Unless you’re already familiar with the otaku subculture, nerd-code for “obsessively liking japanese stuff,” you have only a vague idea of what kawaii is and where it fits into Japanese culture. Maybe you have some Hello Kitty socks, or you’ve watched some anime on Adult Swim, and you’ve thought, “Yeah, this stuff is pretty cool. Weird…but cute.”
These things, my friend, are only the tip of the iceberg-chan.
Matt Alt and Hiroko Yoda live in Japan and run a translation company called AltJapan, so they’ve grown accustomed to moving within the circles of both cultures, which means frequently having to explain one culture to another. It’s only fitting, then, that they would take on the daunting task of trying to document the cultural context of cuteness in Japan.
Unlike in the U.S., “cute things” are not just reserved for little girls and kitsch-embracing hipsters. In Japan, cuteness is absolutely everywhere. Tiny, helpful characters instruct customers how to use vending machines and how to administer the correct dosage of a medication. They adorn street signs, doctors’ offices, and the sides of Tokyo’s emergency vehicles.
Thus the duo had an easy enough time compiling hundreds of photos for their book, which is fully titled Hello, Please! Very Helpful Super Kawaii Characters from Japan and will be available in the United States on August 30 from Chronicle Books.
Hello, Please! Very Helpful Super Kawaii Characters from Japan
Matt Alt and Hiroko Yoda
Paperback, 240 pages
$14.95, Chronicle Books
www.chroniclebooks.com
Release: August 30, 2007