Work “Shibuya ’99”

After twenty years of living in the United States, I returned to Tokyo and found that countless things had changed. I saw many Westerners and was glad to see Tokyo as a cosmopolitan city. Yes, there are many blond-haired “Westerners” in Tokyo. But to my amazement, most of them are actually young Japanese who have dyed their hair bleach blond. Among them are a group of girls who call themselves “Gals.” Most are 16 to 18 years old.

In a characteristic accent and vocabulary, they chat loudly with one another, or on cell phones in public places such as commuter trains. Sometimes they crouch in the middle of a busy sidewalk in small groups, chatting and smoking endlessly. They squat down on the sidewalk just like peasants used to in the past. Most people consider them very rude since modesty is expected for Japanese girls. While many people find little good in them, I can see a certain kind of aesthetic sense in these Gals……….

One might think that Gals are directly influenced by the West, because of their hair color and miniskirts. However, the influence from the West is only through such media as TV news, movies, music, and magazines, not from actual experience. Some of these influences have been “Japanized” over the past generation. Young people do not even consider these influences as coming from the West. Gals simply took whatever they thought of as “kawaii,” mixed all these elements together, and reinvented them in an exaggerated “ukiyoe-esque” way. The word “kawaii” can mean “cute,” “precious,” “pretty,” “lovable,” or “right on target,” depending on the context. What the Gals have created has an affinity with Japanese Pop Culture, such as anime, computer games, and manga……….

Takes photographs of 500 Ganguro Gals in Shibuya. Collaboration with Masami Takahashi