In Comparison: Japanese,

Caucasian, and African American

Perceptions of Beauty

Japanese Beauty &

Philosophy
Beauty in Japanese

thought "is not limited

to physical beauty, i.e.,
beautiful flowers,
beautiful women, but
involves spiritual beauty
also because Japanese
ideology demands purity
of mind, refinement of
tastes, of individuals
and mutual love.
Extremely aesthetic
culture

Wabi-sabi
Zen-like philosophy which

emphasizes tranquility with

external. In other words,
negates the idea that all beauty
and knowing is not out there
waiting to be discovered, but
within each moment.
Natural, ancient way which
emphasizes simplicity.
All things are impermanent.
All things are imperfect.
All things are incomplete.
When accepted, these three

tenants, allow for the

maturation of contentment and
happiness found in the
unvarnished life. (Powell)

Tatemae and Honne

Tatemae literally means

the outward structure of a

building
Honne refers to the true
and inner voice of a person.
Japanese society recognizes

these two might conflict

due to the fact that society
values harmony.
This idea of face as it is
called or tatemae is
important to society which
would make outward
appearances important.

Past & Present

Japan has more of a

mixture of traditional
and modern styles in
an everyday context.
It is not abnormal to
walk down the street
and see people
wearing kimonos in
Japan.

Uniforms
Uniforms are common in

Japan. To the trained eye, it

is possible to tell where
everyone belongs based off
of their uniform.
Each school and company
has a different uniform which
everyone wears. In
companies the presidents
wear the same uniform as
the factory workers.
This is due to the fact that
group unity is essential to
Japanese culture.
The Japanese view social
harmony as vital and frown
upon selfish individualism. It
is expected that everyone is
different, but social harmony
is difficult to attain.

Bihaku
Bihaku An expression which

means 'beautiful white'

The Japanese have long been
derma-obsessed. Tanned skin
is traditionally looked on with
disdain in the Orient, where
poets and writers idealized fairskinned women in their work.
Even the Japanese icon, the
geisha, was rated by the
condition of the skin on the
back of her neck - the paler
and softer it was, the more
beautiful she was deemed to
be.
Japanese today will use
chemicals to lighten skin color.

Harajuku
Harajuku is a place in Tokyo

where, on Sundays,
Japanese youth will gather
to exhibit their personal
style wearing all sorts of
odd clothing combinations.
Additionally, there are
sometimes informal music
performances
Considered to be the hottest
new source of fashion
This new fashion even more
outrageous when
juxtaposed with the
uniformity or traditionalism
typical of Japanese fashion.

Japanese Beauty Regimen

According to the Challenging Beauty, a

study conducted by Dove relating to
differences in perceptions of beauty in
different countries, the data illustrate that
Japanese women are least likely to
consider using deodorant, facial products,
skin care as enhancing their beauty. This
is considered a normal routine. Japanese
women tend to turn more toward color
enhancers to feel beautiful.
The data collected for challenging
Beauty also indicated that Japanese
women felt that taking good care of
themselves was the best way to feel
beautiful
According to the study, an important
aspect to feeling beautiful is having a
sense of style.
The study showed that Japanese women
do not feel pressured by society to look a
certain way, in other words, the emphasis
and strive for beauty is extremely
internalized.

Hip-hop culture in the U.S. and

Japan
The European standard of

beauty still applies to

African-American women
today despite the negative
self-opinion it tends to
promote.
Hip-hop culture, despite its
frequent objectification of
women, seeks to breakdown old gender roles and
therefore gains a wider
audience.
In Japan, female Hip-Hopers
use the genre to defy gender
restrictions for women

Idealized Features:
Japanese

Pale skin
Straight hair
Clean complexion
Personal sense of style
Slim and cute kawaii

Despite amount of

western models, retain

a sense of national
identity in terms of
what is considered
beautiful i.e. pale skin.

DUDES
Men not considered

part of the equation in

terms of beauty
In the past, men
primping or being
overly concerned with
their looks was not
attractive at it was unmasculine.
Having a good physique
is essential to the male
model of physical
attractiveness.

Men: Past and Present

Men who are admired at present tend to be more

androgynous than in the past

Men starting to take beauty into account and spend
more time thinking about fashion and grooming etc.
These men have been dubbed metrosexuals

Metrosexual Japanese Men

Japanese men have

overwhelmingly gone for the

metrosexual lifestyle.
Average 20 something
males in Japan spend more
time in a salon than average
20 something females in the
U.S.
Japanese men are using a
range of products including
Clinique etc.
Men are spending exorbitant
amounts of money, a man
might spend $5,000 for a
casual outfit consisting of
only the most notable
designers.

Ideal Features: AfricanAmerican

At present:
Light skin color
Styled hair
European features
Thin

Idealized Features: CaucasianAmerican

toned build
Tanned skin
Long, shiny hair
As tall as possible
Clear complexion

Comparisons
Japanese and

African-American
culture prefer lighter
skin.
White people prefer
tanned skin
Japan: everything
goes (more of a
mixture between
traditional and
modern)

Comparisons cont.
Both Japanese and

African-American
women desire
straight hair
however, they utilize
different methods of
obtaining it.
Especially important
in African-American
women, in Japan it is
just a preference

Three different cultures not extremely

varied either in what is considered
beautiful, nor how to obtain beauty.

 If all our women were to become as

beautiful as Venus de Medici we should

for a time be charmed, but we should
soon wish for variety, and as soon as we
had obtained variety we should wish to
see certain characteristics in our women
a little exaggerated beyond the then
existing common standard -Darwin

 I say let me never be

complete
I say may I never be
content
I say deliver me from
Swedish furniture
I say deliver me from
clever arts
I say deliver me from clear
skin and perfect teeth
I say you have to give up
I say evolve, and let the
chips fall where they may
Beautiful. Freaking
beautiful.
-Tyler Durden, Fight Club
(inadvertently advertising
the principles of wabi-sabi)

 Once there was an ugly barnacle, he

was SO ugly that everyone died. The

end.
Patrick Star

Works Cited
Non-Digital Sources:
Aint I a Beauty Queen? Black Women, Beauty, and the

Politics of Race by Maxine Leeds Craig, Oxford University

Press, New York, 2002.
Contemporary Japan. McCargo, Duncan.

Works Cited
Websites (Data):
http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/uploadedfiles/dove_white

_paper_final.pdf
http://www.guardian.co.uk/japan/story/0,7369,1185335,00.html
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NTN/is_47/ai_1087
22594
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/2395/Black
_hair_care_and_culture_a_story
http://www.japanesestreets.com/magazines.htm
http://www.morbidoutlook.com/fashion/articles/2000_11_japanes
e.html

Works Cited
Websites (Pictures):
http://www.ruggedelegantliving.com/a/images/Beyonce.Carouse

l.jpg
http://www.moviereporter.net/newsimages/newsGross_368.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/hikkiforever/magazines
/08.jpg

Works Consulted
English Japanese Dictionary. Harper Collins

Publishers. Glasgow, Great Britain, 2003

Making Out in Japanese. Geers, Todd & Erika. Tuttle
Publishing, Tokyo, Japan, 2003.
Oshare. Shiro & Hana. Japan. (Its a Japanese
fashion book, I cant read any of it!)
http://www.translatum.gr/converter/currency.htm
http://www.dickinson.edu/departments/amos/mosaic01steel/je/

WIGS.jpg
http://www.beautifulhairdos.com/pictures/beyonce.01.jpg