By C. J. De Mel, Jadetimes News
Over a thousand years ago, the Japanese empress Fujiwara no Teishi supplied her court lady, Sei Shōnagon, with fine paper. Sei, also being from a literary family, filled pages upon pages with her observations that became famous as the Pillow Book. Among Sei's writings was her list of "adorable" or "utsukushi" things, which included such items as baby sparrows or a child clinging to someone. While the book is beneficial in understanding AD 794-1185 Heian Period Japanese nobility, Sei's concept of "utsukushi" would be categorized today as one of the early terms used to describe Japan's "kawaii" culture. While the term "kawaii," or "cuteness," was not actually in use at that time, it somehow resonates with contemporary thinking. All of the items on the list are things that we would find cute today, which is remarkable because society was really different 1,000 years ago in Japan," said Joshua Paul Dale, a Tokyo-based professor specializing in cute studies at Chuo University.
The Emergence and Globalization of Kawaii
The kawaii aesthetic, as it is known today, first came to the front in Japan in the 1970s and has since grown into a genuinely international phenomenon. Its bright, childlike appeal dominates fashion, art, and everyday objects, especially in manga. It was during the height of this trend that a new generation of contemporary Japanese artists emerged, all of whom used the elements of cuteness to explore complex social issues and traumatic matters of personal, national, or global nature. According to Dr. Megan Catherine Rose, a cultural sociologist at The University of New South Wales in Sydney, artists often "experiment and disrupt cute aesthetics," mixing heterogeneous expressions to create affective communication of everyday life's dissonances.
Yoshitomo Nara and the Subversion of Cuteness
The best example for this subversion is probably Yoshitomo Nara. Take, for example, his 2000 painting Knife Behind Back, which sold for nearly $25 million at Sotheby's in Hong Kong in 2019. The diminutive painting shows a small doe-eyed girl with a menacing frown—hardly the image brought to mind by the usual ideals of cuteness. Indeed, according to the art historian Yeewan Koon, though Nara's figures are often described as cute, they depart from these conventional ideals through their belligerence and irreverence. However, Nara himself draws from a range of influences, from visiting refugee camps and wartime locations, through which he contextualizes the emotions he wants to portray in his work.
The Superflat Movement and Post-War Japan
Cuteness and social commentary come at the juncture that is the Superflat movement, a term coined by artist Takashi Murakami during the late 1990s. Murakami brings high and low art together through the incorporation of kawaii and manga-inspired motifs. Take, for instance, his work Tan Tan Bo – In Communication in 2014. It was a response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, as well as to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. According to the cultural researcher Hiroki Yamamoto, it was from this period that Japanese artists started to focus on Japan's forgotten imperial history and the legacy it has bequeathed.
Feminist Perspectives on the Objectification of Women
Kawaii has been further appropriated by feminist artists in the process of criticizing gender norms and the objectification of women. Kawaii, states Dr. Megan Catherine Rose, was used traditionally to portray the bodies of women as beautiful objects. In contrast, today's feminist artists reverse this by exaggerating feminine features to repel the male gaze. US-based Japanese artist Mizuno Junko, for example, creates "monstrously feminine" figures that challenge traditional representations of women in art.
Cuteness as a Tool for Social Commentary
Although associated with the cute-but-menacing genre, Nara has rejected being pinned to any specific artistic movement. He acknowledges that, to some, his work may be perceived as cute; however, he reaffirms his deeper explorations of war and displacement. Ultimately, Nara and other Japanese artists show that cuteness is able to be a great weapon with which one questions the world we live in at its most hideous moments. Their art shows mastery in the use of kawaii to make one think and challenge the way things are.
