Hochner Family Blog

While Shinjuku is the entertainment area for the adults and Shibuya is the one for adolescents, Harajuku is the realm of the teens. This area is located between Shinjuku and Shibuya, and between Omote Sando and Yoyogi Park. It is for me the perfect location to see both extremes of Japan, the traditional with the Meiji shrine (dedicated to the Meiji emperor) and the ultra-modern with Takeshita Dori and the various Japanese teenage counterculture. Harajuku on Sunday has always been a lot of fun.

I had great fun when the main street in front of the park was closed to traffic on Sundays and given to the various 50s rock'n'roller bands, the other loud Japanese pop groups, and mainly the numerous Takenoko-zoku street dancers. These must have been the first publicized rebellious teens in Japan postwar era. They were generally high-school dropouts engaged in smoking (gasp!), lighting firecrackers (wow!). They dressed strange and funny. They were dancing in group and had fun (or tried to) within the limits allowed by what was a very rigid system. They started by stunning their elders, but soon were assimilated into the society as the prevalent consumerism was simply too strong.

From this point (we were in the early 80s), various shops responding to the needs of this small consumer market started to appear. I am in no way familiar with all this, but I guess it is from there that the "Fashion" and "Style" of Harajuku spreaded.

Today, I am rediscovering this area with the same amazement and pleasure. The main street remain open to the traffic (I guess this must have been a simple way to eliminate these gatherings). The Takenoko have grown up, got married and probably joined reputable Japanese companies. But their children are still in the streets of Harajuku on Sundays.

They are following the new street culture and fashion scene of Harajuku. We can see various well defined styles (which I have no doubt are almost completely dictated by the magazines.) And yes, a quick look in a recent publication about Tokyo confirmed my thoughts!

Here are some of the various groups:

- The Lolita, wearing cute clothes with laces

- The Gothic Lolita, showing good coordination between Black and White

- The Decorative, showing tacky and colorful accessories

- The Romantic Punk, a cross between a romantic and a hard look

- The Zipper, a style modeled on a popular magazine

- The Fluffy (Kigurumin), the one impersonating a cute Anime Hero

- The Uniform (Seifuku-kei), trying to assert themselves wearing their school uniform

The scene is quite strange as it has become a crowded tourist spot. On one side, we have these kids dressed like in magazines or manga, being with their friends who are all alike (always in group). On the other, a bunch of photographers, both Japanese and foreigners, staring and taking pictures. Some of the kids welcome the pictures while other are doing their best to avoid them.

Japan is really an amazing and wonderful place.

(You can see the complete picture series from http://www.flickr.com/photos/patosan/sets/1799767/)

# posted by Famille Hochner @ 9:44 AM