Violet FitzGerald

GWSS 446

Keyword Revision

美しさをた耐える：The Western Face on the Japanese Body

Introduction

Translating as either “praise the beauty” or “endure the beauty”, 美しさおたたえる(Utsukushisa ota taeru) exemplifies how beauty is a social construction and phenomena, influenced by nationality, imperialism, progress, and globalization. I remember growing up in Hawaii and my grandmother never going to the beach with us. She told me that her mother never took her to the beach because she didn’t want my grandmother’s skin to tan. From an early age, this habit was ingrained in my grandma and consequently, she never learned to swim. The idea of beauty in Japan is not only a trend, but a social, cultural phenomenon that is highly influenced by the West. In this keyword project, I will delve into the notions of beauty within Japanese society, looking at my personal experiences, successful industry of cosmetic procedures, and popular beauty products. Starting from the Meiji Era to contemporary times, this research will investigate how beauty ideals for women in Japan are closely tied to the Western cultures and class discussions of globalization, modernity, and consumerism, unveiling how deeply global encounters can shape a society.

The Bijin as the “It” Girl

The Japan we know today was primarily formed from the period of 1868 to 1912. During this time, Japan went through a dramatic reform, known as the Meiji Era, spurred on by the fear of colonialism, urge to modernize, and possibly compete with the globalizing West. From religion to government, Japan “unified”, creating a homogenous, official culture, characterized by one phrase- いっせいいちげん (one life, one beginning). Instead of the feudal structure of the Tokugawa Period, Meiji subjects were seen as autonomous, self-contained individuals. Japan was transformed into an industrial, globalized nation-state, highly influenced by the West. The calendars were changed, clocks refigured, physical landscape was transformed and given new meaning, and even the capital moved from Edo to Tokyo. However, when the US dropped the atomic bombs, Japan lost that growing power, and the very ideology of Japan was uprooted. America had become the victor and thus, the future of the newly globalized world. In Meiji Japan, the role of the “modern woman” as well as the beauty standards were made clear through art. This era saw a shift from woodblock prints to photography. The idea of bijin or “beautiful woman” became popular with both Japanese people and the West, as it created a Japanese aesthetic, emphasizing the “archaicness” and “exoticness” of Japan. In the Ukiyo-e print, pictured to the right (Woman Standing on Bow of Boat by Toyukuni III, 1820s), the geisha is upright, alluring and sexualized, yet devoid of emotion. According to Amanda Shubert, ukiyo-e (pictures of the “floating world”) simultaneously presents “pictures of the illusory and pictures of the real…ukiyo-e is an art of ethereal and ephemeral beauty and pleasure”. The geisha embodies Japanese feminine ideals that are unreachable, thus presenting an “ideal woman”. In Meiji Japan, beauty standards for women were in line with the phrase “good wife, wise mother”, a phrase asserting women’s role in the modern state. Women stay home, preparing and educating the children to be good members of the modern state, while men leave the home and learn as much as they can about Western culture and technology in order to catch up. The bijin then, created an unreachable ideal for women- independent subjects, yet reserved and quiet; beautiful but modest and simple; perfect mothers, obedient wives, and upstanding subjects of the nation. Women, in a way, came to define and uphold power in Meiji Japan. This visual medium reinforced passivity and modesty in femininity, an emblem of Japanese aesthetic value, a personification of the idea of beauty.

Face-Off: How the Western Face Conquered Post-War Japan

The defeat of Japan in World War II brought waves of American mass media as well as new ideas and trends. One such trend was personal appearance- specifically, the American or European face. This included large eyes, high noses, large breasts, and expressive faces. At the end of the war, the victorious Western face became the “modern” face. The expressionless, small eyed Japanese face was seen as “backward” and “unmodern”. In Kim Brandt’s essay Japan, The Beautiful, she talks about the dramatic increase of cosmetic surgeries in Japan, post-World War II. The most popular surgeries were double eyelid surgery and nose injections. Brandt asks us “What defined “better looking” in postwar Japan, and to what extent was that definition influenced by a white Euroamerican physical ideal?” (264). Her response was that the increase in cosmetic surgeries was not solely due to American hegemony, but “must be understood as part of the much longer, broader process that began in the 1800s, whereby the great powers of Western Europe and later the United States established a manifold, global dominance, and societies all over the world came to associate “the West” with progress and modernity” (265). This ‘modernity’ was now associated with everything Western, including the Western face. Now, this begs the question of what we consider “modern”. In Is Globalization Civilizing, Destructive, or Feeble? by Guillen, he says “modernity…is an outgrowth of the Western worldview” (221). Guillen is suggesting that ideas and values that underpin modernity- democracy, capitalism, free markets- have their origins in Western thought. In the case of Japan, yes, Japanese modernity, was indeed, influenced by Western industrialization and progress, both an effect from the war and Japan’s own desire for power.

Glowing Up Amidst Imperialism

The trends surrounding personal appearance in Japan are the result of imperialism, despite Japan never being officially colonized by the West. An old Japanese proverb, “色の白いは七難隠す(The whiteness of the skin hides seven flaws), still finds purpose in current times, with intergenerational preferences for fair skin persisting, seen with my great-grandmother wanting my grandmother to keep her skin fair, despite living in Hawaii. It reflects a direct consequence of Western imperialist’s propagation of Eurocentric beauty standards. According to the proverb, if a woman has white skin, she is considered attractive, even if her other features are not. Furthermore, Japanese beauty products (seen pictured to the right) promise miraculous transformations, perpetuating the belief that fairer skin equals enhanced attractiveness and social status. I found this product on Yesstyle, a popular Asian fast fashion website. The description said this product was “Made to combat signs of aging, Kose’s Grace One Whitening Perfect Milk contains rich brightening ingredients that suppress the production of melanin and prevent the formation of spots and freckles”. These products are endorsed by TV, media, and popular Japanese celebrities, alluring the impressionable younger demographics. Satomi Ishihara, for example, is a popular Japanese actress who is known for her beauty, with her wide eyes, fair skin, and full lips. Many women try to replicate Ishihara’s look with makeup as I found many YouTube videos attempting to recreate her features. The pervasive reach of social media has only accelerated this phenomenon, with the trend of “glass skin”, which emphasizes poreless, fair, wrinkle free skin. Other mainstream trends include colored eye contacts (mostly blue and green), vitamin infused skin care products, double eyelid tape, and false lashes, echoing European facial features.

Imperialist Echoes in Japanese Beauty

I turn to Said’s Orientalism to delve deeper into the imperialist connections between Japanese beauty standards and the Western world. “…white middle-class Westerner believes it his human prerogative not only to manage the nonwhite world but also to own it, just because by definition “it” is not quite as human as “we” are. There is no purer example than this of dehumanized thought (Said, Ch. 3). How and what kind of oriental images are conceived and drawn with Japanese beauty standards? How has the “oriental” been integrated and warped into Japanese society? I turn back to the bijin for answers. Japan, seeking to capitalize on this exotic appeal, actively marketed the bijin as a symbol of national identity. The unfamiliar or “exotic” is an “it”, something to own and manage, according to Said. Despite their efforts, Japan was still relegated to the oriental “other” in Western eyes. The integration of the “oriental” in Japanese society is a complex process, marked by both adaption and distortion. While Japan sought to profit from the bijin image, it simultaneously grappled within the Orientalist framework. The bijin has transformed into contemporary manifestations such as kawaii, anime girls, and icons like Hello Kitty. The legacy of Orientalism persists, shaping not only Western perceptions of Japan but Japan’s own self-conception.

The Modern Girl and the Unending Desire to Buy Stuff

The consumerism of these Japanese beauty products also finds connections to the Chinese women laborers mentioned in Made in China by Ngai Pun. In Chapter 5: Consumerist Desire and the Modern Self, Pun argues that “in their search for ‘modernity’ and in their hopes of improving their lives, the women workers possessed a great consuming passion. Their desire to consume was driven by their urgent desire… to live up to the calling of the modern model of female beauty that was increasingly imagined and imaged by the mass media and popular magazines” (Pun, 158). These workers were highly influenced by (Western) mass media, especially related to beauty, and felt pressured to conform to. The pressure to achieve this vision of the “modern model of female beauty” was compelling and urgent, which caused the Chinese laborers to consume, not only goods, but ideas, standards, and behaviors associated with this ideal. The depiction of the “modern girl” was emphasized by the mass women’s magazines which became popular with the Japanese middle class (Sato). The magazines included the latest household appliances, employment opportunity, and of course, beauty and fashion trends. The “modern girl” was, according to Sato, “an outright imitation of tainted Western styles with American roots” (Sato, 264). Although this depiction and those who indulged in it were attacked in Japan, the opposition did not deter consumerism in the slightest. The “modern girl” was first advertised to middle-upper class. And yet the magazines became a site of a “less conspicuous form of consumerism” for lower-middle class and working-class women. They could now identity their subjectivity with consumerism and the “modern girl”.

Conclusion

Beauty, in a global sense, emerges not only as a canvas for individual expression, but a reflection of broader social dynamics. Due to the complex transformation in Japan during the Meiji Era, and the following shift after World War II, Japan’s concept of beauty is profoundly shaped by external experiences with the West. Japanese beauty aesthetics shifted from the bijin (or beautiful woman) to “glass skin” and kawaii. As shown by the thriving cosmetic surgery industry and popularity of Japanese beauty products, as well as my personal experiences as a someone of Japanese descent, notions of beauty transcend mere aesthetic preferences and have become a deeply engrained social and cultural phenomena. I argue that the “oriental” image of Japan women, specifically, still persists today and is even encouraged by past and modern modes of consumerism such as mass magazines and popularity of the “modern girl”. Despite Japan’s rapid modernization, the allure of the Japanese woman remains a potent force, shaping stereotypes and shaping perceptions both domestically and internationally. Furthermore, the idealized image of the Japanese woman often aligns with Western notions of beauty and femininity. Japan’s beauty standards are an example of the multi-faceted effects of globalization, wherein local identities are both preserved, warped, and transformed. I will conclude by asking the following questions: How does globalization influence the perception of beauty in other regions besides Japan, like Japan’s former colonies such as Korea or Taiwan? How have Japanese women challenged societal perceptions of beauty and how has it affected their self-perception? In what ways does the “oriental” stereotypes in depictions of Japanese women intersect with broader issues of colonialism, exoticism, and radicalized beauty standards, and how does this impact the lived experiences of those residing in and outside Japan?

Works Cited

Brandt, Kim, et al. “Chapter 12: Japan the Beautiful: 1950s Cosmetic Surgery and the Expressive

Asian Body.” The Affect of Difference: Representations of Race in East Asian Empire, University of Hawai’i Press, Honolulu, Hawaii, 2016, pp. 260–285.

Gullien, Mauro. “Is Globalization Civilizing, Destructive or Feeble? A Critique of Five Key

Debates in the Social Science Literature.” Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 27, Annual Reviews, 2001, pp. 235–260.

Pun, Ngai. “Chapter 5: Consumerist Desire and the Modern Self .” Made in China: Women Factory Workers in a Global Workplace, Duke University Press, 2006.

Sato, B. (2018). Contesting Consumerism in Mass Women’s Magazines. In The Modern Girl Around the World: Consumption, Modernity, and Globalization (pp. 263–284). essay, Duke University Press. 

Shubert, Amanda. “Pictures of the Floating World.” Smith College Museum of Art, 13 May 2022, scma.smith.edu/blog/pictures-floating-world.