As we begin the Reiwa era from today, May 1st, it is an ideal time to look back over the past three decades of life in Japan that comprised the Heisei period.
Beauty brand Shiseido here presents ...
As we write these words, the abdication rituals are underway in Tokyo at the Imperial Palace as Emperor Akihito prepares to step down from his role. This will end the Heisei era and, from May 1st ...
It's now only a few weeks left until the Heisei period ends and a new, as-yet-unnamed era begins when Emperor Akihito abdicates and Crown Prince Naruhito takes the throne.
As such, we are seeing ...
There are only a few more months left of the Heisei period, which will end when the current emperor abdicates and his son takes over. The era name will change to an as-yet undisclosed new one and, ...
Four-Player Othello
Multiplayer version of classic two-player Reversi game
The lingerie brand Triumph International has paid tribute to the soon-to-end Heisei period with a bra, skirt, and boots set.
Various elements in the clothing reference social and cultural changes ...
Ever wondered how quickly junior high school fashion changes in Japan?
Look back over the shifts in junior high school (known as "JK" in Japanese) fads from 2016 to 2015, 2008, 2000, 1995, 1980 ...
The Japanese fashion magazine industry continues to suffer.
After the closure of prominent gyaru culture titles Koakuma Ageha, egg and Happie Nuts, another major magazine is closing down.
The ...
In 2014, many noted the death of gyaru culture as two of the prominent hostess and gyaru fashion magazines -- Koakuma Ageha and egg -- closed down.
Then in 2015, something seemed to give and there ...
My Neighbor Totoro Wind Chimes
Studio Ghibli anime character wind bells
When "hostess bible" Koakuma Ageha closed down last year, it seemed like the end of an era for Japanese fashion magazines.
But then it relaunched under new management and the status quo was ...
Almost a year after we blogged that iconic gyaru and hostess subculture magazine Koakuma Ageha was closing down comes some unexpected good news: Ageha is returning.
Last year was a gloomy one ...
Following the high-profile end of hostess magazine Koakuma now comes the closure of egg, another magazine that was a symbol of 1990s and 2000s fashion for teenaged and twenty-something females in ...
The end of an era.
Hostess culture magazine Koakuma Ageha will cease publication in the wake of the bankruptcy of its publisher, Inforest Publishing. The title first went on sale in October 2005 ...