Japanese × Non Asian = 1/2 = Good looking”.

Not too long ago you read Loco’s guest post on what it’s like to be a “half child” in Japan. By reading that article you’ll learn it’s not always great to be a “half” child in Japan, sadly. However, many Japanese girls long for the appearance of a “half”; big eyes, long eye lashes, tall and sharp noses, etc… Since I married a Canadian, I bet you can guess the most common reaction I get from Japanese people.

“Oh, you married a Canadian (a white guy)? Then your child will be”half” and most likely be so cute. Jealous!”

Actually, whenever I talk to someone about my marriage for the first time, 90% or more of their reactions are the same. I personally think that it’s fairly ridiculous to say that your baby will be good looking before knowing other things, like if my husband is attractive or not, but it’s probably just a form of small-talk that people come up with.

“Half” Taking Over Television

This “half=cute” belief has probably been strengthened by those good looking idols on TV who are know to be “half”. I wouldn’t be going too far if I were to say that there has recently been a “half” baby-boom rippling across Japan. In fact, there have been so many “half” celebrities on TV over the passed few years that people often get confused who is who. Some of those celebrities even complain about how commonly it occurs. In fact, check out this “Half” special that was aired recently.

Not only TV viewers but also those who work in television sometimes believe that there are too many “half” girls and some are worried about losing their position to them. The famous comedian Hiroyuki Ariyoshi, who is known for flat-out-mean jokes, discussed this concern on his own radio program called SUNDAY NIGHT DREAMER and he said some nerd-comedians (“Nerd” because that is the actual style they attempt to portray) are losing their positions on television to these “half” girls.

The rise of cute “half” girls’ exposure is partly because there are more mixed-race kids in Japan than there used to be. According to this “List of Statistical Surveys conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare”, the number of international marriages in Japan (Japanese with non-Japanese) in the 70’s was just 5,500, but it rapidly increased in the 80’s when the Japanese economy started bubbling up. Although it peeked in 2006 (nearly 45,000 couples), there were still 23,657 international marriages last year which is over 4 times that of the 70’s.

But, this doesn’t necessarily explain the disproportionate amount of “half” celebrities on television. Some of it probably comes from the number of “half” children out there, but I wonder if some of it comes from the multi-racial families that they come from. Japanese people are generally known to be fairly shy and timid, which isn’t very good for television. However, many non-Japanese ethnicities are known to be much more outgoing and “friendly”, which is good for television. The way that “half” children are raised probably makes more of them more outgoing than the average Japanese (as we saw in Loco’s article, mentioned above). So, not only are they especially “good looking” with their “half”-look, but they’re also more outgoing too. What a perfect combination for a television personality! Of course, this is only just me thinking out loud, but it seems fairly plausible in some situations.

Transformers

The more that pretty “half” girls are exposed, the more that Japanese girls will want to look like them. Although there may be some Japanese guys who pine for that “half” look, most of them don’t put makeup on themselves, so it’s harder for them to change their appearance (unless they want to be made fun of for wearing makeup).

Girls, on the other hand, are very makeup capable and some of them are very persistent in their quest look like “half” girls. Those wanna-be-half girls have created various ways to look like like they’re “half” or non-Japanese and keep posting how-to videos on Youtube, some being quite popular. I’d like to introduce some of their makeup methods today. It’s pretty impressive how drastically they can change their appearance!

God Make Ayano Saito’s “Half” Face Makeup

nuts×GODMakeup.

Naokoの秋のハーフ顔メイク！(Naoko’s “half” face makeup for fall)

“Half” face makeup

After watching these videos it’s clear that the features you have concentrate on are the eyebrows and the eyes. Since Asian faces are flatter compared to non-Asian people’s, it’s important to make your facial features more 3D. Here’s some things that they tend to do to achieve this:

• Drawing their eyebrows thicker.
• Make the space between their eyebrows and eyes narrower.
• Make the inside tip of the eyebrow a little thicker so that it looks less flat.
• Apply many grades of eye shadow, thickener.
• Create longer eye-lines.
• Apply highlight to their nose lines to make them appear taller.

In addition to “3D-ifying” their face, color contacts and fake eyelashes seem to be a staple of their tool kit. If you think about it, there’s nothing that says “half” or “not Japanese” like eyes that aren’t dark brown.

When Makeup Isn’t Enough

I’m not totally sure how much time they spend putting their makeup on, but it seems to be quite a lot. I don’t typically use makeup myself, except for special occasions, so I admire their passion for this and the time and effort they put forth. However, there are some people who want to look like a “half” but consider it too troublesome to spend so much time on makeup. For those people, there are many plastic surgeons who provide “half-looking” or “foreigner-looking” facial reconstructive surgeries. Takasu Clinic is one of them and you can see their ad for that kind of surgery.

But, paying for these surgeries can be expensive. It is surgery after all! This woman paid over $100,000 to look more Western. It turned out fairly well, but I find it hard to believe that there aren’t many problems or mistakes that get made along the way.

I’m really not sure if I can agree with doing this – you should enjoy how you look and be happy with what you’ve been given. But, I can’t pretend to know how people think, it is their bodies after all. I mean, there are some surgeries that make you look more “Western” but also have some practicality as well. For example, getting a surgery to change your eyelids to a double lid is fairly popular. This makes your eyes bigger which makes you look more Western. Plus, when you get older you’ll be able to see because your eyelids won’t be drooping so much as they start to sag.

Beyond things like that, though, it’s taking this craze a little too far, I think. What if one day you wake up and you’ve suddenly changed your mind? Or what if you go into surgery and they mess up completely? The negatives are just too great. Plus, you should be happy with how you look!

Giving It A Try

After getting all judgemental on you, it’s time to make a U-turn and try some of this myself. I don’t usually put makeup on (as I mentioned above), but we’ve just seen a lot of tips so I thought “why don’t I try one of them.”

There’s a problem, though… I don’t have any of those makeup staples, such as color contacts or fake eyelashes. Thankfully there is Photoshop, though, so I hit up my virtual makeup artist Aya. Are you ready? Here I go, I’m about to become “half”.

Here’s without makeup

Here’s a little makeup “added”

Now I look half?

Two thirds?

The first thing I did when I looked at the pictures above was to say “OMG!” and then laugh. I felt very strange to see myself looking like that. Well, I like the second one, but in the last two pictures where I put the color contacts in and dyed my hair….they looked kind of scary. I forwarded them to my parents and they laughed, too. This experiment turned out to be a great excuse for me to stick with black hair and brown eyes. I like being “natural”, after all.

The second picture also made me imagine our future daughter. I don’t have any kids now, but if I had a daughter, she might look kind of like her. Thank God my husband doesn’t have blue eyes or blond hair, so I guess she won’t look like the scary ones…as long as she doesn’t put this kind of make-up on!

Bonus Wallpapers!

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Alright, I presume everybody’s interest in hige-man’s bento work has begun to ripen at this point. Let’s review his profile once again, to get the rice-ball rolling.

Stats:

Name: Keisuke Umeda
Age: 31
Occupation: Designer at a game company
Passion: Bento Art
Distinguishing Facial Feature: Majestic Mustache
Web page: Umeda no site

Q: Tell us about your bento art career.

I modestly began making bento about 2 years ago. I didn’t even realize that that my passion for bento art had been gradually escalating over that period of time.

In the summer in 2013, my bento art was selected to be shown on an NHK TV program called サラメシ (sarameshi). I held my bento art exhibition in the fall of that same year. I also published a book with a collection of my bento pieces that came out shortly before my exhibition.

I’m planning another exhibition this year, too.

Q: How long have you made bento art?

About 2 years. I make a bento box every day, except when I’m too busy, when I oversleep, or when I don’t have any ingredients for it.

Q: Why did you start making bento boxes?

I got sick of eating cafeteria food. I also wanted to brush up on my cooking skills. Moreover, after the Tohoku earthquake, I started taking food safety more seriously and gave more consideration to what I put in my body. Managing my food in this way is good for my health and helped me save money, too.

Q: Why did you start designing bento?

I’m not really good at cooking and don’t have much time either. On the other hand, I wanted to enjoy lunch time. I contemplated how to do it and I soon realized that I could be creative. I realized designing bento is a great way to enjoy it. I have some bento friends at work and it became something for us to talk about, as well. The more we enjoy our lunch time, the tastier the bento becomes – to me.

Q: What do you usually do after making it?

Naturally, I eat everything. Every grain of rice disappears. I’ve never had leftovers. If I made bento boxes like the ones I do and didn’t eat them, it would mean I’m just playing with food in a creative way. I’d rather treasure and respect the food and I show that respect by eating it.

This is MY LUNCH and if I don’t eat it, it means I don’t eat lunch.

There is a saying in Japan, “If you don’t finish your meal, your eyes will be crushed.”

Q: What kind of bento boxes do you make?

Pictures!

「クチビルべんとう」(Lips-bento)

「ヒゲべんとう」(Hige-bento)

「桃べんとう」(Peach-bento)

「サンマたちの横顔べんとう」(saury fish’ side faces bento)

「春風べんとう」(spring breeze bento)

「コンバットべんとう」(combat bento)

「ちりめんじゃこべんとう」(dried young sardines bento)

「フランクフルトべんとう」(Frankfurt sausage bento)

「フグべんとう」(Fugu bento)

「おでんべんとう」(Oden bento)

「金目カブト煮べんとう」(Beryx splendens helmet bento)

「松坂牛の、肉じゅうたんべんとう」(Matsuzaka beef carpet bento)

「コーンまっ黄っ黄べんとう」(Corn pitch yellow bento)

「タコウィンナーべんとう」(Octopus shaped wieners bento)

「生々しいべんとう」(fresh [flesh] bento)

「ひじき黒ゴマべんとう」(hijiki seaweed and black sesame bento)

「デッサンべんとう」(rough sketch bento)

「モンドリアンべんとう」( Piet Mondrian bento)

Q: What do you think of men who make their own bento boxes and how do other people react to it?

I think that’s good because they can be more careful about the food they eat.

People react interestingly every day and it’s fun to hear their inquiries; “Does it taste good?”, “Are you really eating that?”, “Is it hearty?”, “Why did you start making bento boxes like these?”, “What’s today’s bento?”, etc…

Q: What is your favorite bento you’ve created and why did you choose it?

“Hanasaka bento” (Translates to Flower Bloom bento)

A bento’s life is as short as a flower’s, but each one of them remains in the heart and it will stay alive as a part of our body.

Similar to the flavor of my tears, I will never forget the saltiness of the pickled radish and pickled Japanese plum as well as the welcomed tingle provided by the sansho pepper in this bento.

“That was the bento I made for the NHK TV program. It took me 2 hours”, he laughs.

Q: Have you made a big mistake before?

There are actually a lot of bad mistakes.

The most memorable one is Nanakusa Bento (the seven spring herbs bento).

In Japan, people eat rice porridge with seven different spring herbs on January 7. I used those herbs, just as they are found in nature, for my bento. It turned out to be just like eating grass. It was disgusting.

However, sometimes an interesting-looking bento box, albeit bad tasting, can become a popular topic of conversation at lunch time and is often even brought up again later on. In that sense, making a mistake is not all that bad.

Q: If someone told you they wanted to start designing bentos, what advice would you give them?

I would tell them that pickled Japanese plums have an antibacterial effect, so they preserve pretty well.

In my bento box, I often put them underneath the design.

Q: Could you tell us a bento story of yours that you haven’t told anyone yet?

It’s Kani bento (crab bento).

I couldn’t put the lid on the bento, so I ended up opening up the shell and started eating a little bit of it in the morning. It almost made me late for work. Furthermore, none of my bento friends showed up in the cafeteria during lunch time, so I ended up eating the luxury bento without anyone around to see it before it was eaten. It was pathetic.

Q: As for bento-making, is there anyone you respect?

My mother.

She made bento boxes everyday when I was a child. At the time I thought it was just a trifling thing, but now I know how hard it is to continue making bento everyday. Now I really appreciate what she did for me and I respect her even more.

Q: Is there anyone out there making bento that inspires you?

Actually, I get inspired by many things, not only by someone’s bento but also by anything from different cuisine to pictures to movies to scenery to my travels.

But I’m trying to find inspiration from the ingredients themselves.

Q: Is there one particular incident involving bento that has changed your life?

Bento has changed my lunch time, myself, and has made sight and gradual changes in my life and in a small way it has also changed the daily lives of the people around me.

For example, because of bento-making, I got to be on television, held an exhibition, and was even interviewed by Tofugu-san. It’s very fun and I believe bento will continue to make such changes in my life.

Q: Share with us what your favorite bento goods and tools are.

There you go!

The first one is bento goods that I design and sell. Please contact me via my website for more information.

This second one is my collection of some of the tools that I use or have used in the past.

Q: Do you think you could make a Tofugu bento? If you could, how much would it be?

I think I could, but it may be a very plain bento. The price is free because THAT’S MY LUNCH, YO!

A few days later, the picture arrived. Mecha Kawaii! Thank you Ume-chan!

Ingredients: Rice, a cherry tomato, 2 black beans, and seasoned ground meat called Soboro.

——At the end

Thank you for your interview. If you are interested in Hige-man Ume-chan’s bento art book, get in touch with him via his blog, http://www.k3.dion.ne.jp/~umetin/.

We found one such Japanese man to talk to. His mustache has come to define him. Not only that, we hear local legends are abrew around his facial hair. Remember, facial hair in Japan is quite rare, by worldwide standards. Salarymen (and most other people) are expected to be clean shaven. So what’s it like when you go against the bends of the mustache we call society? We “mustache” the expert: Hige-man Ume-chan.

Let’s begin with his stats:

Name: Keisuke Umeda
Age: 31
Length Of Hige: about 7cm
Type of Hige: Kaiser mustache
Morning Setup Time?: 5-10 minutes
Occupation: Designer at a game company
Website: Umeda No Site

And now with the pressing questions…

What do you think of hige history in Japan after reading “Japan’s Epic History Of Discrimination Against The Mustache”?

It’s very interesting. Although I didn’t know that hige was that popular during the medieval period to the beginning of Edo period, I was very surprised that hige was banned and there was even a punishment for having hige. What tough days for hige-holders.

Compared to that, I’d say we entered an era where we can enjoy our hige freely. I’d definitely prefer to freely enjoy having hige.

What do you think about hige in Japan today?

As I mentioned, we can enjoy our high freely in Japan today, but people tend to have the same kind of hige. I want them to find their own style. I believe that the high style that suits you will lead you on a good path.

However, the hige-man population is still such a minority in Japan. Hige doesn’t just make men look manly but also charming, even sexy! I can’t wait until the day comes when all Japanese men have their own hige and can happily live their lives.

What do you think of the hige court cases?

This is a difficult issue. I’m a salaryman, so I might face this issue someday as well. It’s not simply a concern of some stranger I don’t know.

I’d say that the key to acceptance will be found by talking to other people and finding some common ground through compromise. If people around you can learn to accept hige, then everything will be great, but if they can’t, it forces someone to either fight for their hige, or give it up. I really hope that everyone simply comes to understand and accept one another. That’s the best way to form good relationships.

Why did you start growing your hige?

About three years ago, I went on a vacation to India for a little more than 2 weeks.

During the trip, I never shaved my hige. When I came back to Japan, I looked in the mirror and actually thought, “Wow, that’s dirty. It doesn’t suit me at all.” But I had a lot of difficulty saying goodbye to the hige that took me so long to grow, so I decided to keep it. Then, having hige turned out to be pretty fun for me. My friends all liked it, too.

So since then, I’ve grown it and the shape changes from time to time. I even feel as if I’m doing cos-play every day. Every feeling was new to me.

Hige has become my trademark now. Even strangers passing by me on the street often get surprised and start talking to me. Of course all the kids I meet like it too. It’s a good thing to be memorable to people as well. Oh, once I was also mistaken as a member of the Japanese imperial household!

I was surprised to hear a rumor about myself where I had become “Hige-man Ume-chan” among people that I didn’t know. So many fun things happen just by having hige. I actually joined a hige association that was established in Kyoto, too.

I keep growing my hige because I like seeing people’s reactions to it and there are so many fun things related to hige.

What does your boss think? / What does your employer think?

For quite a while I was afraid that I was going to be told to shave it off, but they’ve accepted my hige so far. Some people even praise my hige and say things like, “Such a majestic hige!”.

I think it all depends on how you grow your hige. I believe that my hige-style is a cleanly trimmed style, so it’s more easily accepted than other styles. I even started choosing formal clothes to match my hige-style.

So, I think it’s important to choose a hige-style that suits your circumstance.

What do your family and friends think?

Both my family and my friends were shocked upon seeing me with hige after my trip for India. Nobody in my family has ever had hige, so my parents looked very uncomfortable with it at first. They eventually adjusted to my new look and now they share in my joy of having hige. Since my hige nestles itself between my upper lip and nose so naturally, people say that they can’t even remember me without hige anymore.

Do you have hige friends?

Yeah I do. I mentioned earlier that there was a hige association called “愛髭会” (aihigekai/Love Hige Group) established in Kyoto and I became a member. Almost all of the members are over 60 years old, but I met a lot of great people there and I never would have met them if I didn’t have hige. So, I really appreciate my hige for that.

I also became friends with some foreigners because we had this same thing in common. I believe people with hige can become quick friends.

How did you grow such a passion for hige?

Although I started growing my hige just by letting nature take its course, it is such an essential part of me now.

Now I’m pretty set in my preference to the Kaiser mustache, but I used to challenge myself and tried many hige styles. Every day was a new chance to try a different style. I didn’t get enough information on how to grow a beautiful hige or how to set it, so I just had to find out for myself.

I don’t remember exactly how my passion for hige grew, but I do know that I’ve continually thought about my hige for as long as I’ve had it – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You know? Hige is the most distinguishable hair on your face.

If your hige could talk to you, what would it say?

I wish us a long-term relationship and please give me a treatment every day.

How has your hige changed your life?

I don’t have any remarkable experiences, but hige has been at the most prominent part of my face and whenever I meet people it is the most memorable to them. I’ve met many people just because of my hige and I hope I meet many more people because of it.

I think my hige has had a small effect on the people around me, just as it has influenced me. I change and then they change, until they make me change, then I make them change again. We keep changing.

It’s a sequence of simple and small changes, but when I look back on my past, I see that big change has occurred.

What’s one story about your hige that you haven’t told anybody?

I’ve mentioned a lot of good things about my hige, but there are some bad stories too.

For example, if I don’t set it, eating food is extremely difficult. Something you have to use both lips for, such as soft serve ice cream or a hot dog, will definitely make contact with my hige. For those kinds of food, I need to open my mouth really wide, or else I’ll eat my own hige. My hige gets pretty stinky if food does touch it or if I eat my own hige. Thus, I always have to have Kleenex in my pocket.

Another bad thing about having hige is that it gets wet and even freezes in the winter. When it’s cold, the water vapor in my breath quickly condenses into water droplets that stick to my hige. On really cold days I’ve even had icicles form on my hige.

Setting it up is really difficult too. I use gelatin or a solid oil called “歌舞伎油 (kabuki abura)”, which is used underneath the white foundation of Kabuki actors. In order to form a beautifully shaped hige, it takes a lot of time to find the right tools that will help you to set it properly. My hair is really curly too, so the longer the hair in my hige grow, the more difficult it becomes to set them and keep each side in good balance.

I also have breakage or a split hige issues, too.

Who has your ideal hige?

I think the hige of Salvador Dalí is wonderful. Upon seeing my hige style, everyone instantly recognizes it as “Dali’s hige”. . It’s totally iconic. I personally think his hige increased his craziness, toughness, charm, and his sexiness.

Do you have special tools or goods?

I have a T-shirt with a picture of a man with hige printed on it that resembles me a lot. I came across it in Taiwan.

Actually I have a lot of hige goods because my friends give me them from time to time and I also buy them if I find a good one in a shop. Many hige goods come to me.

This picture is just a part of my hige goods collection.

Have you ever thought about competing professionally with your hige?

Yes. But the world is wide and my hige is not yet strong enough. When I look at all the hige in the world, my thoughts are that I could never beat them.

They are truly amazing. If there was a mustache-only-contest or a Japanese-only-contest, then I might be able to compete.

Are you going to keep growing your mustache?

As long as I don’t get sick of it, hahaha.

I’d like to be a man and as majestic as my mustache is.

/End Interview

This interview was a great opportunity to consider about my hige. Thank you.

Bonus Hige Man Wallpapers!

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Only Here In Japan: Repetitive Riots

After the era turned from Shouwa (1926-1989) to Heisei (1989-), there have not been any riots in Japan… except for the ones in Nishinari. The history of riots performed by day-layborers, called Nishinari-Boudou or Kamagasaki-Boudou, is quite a long. The first Nishinari riot happened in 1961. The most recent riot happened in 2008 and was the 24th to occur in Nishinari. It lasted for 6 days.

You may still think, “Having said that, it’s still Japan and it shouldn’t be that dangerous.” But a riot is still a riot and can be quite violent. For example, during the 22nd riot which lasted for 5 days in 1990, Minami-Kasumi-Chou station of Hankai Tramway was burnt down and over 100 policemen were moderately to severely injured.

Although the 1990’s riot was triggered by a police officer receiving a bribe from a Yakuza member (Japanese mafia), the catalyst of such an event need not be anything of great consequence. For example, an argument in a restaurant over a bill is what initiated three of the riots, including the most recent. The riot in 2008 was actually caused by the way policemen treated a day-laborer in the police station after a disagreement over a bill in a restaurant, but still, it seems a bit extreme, especially since it only initially involved one customer.

It goes to show how much unrest there is in this area when something little like this is enough to start a riot (on three separate occasions, no less). Another surprising trigger was when a fruit shop worker accidentally caused a drunken day-laborer to fall down. One result of this riot was the burning of the fruit shop. Furthermore, there is a famous covert leftist organization that tends to encourage rioting among the laborers. So, you never know when and how it will happen.

The 25th Riot Rumor

There is also a rumor that the 25th riot may happen soon because of Osaka’s outspoken and controversial mayor: Tooru Hashimoto. As a part of his “Osaka Metropolis Plan”, he has thrown around a few ideas to improve this area, such as the “Nishinari Special Ward Plan”, which would provide a tax break for newcomers. Not surprisingly, his idea really got on the nerves of the long time residents of Nishinari.

Mayor Hashimoto also tried to make an elite school in this area, but the idea was quickly declined due to many intractable issues such as the very frequent unlawful dumping of garbage and the rampancy of drugs. Furthermore, the mayor is thinking of amalgamating the Nishinari-ward with the Tennouji-ward, where wealthy people live. It’s expected to be quite problematic. So, the place is kind of a tinderbox at the moment and you probably wouldn’t want to find yourself there when even the tiniest of sparks form. Who knows, maybe your visit will cause the next riot?

The Highest Anonymity In Japan

In the last article, we talked about the super cheap Doya-inns. Unlike the other accommodations in Japan, you don’t need to show your ID to stay there. It may be a good thing, if you are the type of person who is quick to lose or forget things because you won’t need to worry about bringing your passport in. However, in other words, it also means that you don’t know who your neighbors are and the person staying next to you could be a criminal.

It may sound a little discriminative, but in fact Tatsuya Ichihashi, who was sentenced to life in jail for the rape and murder of a British ESL teacher, was living in Nishinari before his arrest. Although he stayed outdoors during his first visit and apparently never used a doya-inn, he was able to obtain a job three times through some day-laborer-recruiters without revealing who he was. If a reward of 10 million yen wasn’t offered for tips leading to his arrest, he may have continued on in that area.

In Japan, not every wanted person has a price on their head and Nishinari has long been a place where criminals can come if they want to stay under the radar while earning some cash. Due to the ease and frequency of this, police often make inquiries, but most people don’t want to be an informant without receiving a reward. Another big name, Fusako Shigenobu, founder of the now-disbanded Japanese Red Army was also hiding in Nishinari. So, you should be aware that you could easily run into a wanted criminal here.

Tuberculosis

As I mentioned in the first article, there are some homeless people who can’t even afford to stay in the super-cheap Doya-inns. There is a shelter for them near a public park, but they never stay there as long as they are healthy. In other words, only sick people use the shelter. It’s kind of an unwritten rule. Hence, going there is risky because one might catch an illness… such as tuberculosis.

According to Youmiuri newspaper on Feb 4 2012, Nishinari’s tuberculosis incidence rate is the highest in Japan, at about 13 times that of the national average (0.0233% in 2004). About 20% of the newly registered tuberculosis patients in Osaka are homeless and 24% of all tuberculosis patients in Osaka are people from the Nishinari-ward.

The rate of tuberculosis in the shelter is said to be dramatically higher than all other places in Nishinari-ward, but living and sleeping outside can be very difficult and nearly impossible during the winter. Most of them live with dogs and bring them under their blankets when they sleep as a source of heat. This helps but is obviously not enough. Over 200 people are found dead on the streets every year.

Many Strong Yakuza

In this small Kamagasaki area, there used to be around 70 Yakuza offices. There were so many Yakuza here that a common quote arose: “Even a dog, if it walks, will bump into a Yakuza”. There are not as many as there used to be, but over 20 Yakuza offices still exist. The biggest office is the head office of the Azuma-gumi at at 1-11-8 Sannou Nishinari-ward, Osaka.

The Azuma-gumi continues sailing on their own, unlike most of the other Yakuza groups who have melded into the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan’s biggest Yakuza organization. After passing the Anti-Organized Crime Law in 1991, all Yakuza offices stopped displaying their “name” out front, including the powerful Yamaguchi-gumi. But, almost all of the name plates still exist in Nishinari. By this fact alone, you can imagine how strong the Yakuza are in this area.

Another factor that confirms their power is the number of drug dealing spots they have. Actually, all of their spots are well known by the locals. The most famous spot is the Sannou intersection where there are mass gatherings throughout the night. Moreover, the most notable drug dealing spot is right in front of the police station. How’s that for strength? Surprisingly, somebody even flagged the popular meth dealing spots on Google maps. Drug dealers get arrested from time to time, but it’s more like a performance by the police than anything else. More often than not, dealing is simply ignored.

Speaking of which, the Nishinari police station is different from other stations. It’s called “The Fort” because the building is surrounded by an iron fence. The front door, also made of iron, is guarded 24 hours a day.

What the Yakuza Do In Nishinari?

There are so many Yakuza jobs out there that we don’t even know about. So, I’ll introduce some of the main ones right now.

First of all, they work as day-laborer-recruiters, called 手配師 (Tehai-shi) – the same that Tatsuya Ichihashi used. They’re given a new job every day and take a very handsome percentage of the rate provided for for the laborers – all illegally, of course. Just for your information, the word for “to skim off too much commission” is ピンハネする (pinhane-suru). At some point in the process, most Yakuza jobs wind up pinhanesuru-ing someone’s money.

Normally, day-laborers go to The Nishinari Labor Center to get a job. In this center, the rule is “first come, first served”. The recession is hitting this slum as well, so getting a job is pretty competitive. It’s common to see people start lining up around 4 a.m.

If you are a registered resident who isn’t able to get a job, you could still get an allowance. However, if you aren’t registered, the only way to get a job is by talking to the recruiters in the station wagons waiting to deliver you directly to a job site.

There is another type of pinhane-job called 囲い屋 / kakoi-ya. In this job, the Yakuza gather homeless people and help them get welfare, then take a kickback from their allowance every month. Last year, one Yakuza member of the Yamaguchi-gumi was arrested for earning more than 200,000,000 yen (around $2 million).

Another Yakuza job is the operation of gambling circuits, which is also illegal in Japan. The most well known place of gaming is in Triangle park, which is located just 50 meters from the police station. This place primarily plays dice, but illegal poker and blackjack games are also easily found. They are held in secret doya or apartment rooms. You need an invitation or someone to take you to play there, though.

This area can be pretty nasty at night. There are around 60 groups of thieves called シノギ屋 / Shinogi-ya. They usually hit you from behind and steal all your belongings. If you were their target, you’d be extremely lucky to come out of it with only minor injuries. Sadly, many people are injured at the hands of these groups.

Slave Trading

In the above paragraph, I wrote “pretty nasty”, but that’s not nearly the extent of things. One of the traditional Yakuza jobs here is “slave trading”. It’s a very common tale to hear of Yakuza recruiters deceiving homeless people and selling them to isolated labor camps called タコ部屋/tako-beya to make them work as slave laborers. So the story about a day-laborer who gets into a station wagon, disappears, and is never heard of again, is very cliche.

It seems that some people like this were also taken to Fukushima to clean up the nuclear mess.

It sounds awful enough already, yet the economic depression is seemingly making Yakuza “slave trading” even more frequent and undiscriminating. According to Tokyo Breaking News, who succeeded in interviewing a Yakuza working in Nishinari, their “target” for slave trading is shifting from day-layborers to teenage girls. Their intent is to sell them as sex slaves. This interview was done in August 2013 and this Yakuza group started kidnapping girls in Spring of that year. Let me present some of the interview.

“I work with two other guys as a team and we have kidnapped over 20 girls at this point. We rent a station wagon for it. A member who has a driver’s license rents the car, then we throw on a fake license plate that we stole from a neighboring area such as Sakai city in Osaka. We target teenage girls solely because we can sell them for good money to Yakuza offices. The average is from 200,000 to 300,000 yen per girl. A good one could be up to 400,000 yen, so each of us can get over 100,000 yen, even after deducting expenses such as the cost of the rental car. Once we rent a car, we make our own quota. It’s much easier than you’d think because we choose girls. We don’t kidnap serious looking ones, but rather those that look like delinquents. For example, those who are looking for 援助交際 (compensated dating) on the application LINE or those sitting on the side of the road at midnight. Such girls are usually living a tough life already and things in their lives tend to be secretive, even if they plan on running away. Running away from a Yakuza office, on the other hand, is pretty difficult. They probably take photos and videos and threaten the girls in many ways in order to keep their income flowing in. However, there is a rumor that Osaka Prefectural Police have started investigating these cases. I’ve earned quite a lot money from this job already, so I’m thinking it soon might be time to quit.”

This has been going on for quite a while. In fact, some people in Osaka have also been arrested for violating the Child Welfare Act. For example, in 2002, a 44-year-old guy and a 17-year-old guy were arrested for holding a 17-year-old runaway girl in confinement. They knew of her through a website, and forced her to work as a hooker for 8 months. Her quota was 6 people a day and her salary was 500 yen/day. One of her clients was an officer of the Osaka Prefectural Police. In another recent example, Shouhei Yoshizaki (22-year-old) and Kazuki Shimohama (21-year-old) were arrested in September 2013 for managing a prostitution agency that delivered 15-17-year-old teenage girls to hotels. In each case, the set price was 15,000yen. This type of business is called デリバリー・ヘルス / Delivery-Health or デリヘル / deriheru.

Japan’s Largest Prostitution District

Speaking of which, Japan’s largest prostitution ring, called Tobita-shinchi (a.k.a Tobita-yuukaku), is on the East side of the main Kamagasaki area. Although prostitution is officially prohibited in Japan, this outfit remains untouched by police because they are afraid serious security problems may arise if they shut this area down.

If you watched the youtube videos about this area, you might feel a bit strange as you see the seemingly endless stream of little rooms. What you don’t see in the video is that the there are rooms on the other side of the street, as well. Inside each room is woman on display, often dressed in cheerleader or anime costumes, sitting and smiling beneath bright lights and an elderly woman called やり手ばばあ / Yarite-babaa (a.k.a. 曳っ子 / Hikikko) sits in each doorway and acts as the negotiator.

Just as a heads-up, if you were a woman interested in visiting this area, those Yarite-babaas are often very harsh towards women because men tend to avoid going into these rooms if women are around. When my boyfriend and I went to spa world, I took him here to show him a different side of Japan. Sure enough, with a chain of harsh name calling, threats and hand gestures, I was told that this is not a place for one such as me and that I should quickly remove myself.

There are still over 150 such places remaining. Since it is officially illegal, they are all registered as a 料亭 (ryoutei), a traditional Japanese style restaurant, and all of girls are listed as “waitresses” on the legal documents. Their official excuse is “something may happen between a waitress and a customer at their own will while the waitress is serving, but it’s none of our business”. To follow this excuse up, a little snack and a drink are provided. The average price is about 15,000 yen for 20 – 30 minutes depending on the woman. With “restaurants” literally taking up entire city blocks, this area is so singularly devoted to this type of business that even the street names are extensions of it – 青春 (Seishun) Street, literary meaning The-Spring-Time-of-Life Street and 妖怪(Youkai) street, literary meaning Monster Street.

There is, in fact, one actual restaurant in this area called 鯛よし百番 (Taiyoshi-hyakuban). Long ago, when whore houses were given license, this place was legally providing what its neighbors are now illegally selling. When laws changed, so did its type of service and it is now registered as a cultural property. It’s a very popular restaurant, however, so getting a reservation is not so easily done.

So, that just about does it for basic information about this Japanese slum area. There are probably more things going on that we don’t know about than things that we do. I was interested in this area when I was younger and my university was only a few stations away, so I once asked one of my male friends who looked really strong to go there with me and have a walk around. While walking, I felt as though everyone was staring at me. Maybe it was just because seeing a woman in the Kamagasaki area is pretty rare. (You can find a lot of videos of this area, but people in the videos are almost all male.) I was quite scared because I believed they thought I was just someone trying to peak in on their way of life, as though it were some sort of exhibition. Nobody likes being treated like that, of course. I didn’t want to upset anyone, so walked around quietly and quickly and, luckily, nothing happened.

As I introduced in these two articles, there are plenty of pros and cons about Nishinari, so I hope I didn’t sound overly critical. I thought it was important for you to at least learn of what can and does transpire in this area before choosing it for its cheap accommodations. If you read this and you’re completely fine with staying in the area, that’s great because you can save a lot of money. If you are scared of this area, that’s totally understandable, too. In either case, I wish you a safe and wonderful time in Japan.

Bonus Wallpapers!

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Although the locals tend to avoid this area, it has surprisingly become a sort of mecca for foreign backpackers due to the cheap accomodations. The reason why they don’t mind staying in such a place is because it is statistically way safer than their own home countries. Apparently, there are even a few guide books that say this outright: “Nishinari-ku: the most dangerous area in Japan, but not as bad as your own country.”

But, can you really be confident that this place is not as dangerous as your own country? It’s possible that you may feel quite comfortable in those areas at home, but, many things are done differently country to country. So, how cheap are things in Nishinari-ku? Is it really worth visiting or staying here? Let’s find out in this two part article.

Nishinari Ward

There are 24 wards in Osaka City, and one of them is Nishinari, which takes up a whole 2.8 square miles. If you type “Nishinari” in Google Maps, it will show you where the Nishinari Ward is. Perhaps you’ll even recognize some of the more popular landmarks nearby.

This area is famous for the Tennouji Park, Tennouji Zoo, the Tsutenkaku Tower, deep fried kebab-style restaurants, and “Spa World,” which has many different kinds of onsen from around the world as well as scary water slides. One slide is called “The Death Loop,” if that helps to paint a picture.

After reading the above paragraph you may be wondering something like, “Mami, you said the locals tend to avoid that area, didn’t you?” Well, the park and zoo are in Tennouji-ward and the other sight-seeing spots called Shinsekai (literally meaning “new world”) are all located in Naniwa-ward. Only Midousuji Boulevard separates Naniwa from Nishinari, but the difference is still quickly noticeable. So, if you are a little worried about going to Nishinari, make sure not to cross the road to the “other side” of Japan.

Furthermore, the slum area doesn’t cover the whole of the Nishinari-Ward either. The undesireable areas of Nishinari are found around Haginochaya, Taishi, and Sannou. In May 1966, Airin-chiku became the area’s offical name, but most of the locals continue to call this area “Kamagasaki” or “Nishinari”.

Although not found in the above mentioned areas, Japan’s largest red-light-district, Tobita-shinchi (a.k.a Tobita-Yuukaku) also makes its home in Nishinari-ward. Though it’s advisable to avoid this area in real life, especially if you’re a woman, when writing an article about Nishinari it’s nearly impossible to bypass.

Kamagasaki: Nishinari in Nishinari-ward

Until the mid Meiji-era (1868-1912 AD), Osaka’s slum area was located in Nagamachi, which is now Block 1-3 Nipponbashi in Chuuou-ward, and the Kamagasaki area was just a small fishing village with a graveyard and an accompanying execution grounds, a vestige of the Edo (1603-1867) Shogunate.

The Nagamachi area had many extremely cheap inns for day laborers (called Kichin-ya), but for the purpose of making more available accommodations for the fifth National Industrial Exhibition being held in 1903, a law was passed forcing all inns in the Nagamachi area to move to the Kamagasaki area in 1898. In turn this forced the day laborers to follow, and so began the Kamagasaki slum.

Just as a note, some people mistake Kamagasaki (or Nagamachi) area to be the distinctive village of Burakumin, but they are different. The Nagamachi and Kamagasaki slums were naturally formed by homeless people and wanderers, whereas the Buraku hamlets were officially formed as outcaste communities in the Japanese feudal era.

The Kamagasaki area is only ~500-800 square meters but the population is said to be around 20,000 to 30,000. The actual number is unknown because many of the people there are homeless and aren’t even on the residential registration. Since there are so many Doya-inns (previously known as Kichinya-inns) in such a small area, its population density is said to be 3 or 4 times that of Tokyo’s 23 wards.

Sakaisuji Street divides the area into West and East and each side has different characteristics. On the East side, there are many wooden rental houses and also a shopping arcade called “Tobita-hon-doori” (a.k.a Doubutsuen-mae-ichiban-gai). Thus, it still exhibits a similar resemblance to, and a taste of the ambiance of old Osaka. On the West side, there are many multistoried Doya-inns as well as restaurants and launderettes for laborers. Regional improvement facilities are also increasing in number.

Super Cheap Doya-Inns

In the 90’s there were around 200 Doya-inns. Now it’s nearly half of that due to the aging of the laborers. Some Doya-inns changed into public welfare housing where residents pay rent with public assistance. Although those public housing complexes are no longer available, other Doya-inns are open for not only day-layborers but anyone else who needs a bed. In fact, Doya-inns first started to be used by foreigners in 2002, when the FIFA World Cup was held in Japan and Korea.

News of the cheap accommodations and convenience traveled quickly among world travelers and now it’s becoming a backpackers’ paradise. I even came across a person who tweeted that he wants to make homeless and foreign friends at the same time, so he is thinking of staying over night in a doya.

The cost of Doya-Inns start at 400 yen/night (~$4). However, the cheapest places (400-1000yen/night) are very competitive and are usually already occupied by fixed residents. But, don’t worry. There are still plenty of other cheap places starting from 1000-2500 (~$10-$25) yen/night. Furthermore, if you were rich enough to pay over 2500 yen/night, you could stay at a nice “hotel” in and around this area, as well.

According to Hotel Price Index, the average hotel price in Japan is around $150/night, so now you have a better idea as to how cheap these Kamagasaki “hotels” really are.

In terms of what you’re getting, the average Doya-inn is around 54 square feet (3 tatami mats). The bathroom and toilet are shared, or you may have to go to another inn or hotel to take a shower. Some rooms are becoming non-smoking for backpackers, but you can still smell the stale cigarette smoke that will be stuck there for years to come.

What Else Is Cheap?

As many of you have probably already guessed by now, the accommodations are not the only thing that is inexpensive. Let’s have a look around to find out what else can be done on the cheap.

Super Tamade

First, in Kamagasaki area, there are 5 super cheap grocery stores called “Super Tamade.” Super Tamade was founded in 1992, coinciding with the final decline of the Yakuza in Tamade of the Nishinari-ward. There is a well-known rumor that this discount grocery store chain is run by the Yakuza, but I will leave that up to your imagination.

This discount grocery chain goes to extreme lenghts to stand out in comparison to others, not only for their brightly decorated appearance but also their unbelievably cheap prices.

(A flyer of Super Tamade)

For example, they have a unique 1 yen (~1 penny) sale system. If you spend 1,000 yen or more, you can buy one of their special items at 1 yen. Several items are selected everyday and they are usually canned food, drinks, vegetables, meats, eggs, etc… The amount you can purchase at 1 yen is restricted, but it’s still a nice surprise, isn’t it? They are so friendly to day laborers that they also offer a variety of bento boxes starting at 200 yen.

Himawari

There is also a 24/7 cafe restaurant called “Himawari” (meaning sunflower) managed by Super Tamade in the Nishinari-ward. They offer breakfast for about 300 yen and lunch sets for about 500yen.

Cheap Foods Other Than Tamade

There are many cheap teishoku (set menu) restaurants. For example, manpuku-shokudou provide “home-made” set meals for 400 to 500yen that will fill a traveller’s stomach.

Most of the restaurants in Kamagasaki also have a tachinomi (standing bar) because it’s more economical for both restaurant owners and laborers.

Tachinomis offer quick and simple meals, as well. For example, one place sells “cooked instant ramen” for 200yen and another sells “homemade curry rice” for 300yen.

Free meals are sometimes distributed in a public park, but you need to bring a container and wait in a super long line.

Cheap Vending Machines

Although Japan’s cheapest beverage vending machine (10yen) is in the Fukushima-ward of Osaka, they have their own cheap cans too. All of the cheap beverages are made by Sangaria, a local company in Osaka. The average price of Kamagasaki’s vending machines ranges from 50 to 70 yen/can, whereas the average Japan-wide price is 120 yen. Unlike the cheapest vending machine in the Fukushima-ward, at least here you actually get to choose what comes out of the machine.

Interestingly, Sangaria gets its name from a famous Chinese poem called “Spring View” by Toho, “国破れて山河在り” or “國破山河在 (guó pò shān hé zài)” in Chinese, which means; “The country is destroyed; yet mountains and rivers remain.” So, I feel like the company is saying, “Even though Japan was bankrupt, Sangaria’s cheap beverage will remain.” Please don’t say that I’m the only one that thinks that because they made a song for a commercial that went;

いち にい サンガリア
1 2 3(san)-garia

にい にい サンガリア
2 2 3(san)-garia

サンガリア サンガリア
Sangaria Sangaria

国破れて サンガリア
The country is destroyed: yet Sangaria remains.

敵も味方も ヨンダリア
You should invite both friends and foes. (Yondaria sounds like “youndariya” in Kansai-ben, which means “you should invite”)

みーんなで仲良く 飲んだりア サンガリアコーヒー
You should all drink Sangaria coffee together as friends. (Nakayoku-nondaria sounds like “nakayoku-nondariya” in Kansai-ben, which means “you should drink as friends”.)

Needless to say, there are many alcohol vending machines, as well.

Seemingly Cheap Shops

There are also several shops displaying unique signboards. For instance, the board of a clothing store called Yasuda-ya says “まだ高いですか!!”, which means “Is it still expensive?”. There is an Izakaya restaurant in the arcade that goes by the name “甘すぎてすいません”, which means “Sorry for spoiling you”. Speaking of “sorry,” sorry, but I’m not sure if these places are actually cheap or not, but it’s a fairly safe bet given their signs and where they are located.

Cheap Movies

There is a small movie theatre called Tobita-Cinema where you can see 3 movies for 800 yen. If it is Tuesday, it’s 500 yen.

Cheap Or Even Free Haircut

The average price of a haircut is around 800 yen in this area. If you were really broke, sometimes volunteers will offer you a free haircut. There’s usually a notification posted somewhere beforehand. In order to get a free haircut, you have to get a numbered ticket in the morning in the public park because they usually have a maximum limit.

Granted, if you’re reading this you’re not likely to be homeless, but don’t be taken aback that I’ve told you where to get a free haircut. Believe it or not, when I took my boyfriend to Spa world, we came across a caucasian man sleeping on flattened out cardboard boxes.

At first we weren’t able to see him because of the blanket he’d fashioned out of cardboard to get away from the drizzle that night. Yes, he wasn’t even able to stay in a Doya-inn and had to do Aokan (sleeping outside). We had some leftover nan bread from the curry restaurant we’d just come from, so my boyfriend offered it to the man.

As he rustled to grab the bread we realized that he was not Japanese when his response – “Ah, cheers man. Thanks” – was unmistakably that of a native English speaker. We never asked him anything about how he came there, but like I said at the beginning of the article, you never know what will happen there.

What’s Coming Up Next

Now that you know what’s here (and how cheap it is), please come back tomorrow to learn more about the “dodgy” side of Nishinari. It will tell you what makes this place somewhat dangerous (though maybe not as dangerous as you might expect). Go ahead and rent out a night in a Doya-Inn and we’ll see you in the morning!

Bonus Wallpapers!

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And map!

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But how can this be? In a modern country such as Japan, shouldn’t it be a society in which one can look past another’s facial hair without judging (or firing you?). I’d like to take you on a mustache-canoe journey through the river that is the history of how facial hair functions in Japan, past and present. I’d also like to educate you on mustaches in general in Japan, just in case you end up in a heated mustache-related argument. Nobody is going to be teased about falling flattop on your facial hair on my watch.

Japanese Mustache Vocabulary

Unlike English, Japanese has only one word for each type of facial hair, excluding the eyebrows: HIGE. Lucky you! You’ve just learned how to say mustache, beard, sideburns, and whiskers in Japanese, all at once. If you found it to be more confusing than “lucky”, don’t worry, we use a different kanji for each hige: 髭 for mustache, 鬚 for cheek hair, and 髯 for the chin. Furthermore, you can also say 口髭 (kuchi-hige/mouth-hair), 頬鬚 (hoo-hige/cheek-hair), and 顎髯 (ago-hige/chin-hair), if you prefer to specify.

Just as a note, to save some word-space in this article, from here on out I’ll use “hige” to quickly refer to mustaches, beards, sideburns, (and whiskers). So, please don’t get confused whenever you see the word “hige”. Memorize the meaning right now!!!

Let’s break down the words for each HIGE style: Mustache a.k.a. kuchi-hige is facial hair grown just above the upper lip and is the most common type of hige. For this popular mustache, there are three main styles. In Japanese, the “handlebar mustache” a.k.a. the “Kaiser mustache” is カイゼル髭(kaizeru-hige), toothbrush mustache is ちょび髭 (chobi-hige), and the pencil-thin mustache is 泥鰌髭(dojou-hige).

There are other types of hige out there besides these, of course. Let’s take a look at some of the more interesting ones.

Ago-hige is the collection of facial hair grown on the chin, upper lip, lower cheeks, and neck. The most famous style of this is most likely to be the “goatee” and is translated into 山羊髯 (yagi-hige/goat hige).

This can be taken a step further, too. Nothing says “I love Japan” more than trimming the hair on your chin into the shape of Mt. Fuji. Not surprisingly, this is called 富士髯 (Fuji-hige).

Hoo-hige is facial hair grown on the sides of the face and in front of the ears. It’s not exactly the same thing as sideburns, however. In Japanese “sideburns” get separated into two different categories. (Remember, “hoo” means cheek so hoo-hige is the part of the sideburn that starts extending outward over your cheek.) The part of the sideburn that is directly beside your ear is called もみあげ(momiage). It’s difficult to distinguish exactly where momiage end and where hoo-hige begin, so some people just call them 長いもみあげ (nagai-momiage), which means “long momiage.”

Another very common hige style is the combination of the mustache and the goatee, which is called ラウンド髭 (round-hige), 囲み (kakomi), or カールおじさんの髭 (karl-ojisan-no-hige).

And finally, if you have hige that isn’t trimmed at all and just looks like messy stubble, it’s called 無精髭 (bushou-hige/laziness-hige). Additionally, the “5 o’clock shadow” is called 青髭 (ao-hige/blue-hige). As you can see, for any variation or combination of mustaches, beards, and/or sideburns, we say “hige” and use “髭.”

Japanese Mustache History

In Japan, from the medieval period to the beginning of Edo period, if you were a Samurai, you had to have hige. A Samurai without hige was made fun of. Thus, those who couldn’t grow much hige or had thin ones, such as Hideyoshi Toyotomi, used fake hige.

When the Edo shogunate entered a calm stage and became a “civilian government” called 文治政治 (bunchi-seiji), showing a fighting spirit came to be regarded as having the intention of rebelling. Since hige represents the samurai’s fighting spirit, feudal lords started shaving off their hige and left only their 髷 (mage) which is the long hair at the back of the head tied into a knot or bun. Another symbol of a samurai, the 月代 (sakayaki) which is the shaved part on the top of the head, remained during this period. This style was used until the middle of the 17th century. The government ended up banning people from having hige for the reason that hige could corrupt public morals, so all samurai had to shave off their hige, as well. They made one exception, however. People who had scars on their faces were granted permission to grow hige in order to hide their scars. Thus, Morihito Yamayoshi (a.k.a Shinpachirou Yamayoshi or Shinpachi) shaved his hige, though he doesn’t have his hige in the moe-anime game called “ChuShingura46+1”, since all Samurai characters are girls in the game.

In the second half of the 17th century, having a clean-shaven face became the standard among Japanese civilians. Meanwhile, in Hokkaido, Japan’s indigenous group called Ainu still had hige but didn’t have mage (the knot at the top of the head). Therefore, during the Edo-period, the homeland of the Ainu, 蝦夷地(Ezo-chi/Yezo), was regarded as a land of savages, in large part due to them having hige. This “hige discrimination” is considered to be one of the initial reasons that people started to harbor contempt for the Ainu.

There is also an offensive and insulting term for foreigners, 毛唐(ketou), which was created to spite foreigners with hige. 毛 means hair and 唐 means Tang Dynasty. The word 毛唐 was originally intended for Chinese people thought later it came to denote Westerners.

Speaking of Westerners, in and around the 18th century, hige became really popular in Victorian England and spread throughout Europe. That influence reached men of high status in Japan during the Meiji-era (that’s after the anti-mustache Shogunate was overthrown, 1868-1912 AD) and so they started growing their hige again. Gaishi Nagaoka, an officer at Military Staff College in Tokyo, was one of them and he grew his mustache to an astounding 70cm (27.5inch) from end to end. His mustache was called the プロペラ髭 (propeller-hige) and Nagaoka was very proud of it.

During the Taishou era (1912-1926 AD), some people still wore the toothbrush mustache or the Ronald-Coleman-like mustache called コールマン髭 (Coleman-hige). However, a new style without a mustache called MOBO (Modern Boy) became popular and the hige fever cooled down all the way until the militaristic Shouwa era (1926–1989) when the hige-boom came back (but didn’t last that long). After the wars, safety razors spread around the country and shaving hige became the respectable, and respectful, style for salarymen all through the post-war reconstruction period.

Hige In The Contemporary Japan

Nowadays, though the trendiness of hige is gradually increasing, even to the point that there is now a popular Hige Dance, there are still far more clean-shaven Japanese men than those with hige. I guess it’s because the old “Hige=Bad” mentality still lingers in many minds.

Across Japan, a general rule of employment stipulates that you must not have hige. This is particularly evident in the following industries: banking, investment, insurance, railway, airline, bus, taxi, retail, restaurant, and hotel. Companies make such rules because the firing, suspension of, demotion of a person, or reducing their salary for having hige is an infringement on personal rights. An employee must be given fair warning that having hige is against company policy.

In fact, some incidents have even gone all the way to the court system. For example, a postman named Noboru Nakamura had to hire a lawyer to fight for the right to keep his hige against Japan Post’s 2004 grooming regulation. Nakamura wasn’t the only postman who felt troubled by the regulation. Another postman named Hideki Shiba brought his case against Japan Post to court and won because the regulation was introduced after he had started working there. A taxi driver won his case that he took to court, as well. Those cases (裁判/saiban) are called 髭裁判（hige-saiban).

This means one very simple thing: it’s very possible to get fired for having facial hair. Oh, and don’t forget to lawyer up.

It all sounds far too serious for something as little (and natural) has hige, but as the saying たかが髭、されど髭 (takaga hige, saredo hige) goes, “it’s just hige, but it could be very important, as well”. And indeed it can be. As I am a female, I don’t understand how men feel about their hige. If I found a thick hige on my face, I’d remove it immediately. However, while writing this article I’ve learned about how difficult it was to have hige from a historical context. I’ve also learned how important hige can be for some men, and I’d like to learn more. I’d love to hear the passionate opinions of the “Hige-man”. I guess we all want to, so keep an eye out for the next article in which I interview a Japanese salary man with a doozie of a mustache. What made him start growing his mustache? Did he need to fight his boss in order to keep it? It’s him against society. You don’t want to miss it!

Bonus Wallpapers!

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