Ming the Mechanic:
Harajuku

The NewsLog of Flemming Funch
 Harajuku2003-11-06 04:59
4 comments
picture by Flemming Funch

I think Japanese youth culture and dress-up styles are fascinating. This is a picture of a girl in the Harajuku district of Tokyo, from here. As a tourist guide says:
"For youth culture Japan - "cool" and "cute"- Harajuku, just north of Shibuya, is the number one fashionable, fun, faddish, ridiculous, crazy "crib" to "chill out". Come along on a Sunday and you'll see it all!"
And here's from a Japanese teen writing a paper on pop-culture:
"Harajuku is weird central," says a Japanese friend of mine. Youth in Harajuku exhibit anime-style, gravity defying, Technicolor hair and wear elaborate makeup and costume-like clothing. Japanese visual rock bands are probably the greatest influence on this urban sub-cultural style. In these bands, the visual image projected by their clothes style and makeup is as important as the music they produce. Band members create onstage personas that extend far offstage. I present Japanese visual bands as an extreme of using fashion to "fabricate" an identity.

So how do these bands identify themselves? I would argue that the extremist style was developed to distinguish themselves from the mainstream music industry, largely occupied by corporate factory line, "idol school," produced singers. There is definitely shock value is this style of dress. The first thing you probably notice when looking at the photo of the band Glay, are the bands members' Technicolor, gravity-defying hairstyles. Dying hair is an obvious rejection of the Asian confine of basic black. It is symbolic of breaking out of the mold of appearing "Oriental". But more so, I think, the eye-catching hairstyles allude to anime and manga, where hair color and style often becomes a distinguishing feature of the characters."



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4 comments

8 Nov 2003 @ 16:06 by Jon Husband @149.99.164.183 : Still Bugged ?
I know this is off-topic, Flemming - but what happend to the "Bugged" Budget Rent-A-Car post ? It has disappeared from your site - does this mean the issue has been resolved? And should I remove my references to same, from my site ?

Or have you escalated it, and are you waiting to see what happens ?  



8 Nov 2003 @ 21:56 by ming : Budget
No, certainly not resolved. And it only disappeared from the front page of my site, but {link:http://ming.tv/flemming2.php/_d10/_v10/__show_article/_a000010-000922.htm|showing} in recent entries. That ironically means a better position in google. And the various links from good people like you greatly helps. So, I'm counting on getting their corporate office's attention this week. I've sent them a stack of paperwork, including the same report.  


9 Nov 2003 @ 02:01 by dang @24.174.209.126 : also off topic!
just too fuckin' great. guess I am too young to have heard about this before :)
http://www.geocities.com/the_great_secret/dasenergi.html  



21 Apr 2016 @ 19:27 by Kalie @188.143.232.32 : mewItoeKnHaHF
Help, I've been informed and I can't become igtnoarn.  


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