no title (Yu Jin Yi)

In one of her songs “What you waiting for?”, America’s all time famous
singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani praised the “Harajuku girls” for their eccentric and
original fashion style. Japanese street fashion is constantly reviewed in Korean
magazines, and some of my Chinese friends talk fervently about the brand new make-up
tactics they’ve learned from their Japanese friends.
To a girl like me, Japan’s street fashion is truly unique. Back in Korea, I’ve
never seen an old lady in her (presumably) sixties dyeing her hair purple, or met a girl
with the heels so high that I feared she’d fall—but in Japan I have. Once, I saw this
teenage-looking girl holding a giant (as long as my arm) fox-tail (probably a replica) in
her hands. I wondered in horror what she was doing, holding that giant tail while
walking down the streets of Shinjuku, only to realize it was just an accessory for her
cellular phone.
All these distinct fashion styles contribute to Japan’s “coolness” in some
degree. Yes, some Japanese are fervently creative in terms of what they wear, and
sometimes their creativity goes to the extent that it mesmerizes the foreign passerby.
However, their wild sense of fashion does not necessarily equal what is genuinely
awesome about Japan. It is the Japanese culture, the overall social tendency to show
what I would call an indifferent acknowledgement that makes Japan cool.
The phrase I just coined, indifferent acknowledgement, seems like an
oxymoron at first glance—but is in fact what is going on in Japanese society. Japanese
people seem to “acknowledge” each other’s different tastes with the seemingly
“indifference” towards one another. For instance, when I would keep turning my head
backwards and roll my eyes rapidly at Japanese street fashionistars with wildest clothes,
other Japanese passersby would just literally pass by. They never give any frowning
faces, or disapproving glances; they let other people do freely what they want to do, and
respect each other’s preference through their act of complete disregard.
This is what is cool about Japan, or even living in Japan. On the streets of
Japan, people do not point finger at you for dyeing your hair in seven colors, or for
wearing dresses with laces all over. In a glance, it’s just like an urban coldness, as
people in big cities tend to disregard their surroundings; there is, however, something
different about Japan—unlike the ones in Tokyo, people in Seoul (unmistakably an
urban area) DO care about their neighbors when they decorate themselves in hot-pink
from head to toe. Harajuku girls are certainly conspicuous—it’s just that people next to
those individuals (be it an eye-candy or an eye-sore depending on their tastes) do not
react negatively so they would not restrict others’ manifestations.