Kawaii TV

I have to start the Kawaii section with a post about one of favourite TV shows on NHK. Besides the gorgeous host Mr Ikki, this is a great show to watch if you love all things Kawaii. For those that don't know, "kawaii" means "cute" in Japanese. But it is more than just "cute". It's young Japanese women who don't want to grow up. It's young women taking fashion into their own hands and rebelling against the standard offerings supplied by retailers. In particular anything from a chain store or department store. These girls take their fashion and home decorating ideas to the extreme. They hunt down retro cool in second hand stores, they "deco" (decorate) anything and everything to make it their own. They "re-make" clothing by cutting it up and sewing it back together into something else. They do their hair, make-up, fashion and bedroom decor in a way very few girls in Australia would ever dream of.

Watch Tokyo Kawaii TV too often and you start to think it might be a good idea to stick tiny cupcakes on your fingernails. Or maybe I should glue my socks to my legs so they don't fall down? And you should see what these girls eat for lunch! I have to admit my own mobile phone is covered in plum blossom stickers, although by kawaii standards it is extremely tame. I did fall in love with a phone I saw on one episode which was covered in green grass and had small plastic cows stuck on the back in a pleasant rural scene. Of course her ring tone was mooing noises! Most mobile phones are heavily jewel encrusted, so the cows were a nice change.

There is an English website for Tokyo Kawaii TV, although it doesn't show much. But at least it has some pictures of Mr Ikki.
www.nhk.or.jp/kawaii/english