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Abstract
In this paper, I will analyse and classify the scientific discussion of kawaii (which means 'cute' in English), one of the most important components of contemporary Japanese popular culture; which has been diffused throughout the world and become a transnational culture. I will identify three main discussions in kawaii studies: (1) kawaii as a Japanese proper aesthetic and its origin; (2) kawaii as making a Japanese social feature out of immaturity; and (3) kawaii as a form of globalised culture from the points of view of politics/diplomacy, globalisation, and orientalism. I will delineate further research possibilities to be carried out in Japanese popular contemporary culture, particularly kawaii culture and its relevance in the global and transnational communication age.
Keywords: kawaii, Japanese popular culture, Japanese aesthetics, transnationalism, orientalism.
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1. Introduction
This paper argues for the possibilities of scientific research on kawaii (which means 'cute' in English), one of the most important components of contemporary Japanese popular culture, which has been diffused throughout the world and become a transnational culture.
Since the 1990s when items of Japanese popular culture such as manga, extravagant street fashions, and video games began to be exported to the world, the term kawaii2 has been used in Europe, particularly during the French-organised Japan Expo, a Japanese cultural festival, and indeed throughout the world. The term kawaii has also become a representative keyword3 for 'Cool Japan'4; as evidenced by the appointment by the director general of the Public Diplomacy Department in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs; of three people from fashion and pop culture, as 'Trend Communicators of Japanese Pop Culture', or 'Kawaii Ambassadors', in order to promote Japanese pop culture, which currently enjoys high popularity among young people worldwide. In contrast to the first Japonism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, 21 ^-century Japanese popular culture, considered a second Japonism by the Japanese government5, has spread into a highly information-orientated world shaped by the Internet. Kawaii can be considered a 21st-century transnational culture that has diffused across borders.
Even though an appreciation of contemporary Japanese popular culture is one of the most common motivations for students to learn the Japanese language and study Japan in general terms at university; the amount...