The Japanese Craze

The Vapors were turning Japanese...

When The Vapors first suspected they were "Turning Japanese" back in the early 1980's, it wasn't exactly a sign of the times. In fact... this song isn't about a fetish with the Japanese culture at all. It's been rumored (and denied by the singer of the band in a VH1 interview) that it's a song about masturbation, which has provided some interesting debates on the meaning behind the lyrics.

Now Kirsten Dunst is, too...

But no matter what the true meaning was, the phrase "turning Japanese" wasn't a description of the culture in any of the English speaking countries back then. But today... that's another matter...

In the world today (more than 20 years later... yikes... scary thought that so much time has passed), that same phrase literally describes not only English speaking countries but countries all over the world. The Japanese culture has literally become a craze worldwide. And so the video for the remake of that old tune by actress Kirsten Dunst depicts... Not only is it shot in the city streets of Japan, giving a fairly good view of the culture, Kirsten herself also gives us a good view of the culture and their practice of cosplaying (dressing up to look like an anime or manga character, sometimes some other popular icon). In the video, she sports a cerulean blue, long haired wig (as you can see in the above picture) that makes her look a bit like the vocaloid program character of Hatsune Miku...   

Perhaps the big question is... why...? What has caused the Japanese culture to be a worldwide craze...?
It's an question that has a wide variety of theoretical answers...
One reason for the craze could be the access to Japanese cartoons (anime) and comics (manga). Thirty to forty years ago, Japanese programs outside their own country was limited to Godzilla movies, anime such as Speed Racer and Kimba, and shows like Ultraman. Granted, there were a few other programs, but they weren't exactly widely aired. It's a major difference between those days long ago and today. Today, not only is there a wide variety of anime aired on television, but it can also be viewed on the internet. Anime and manga has become so popular, in fact, that many of the cartoons and comics in the US have become "wannabes", having the look and feel of those media, but still falling short in some way.
Or maybe the fetish stems from the fact that the Japanese view certain things differently... When young people here dress uniquely or dye their hair rainbow colors, they're looked at as if they're freaks of nature. Yet most of those young people wouldn't even get a second glance in Japan. They seem to be more tolerant of certain displays of individuality.

The one part of the culture that has, surprisingly, not caught on with the ferocity of a plague is music. To a degree, some music has gained popularity in other countries due to anime and their theme songs. But, as a whole, the population of Japanese music fans isn't vast in English speaking countries. In fact, the only song to be on the US charts that was sung in Japanese was the old 1960's tune "Sukiyaki" (original Japanese title "Ue o Muite Arukō") by Kyu Sakamoto. That's actually sad, since there are so many talented musicians and beautiful songs from Japan. I've always believed music was universal and the feeling could be understood even if the lyrics could not.

Photo of the tickets I bought for the concert

A photo I snapped with my phone during the show

Though that doesn't mean that all Japanese music is obscure in the US. On March 25th, 2012, the J-rock band, L'Arc~en~Ciel, became the first Japanese band to headline the main arena at Madison Square Garden  in New York City. And... lucky bugger that I am... I actually got to be part of history myself that night, having attended that most phenomenal concert, as you can see from the photos of my tickets and the view of the stage from where I sat. It was the most fantastic experience of my life that I will remember always!

My collection of Japanese kokeshi dolls

Personally, I've been fascinated with the Japanese culture my whole life, ever since I was old enough to be able to tell the difference between cultures. And, along with anime I watched back in the day, I also had managed to have some items from Japan... A family member had brought back a beautifully embroidered pillow that I still have to this day. My grandmother also had a very old, child sized kimono that I wore on quite a few Halloweens to dress up as a geisha (and won most original costume at a party once). So for myself, the fascination was fed by other things for a very long time.
Admittedly, anime and manga are two of my biggest fetishes of Japanese culture, but that's understandable since that's the style of art I've always preferred to work in and one I'm fairly good at. I never felt like much of an oddball for my fascination until the day I developed a major interest in the music. But, over the years, I've embraced my eccentricity as one of the best parts of my personality. And the Japanese culture fever that seems to be becoming more widespread makes being a bit different easier to embrace.

Who knows... in another few years, other countries may learn to be as unique as Japan...
We can only hope...