it, and yet not see why perpetuating that without pushing drastically for change is harmful, is ridiculous to me. Yes, push for and cope with the societal issues in Japan however you need to. But don’t participate in another part of the problem by associating with something that participates in the abuse of minors, illegal behaviors, drinking culture, self harm, and sex trafficking. You can enjoy the same cute fashion without associating with something so problematic. Just enjoy dark girly fashion instead.
THANK YOU. Your comment is one of the best on this entire hell of a comment section, I'm so tired of western people blatantly ignoring everything japanese people have to say on this matter, it's si frustrating.
Honestly, what is going on i am so confused. Can someone tell me why this aesthetic is bad, i cant watch an hour long video lol.
@@saumyavig8964 fair, but it’s in my original comment haha. TLDR a lot of the people wearing the style are associated with underage prostitution, self harm (and the promotion of it on social media and in public, as well as sharing graphic images), binge drinking, and other negative behaviors. And the name is a slur used to demean women with mental health issues. The clothes are fine, the name, and associated behaviors, are not.
@@kathryn2192 dayumn all that from a certain aesthetic, maybe people should start boycotting it.
@@saumyavig8964 That's the hope. But people keep ignoring all that and still supporting the style and name.
This was ridiculously interesting, thank you.
I really like that style and it's close to what I want to wear, alongside with jirai subculture (sorry can't remember the name) but the comments and the darkside made me a lil scared of trying it. From what I understood in this video, there are a problematic origin and a problematic side, but there are also people trying to disassociate the fashion from that side and just wear what they like. Maybe I'll give it a try, especially because it can be worn in hot places like my country (sorry for bad english btw)
Honestly I knew these issues were a problem in Japan but I did not know about the problems when it came to fashions! Very educational
glad you made a videoabout this!
After watching the whole video, I wonder if they are going to talk about jirai danshi one day? It must be a totally different experience being a jirai lifestyler as a guy rather than a girl. (I know they're not all lifestylers, but as for those who are the runaways etc, it is probably a lot different as a guy). Also, I wonder if hosts are eventually going to go for the jirai danshi look to attract jirai joshi, or if they'll continue maintaining the idol look since that's what jirai girls tend to like?
Hello! There are a lot of Jirai Danshi hosts and mens con cafe workers actually! Some mens con cafes have only Jirai danshi specifically. The host clubs need to have men suitable for all personal tastes lol Also a lot of Jirai girls date Jirai boys and it is really common to see Jirai kei couples walking around Tokyo. The kpop and idol looking boys are more for the Ryousangata girls who are typically more into idols.
@@yumechi15 that’s good to hear! I follow a few people on Instagram that I’m pretty sure would consider themselves jirai danshi. I really like the style, and hope it sticks around (not for the sad backstory, but I like the fashion part of it)!!
It's kinda hard for me cause I got like interested in both. Just as I was getting back into Gyaru I also got so much inspo from Jirai. And as a self proclaimed emo/scene kid. The big hair, depressive attitudes, but also expressive makeup, bows, 00's fashion, down turned makeup, lots of blush, the combo of black and pink... THEY ARE SO OPPOSITE YET I somehow want to combine them...
I've seen the j'irai kei artist before on Twitter and that for me started my love for this aesthetic. Like I've seen the clothing before but I've never really thought that it was a whole aesthetic.
You should watch the Japanese series "Tomorrow I will be Someone's Girlfriend" It shows the darkside of jirai kei while also highlighting the red light district in Japan.
Where can I watch this?
oh yea the hashtags on twitter, i found out about it late 2019s and i know 3 hashtags of self h/rm and at that time the pictures were literally gory and now its mellowed out because westerners are using it more often and less japanese people
Nice dialogue. Feels specific to the folks here talking about it versus a lot of the video content reflecting on life exps that none of the hosts came out about having lived if they did in any analagous ways so that whole parts of it feels privileged. Much of the “negative behaviors” talk triggers shame for me around ways I’ve left home as a young person and spent time figuring out what to do after “anywhere’s better than home rn”.
First time I heard of kabukicho was from a bdsm educator who is awesome named Midori. There’s always places we run away from and places that queer and neurodivergent and otherwise survivors, make intergenerationally so I hope if anyone reads this it can turn the question on its head some. Maybe don’t tone police the expressions of ppl in survival situations. Altho I don’t know the first thing about this- expression is good, global interactions, when people who are privileged gentrify a style and place the style is from, by which I do mean try to “clean it up”, do not do violence to the people’s this style is from by trying to distance yourself from the “problematic” of us. I’m a nikkei person living in the states who’s never had the opportunity to visit Japan, just reflecting on what clothing means to me and the friends I’ve seen survive leaving home
Is there any side of Jirai-kei that is not dark lol? I live in Japan and I know a lot of jirai-kei girls. I have one who is a close friend and she is obsessed with hosts
I have this weird thing where I love all the maximalist styles and feel like I'd love wearing them...but i would ABSOLUTELY HATE PUTTING IT ON EVERY DAY. but the ones I know I would be ok with the 'set up' cost of getting it all on aren't eye catching enough for me. one day i will find a flashy style that fits my atention span
this video is so well researched and informative! it deserves 10x the views it has right now. i wish you luck with your future content and good job!
I'm really confused 😕. I'm from Greece and a Yung adult. I really like jirai kei as a fusion style. Is that but that I want to dress that way...
the noises all your accessories make scrath an itch in my brain I didnt know i had
As someone who doesn’t like leaving the house the pandemic didn’t affect me much because I’m used to staying home all the time and yes I don’t have much friends to begin with. I don’t like going out to hang out with friends because I like being alone at home that just how my introvert mind works.
if ur gonna talk abt hyperfixation please actually learn what it is 😭 its not the same as escapism or obsession. It affects so many people and its not a trend.
(I'll be commenting this here as well)
genuinely asking: where did the girly kei/dark girly kei term came from? because I haven't seen japanese people using those terms...
and if "girly/dark girly kei" came from non-japanese people then I dont think it's a good idea to change the term, cuz at the end of the day, this style is something that came from japan
again, I'm genuinely asking, I don't wanna sound rude...
💟💗I love their outfits named "jirai kei" or landmines. It is so pretty and very formal lolita type which is my style!!!💙🤍
The comparison to emo culture in the west really makes sense to me, and I think early 2010s Tumblr ~a e s t h e t i c~ culture (a lot of soft grunge and "heroin chic" type of vibes) feel sort of similar to me.
Both of them were very, very stigmatized by outsiders and "Tumblr girls" especially was synonymous with mental illness and being "crazy".
Both it and emo did have people in the community who genuinely lived destructive lives, had people who made vent art that others could point to as "romanticization" of negative things, and had people who were there just for the aesthetics they liked and/or the communities that grew around it.
Obviously there's a lot of differences, but throughout a lot of the discussions about how YES there are people who fit the stereotype, but that doesn't reflect everyone in the community, I kept thinking "isn't this normal for a lot of subcultures?"
I think a lot of what's so shocking to westerners and what makes them latch onto the darker aspects of jirai is because the western perspective of Japanese subcultures has been "kawaiified" and sanitized so much that any darker associations that a popular style has stands out so much more. If you even hear a western person bring up gyaru they're probably thinking more of cute nails and cellphone cases with kawaii decorations all over it instead of a sexier style, or when they think of Japanese gothic fashion they'd think of EGL. Maybe I'm wrong but I genuinely can't think of a Japanese subculture fashion with any "taboo" elements to it thats actually become viral in the west like this, and I think that's why that aspect of it has become so sensationalized.
In time though once the shock has blown over and the fashion sticks around like I'm sure it's going to, the aesthetic is going to outlive the shock and it's going to keep evolving and becoming normalized.
I was thinking it's *just* like American Scene Emos!! I also really wonder how much is due to less options for meds for things like ADHD- we tend to be.... prone to addiction and hyperfixation.
Isn't Jirai kei just dark Girly-kei? I mean Ryousangata is also mostly a slur stamp on Girly-kei for people who all buy from the same brands and look almost like a blueprint + obsessive idol culture. And dark Girly-kei got the Jirai stamp mostly because of the girls in kabukicho, specifically Toyoko Kids who wear that dark girly style a lot, then again who wouldn't be in a bad mental space from that environment (Their ages range from 11 to around 21 so MANY ARE CHILDREN and runaways, many DO have self harm scars). Yua from the Rental Girlfriend manga is basically the story of most girls in that gang, that's where the Jirai+Dark girly fashion stereotype came from as far as I know, not to mention that the whole name started with a makeup challenge to look like a "Landmine girl". I do think that you could compare it with the "Heroin Chic" trend in the west?
In the end I don't like the name at all because it comes with a lot of negativity and basically already had a name before, so I just call it dark Girly-kei :')
Yeah agreed- Not only that but Jirai Kei almost seems to promote the self-harm aspect of things.
Not only is it a misogynist stereotype by men but its also doing more harm than good. It feels like a lot of the issues just weren't brought up due to misinformation or just brushed under the rug.
All the fashions they mentioned in the introduction of this fashion were just Sweet Girly Kei and Dark Girly Kei styles and those have been around since 2010/2012 so its just fine if they wish to keep on wearing this fashion but relating it to Jirai Kei is only appealing to the stereotypes and further promoting its problems.
genuinely asking: where did the girly kei/dark girly kei term came from? because I haven't seen japanese people using those terms...
and if "girly/dark girly kei" came from non-japanese people then I dont think it's a good idea to change the term, cuz at the end of the day it's something that came from japan
again, I'm genuinely asking, I don't wanna sound rude...
@@chuchu00444 Girly Kei and Dark Girly Kei do come from Japanese people.
The name doesn't really SOUND too japanese but has been around for far longer than "Jirai Kei" has- As far as early 2010s to even prior to that.
The reason as to why people are mentioning that perhaps its best you just calling it Girly Kei rather than "Jirai Kei" is because this so called "new style" isn't new at all.
The style "Jirai Kei" uses is quite simply putting just a very specific style within Girly Kei (thus why some people are confused and claiming they have seen this style prior to 2020, its because it HAS existed prior), except "Jirai Kei" just adds a harmful concept into it.
Its honestly a long story but resuming it, "Jirai Kei" isn't really a name of a new substyle it was born from insulting people who wore Girly Kei. This isn't the first time an insult towards this style is taken as a style of its own by both people of japan and overseas, neither is it the last.
"Jirai Kei" unlike what the video wants to admit, is purely the concept of the poor mental health part because that's all it has to add to this pre-existing style. That's what this "style" promotes without really adding anything onto the clothes itself.
By promoting it I mean it truly, there has been a literal host-club in September of 2021 that has promoted a "full Jirai Kei" complete with a class worth 1000 yen on "how to cut your wrist cutely".
This is just one of the many, many things that people who self-identify into this "Jirai Kei" "style" tend to seek after. There has been public group cuttings, physical aggression towards other women in order to act "yandere", run aways, group self harm or suicides in overall cute rooms, prostitution to older men, heavy drinking, ect.. The list goes on.
"Jirai Kei" in a more simpler example, would be like someone looking at a woman wearing revealing Punk clothes and calling her an "Edgy Whore". Suddenly people hear that term and dress Punk while claiming that the style they are wearing is "Edgy Whore" style and begin to heavily rely on sexual actions in order to pass further that image of the style they are wearing. At the end of the day, the style they are wearing is still just Punk but with a weird insulting agenda now added onto it. That's exactly what "Jirai Kei" is, an insult to people wearing a certain style that just grew widely popular.
That's why people wish for the style to be just called Girly Kei, because that's all the style is fashion wise without any of the harmful self-harm and unhinged imagery.
@@croissant667 thanks for the explanation! :)
@@chuchu00444 No problem! I hope it wasn't too boring, wish you have a good day/night!
Wait so basically only Kabukicho was running illegally during the pandemic? while Japan also had the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in ages ?? oh .. OKAY
ANYWAYS this was super interesting! and particularly cool were the comparisions to emo and gyaru imo - it's really the same for emo like some kids were self-harming and partying too hard (like in some pop punk concerts or some scene/kandi ravers crowds) but certainly not all and some were just kids who dressed weirdly and shopped with their moms. In the same vein that some shirogyaru were also just being rebellious in an "okay" way. Like happens to any "problematic" style it's not really the style that is problematic just that some people with problematic behaviors feel attracted / flock to / feel like they can relate to them. Which is not a problem in itself, but the media will always say shit.
The thing is,as much as i wanna wear that style,i cant help but cringe at myself. I find it absolutely gorgeous on others but on myself,it just looks off. I love goth fashion and the lifestyle but i also love cute things and very girly stuff. This fashion style is exactly what i want but,there is no way i can wear it in my country,and in japan,idd either get harassed or people would think im a weeb or a tryhard. I know i shouldn't care but still,i wanna feel like myself and be myself,i just dont know how. Im already sick and tired to be shouted at by people,telling me im an emo etc etc,no way i can handle any more of that.
I see lots of people saying "don't call it jirai kei, that's derogatory!", yes, it was originally, but these girls kind of took back the term as a sort of F you to the folks who started calling them landmines. Living in Japan I do see lots of seemingly normal girls wearing this style, even in rural Fukuoka, they definitely aren't teen runaways here in this rural town at least. The style is so almost mainstream in Japan that just normal girls in small towns even wear it on weekends now. The hardcore lifestylers at most are just bringing out the mental health stigma as a fashion in some cases, trying to express it and bring some sort of dialogue to it. Maybe in Tokyo they have severe issues. I don't know, I haven't been to Tokyo in years.
The normal girls wearing the style might consider their style to be "dark girly-kei".
But I'm just confused about how "jirai girls" are taking back a derogatory slur if they are acting exactly like the negative stereotype they were associated with in the first place? It doesn't exactly help that they're kind of promoting harmful behaviours such as sh, drinking, underage sex work, and blowing their paychecks on host clubs...
I do wear girly kei and also have some mental health issues, but I don't know man... Jirai kei kind of makes me uncomfortable
Just leaving a reply so I can go back and read this comment a bit later
8:00 I wouldn’t even called those family friendly because of the nature they were created from and that they’re more targeted to adults, but they are a step level higher with more appeal then host clubs.
I really love the people you got to interview for this one, the fact it'S grounded into people who actively lived in japan and are part of the japanese community is great and truthful to what it is, the pretty, the bad and the ugly, I went back to older video of this project and It was a very Americanized twitter version of J-fashion, I felt like I was listening to 16yo lolita me, trashing everyone who didn't respect every single guideline the livejournal community decided was the truth, I remember being very shocked when i met japanese lolita for the first time and realized how much bullshit the fashion went through by going west..
i think what bugs me about this video is that a lot of subcultural fashion icons have also dabbled in sex work as well as gone through difficult times similar to jirai kei. Some have to do this even to keep wearing their preferred fashion into adulthood.
I think it'd be nice to give the girls who also experience these hardships their flowers, too; so I felt sad when the jirai kei girl says 'they do bad things'. Separating the art from the artist in this case can feel a bit saddening.