AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR Showcasing Japan's astonishingly varied culture of cute, this volume takes the reader on a dazzling and adorable visual journey through all things kawaii. Although some trace the phenomenon of kawaii as far back as Japan's Taisho era, it emerged most visibly in the 1970s when schoolgirls began writing in big, bubbly letters complete with tiny hearts and stars. From cute handwriting came manga, Hello Kitty, and Harajuku, and the kawaii aesthetic now affects every aspect of Japanese life. As colourful as its subject matter, this book contains numerous interviews with illustrators, artists, fashion designers, and scholars. It traces the roots of the movement from sociological and anthropological perspectives and looks at kawaii's darker side as it morphs into gothic and gloomy iterations. Best of all, it includes hundreds of colourful photographs that capture kawaii's ubiquity: on the streets and inside homes, on lunchboxes and airplanes, in haute couture and street fashion, in cafes, museums, and hotels. AUTHOR: Manami Okazaki is the author of Tattoo in Japan, Japanese Buddhism, and Kicks Japan. Her writing on Japanese life has appeared in the Japan Times, CNN Traveler, Time Out, and numerous other publications across Asia, Europe, and North America. Geoff Johnson was born in Australia, and has been living in Tokyo and photographing Japanese subcultures for two decades. His photographs have appeared in TIME, the Wall Street Journal, Harper's Bazaar Japan, Esquire Magazine Japan, and The Economist. ILLUSTRATIONS: 240 colour
