They’ve been described as an army of “black-faced Paris Hiltons”, but they are also credited with being at the cutting edge of modern Japanese fashion. Women and men who sport Californian style tans, who even take pills to get the dark skin look, coupled with the distinctive make up and clothes, teamed with the para para dance - now that’s a youth culture worthy of a following. BBC Three’s recent Japanorama series dedicated a programme to the Ganguro.
I received a message about them from Lady Li who says that the culture is spreading worldwide outside Japan with followers in the UK like Booteek .
Photo from Booteek's MySpace
I’ve messaged Booteek to ask her to explain why she got involved in the culture and what the appeal is for her.
Are there any interesting youth cultures going on where you live?
When I was young – so many years ago now!! it was ripped jeans at the knees and the lumberjack shirt. Tame in comparison to this I think. I haven’t had any submissions from Japan and think this would have made a good one.
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May 28, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Lady Li
Booteek are closed now, but there are many more Gyarusa in the UK.. Booteek was a group of people though – a Gyarusa (Gal/Gyaru circle)
We don’t walk around like this everday though!! Some of the western Gyaru dress like this when they meet up with the rest of their Gyarusa.. then look normal the rest of the time..
But I (and other ganguro) dress Ganguro (Just tanned, not dark brown) all the time – when with our group and when out and about every day..
May 28, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Kira
Isn’t Ganguro a retired style? Thought it was more Manba now?
May 28, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Koneko
My name is Koneko and I co-lead the UK’s main gyarusa, HIBISCGYARU. I used to lead Booteek for a short while before I closed it last October. Ganguro is the WRONG term for this style. It was a popular fashion style in the 90s-early 2000′s, but the style is now DEAD. The term Ganguro now applies to girls who have tans and lightened hair – applies to many of the Japanese Magazine models. Manba is the correct term to use for girls who have dark skin, brightly colored hair and white makeup.
As for dressing Manba everyday, it is difficult because the UK is such an non-accepting country and many people are actually quite racist. I have had lots of abuse thrown at me while I have walked down the street as manba, but it doesn’t put me off. For work reasons, I can’t dress manba. Work places say they look for “individual people” but one wouldn’t be hired if they turned up manba to an interview or similar. Because of work reasons and also because of where I live, I can’t be manba all the time, but I do it as often as I possibly can.
@LadyLi:
I have only seen photos of you manba with other Red Neko gals, but they are photos from when you only meet up together; “We don’t walk around like this everday though!! Some of the western Gyaru dress like this when they meet up with the rest of their Gyarusa.. then look normal the rest of the time..”
August 7, 2009 at 6:59 am
Bo to
The UK non-accepting? Come on… this is old hat for the UK. I ask you… what was happening in Japan in the late 70′s when punk was in the UK(real punk, the do-it-your-self walk-down-the-road-in-a-bin-bag punk, not the japanese buy it from a designer for way-too-much yen imitation)?
May 29, 2009 at 10:31 am
nina robinson
thanks Koneko for adding your knowledge to this – I am asking Lady Li to help report on this for us, if you want to contribute to this report, then I’ll send you an email on how you can do this.
best wishes
Nina
May 29, 2009 at 11:04 am
Lady Li
Actually, Ganguro DOES still exist, just not the old type – the image has changed and it is mostly called just ‘Gyaru’..
Koneko, I wasn’t saying people should walk around in Manba all the time, no one does that – not even the girls in Shibuya .
May 29, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Amanikitty
Ganguro has been dead for the longest time. Even Manba is going out of style now, majority of the time you’ll only see people “doing ganguro/manba” at conventions who only do it as cosplay. Most good recent examples of manba are rare now, even when you look at pictures from gyarusa today.
May 29, 2009 at 3:44 pm
nina robinson
no swearing allowed on the blog – please read this post about courtesy http://bbcyourstory.com/2009/04/06/courtesy-please/
May 29, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Amanikitty
I’m guessing this is only for the U.K.? Or is it just the Western culture in general?
May 29, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Lady Li
Woops, sorry, Nina!!
May 29, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Ruzu-tan
Interesting! I had no idea other people even recognised that us western gals are out there! This is a really interesting piece of journalism and I’m looking forward to hearing more about it.
Isn’t that Niji in the picture?
xxx
May 30, 2009 at 1:57 am
Lady Li
By the way, Koneko – Hibiscgyaru isn’t a Gyarusa, it’s a Nagosa…..
May 30, 2009 at 2:18 am
Amanikitty
Gyarusa is the -broad- term for all circles. Then sometimes there’s a split between “nago” and “ive”/event groups. Some circles are made for one or the other, or sometimes a circle will serve as both.
Something you should’ve known speaking that you are in a circle, am I right?
May 30, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Koneko
@LadyLi:
telling me to go and learn my style etc is the funniest thing ive heard since becoming gal. You know NOTHING about gyaru; the gals in shibuya DO dress manba all the time, but they are becoming “extinct” you could say, so if you’re basing that “fact” on your recent trip to Japan, then you obviously don’t pay attention to anything.
@Nina:
you’re wasting your time trying to get ajny “information” from LadyLi. I would be more than happy to help out with the article PROPERLY
@LadyLi:
A Nagosa is one of the TWO TYPES OF GYARUSA. Ivesa and Nagosa are the types. HIB can’t help it if Red Neko is a Curapposa. Stop trying to start stuff girl, its pathetic.
May 30, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Shaka
Lady Li
you know nothing
ganguro doesnt exist anymore
if you had any gyaru friends you would know that
check your facts.
May 30, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Satomi
I would like say how LadyLi is the correct. Ganguro is still happen in Japan.
When LadyLi was in Japan we say to her, Galcircle is event でも Nagocircle is no event. In Shibuya we are informal how we label sometime. Koneko is correct is say her circle is Galcircle でも LadyLi has learnt from Japan gal, so get confused when Nagocircle is say Galcircle. Here Galcircle is slang for Ivecircle. Shibuya gal do not often say Ivecircle so even they get confuse at sometime.
May 30, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Niijii
@ ladyli.
listen girl im not gonna get all bitchin but she really does know what she is talking about..it might do u some good to listen to what shes saying xD
Manba is a dying breed..
i talk to many gals on Mixi from Japan and there are im sure fewer than 10 manba left in Japan.
just because uve been to Japan dsnt mean u know everything….
but seriously i dnt think someone from ur gal-sa should be saying anything negative about hibisgyaru.
if i remember , i had to tell u once and not that long ago on msn that Manba (you still called it ganguro existed and wasnt just bound to the 90′s) so dnt act all elitest now that u know a little more about it.
Koneko has regular contact with gals and circles from Japan . so she is very well informed about gal style..uve what? known about gal for maybe 6 months im guessing? ..less?
i dnt want there to be any hostillity between any people who like the gyaru style in the UK ….so please stop being so deffensive.
im happy to give anyone any information that they want to know about^^
and trust me I know what im talking about.:)
June 1, 2009 at 11:45 am
Steph
hey everyone, I would just like to say that I actually agree with LadyLi. To me she is more experienced. Koneko and Niiji might have contacts on ‘Mixi’ but LadyLi actually hung out with Japanese Galsas in Shibuya. I have researched a bit about the things you are all saying in this argument and it turns out that LadyLi is actually right – apart from the ‘gyarusa’/'nagosa’ thing, but Satomii seems to have explained this. I don’t want to be involved in the argument because i’m not a ‘keyboard warrior’ lol. But i just wanted everyone to know the facts.
June 1, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Masahiro
I am shocked to see such bad knowlege of gal in the uk. It is bad that so many of you are thinking you are correct when your wrong. maybe you all can learn from this a little more about gal. I have to agree with lady li that ganguro is in fact still here but changed with time. that niji says there is less that 10 manba left in Japan is hilarious, you say you tried to teach lady li a while ago? Maybe she should teach you. please dont try to teach any other person! for Koneko, i have a manba friend and she doesnt look like that everyday. maybe the uk is making its own gal rules and style, so if you are then i might be wrong. but if you are following japanese gal style then most of you are far off it. i think that this report should not be done, i dont think the western world is ready for gal just yet. it seems more like a competition on who knows more rather than a fun fashion lifestyle.
June 30, 2009 at 7:23 am
Koneko
For people that have only just seen this article/come to this article from the Manba videos, please note that this is now an old discussion, and the problems following have been partially resolved, so it would be great if you left feedback on our videos/interviews!
July 1, 2009 at 6:16 am
Kenji
It’s ironic that the whole gyaru movement started because Japanese girls wanted to look more western. Yamamba was just an extreme form of this, for gyaru who took it all one step further, wanting to differentiate themselves from other gyaru.
I remember seeing them squatting in the Japanese way on Centre Gai in Shibuya about 6 years ago, but they were the last of a dieing breed of a craze that lasted no more than a couple of years. The para para dancing style is also extremely rare, once practised 15 years ago by high school students infront of their reflections in shop windows and now immortilized by dance video games played by drunken salary men.
I still can’t believe this a craze that has been dead and gone for years has now been picked up by British youth!
July 2, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Koneko
@Kenji:
6 years ago would be…2003, so that would have been old school Yamanba time, just before the big 2004 boom of Manba.
Since then, there have been hundreds of girls doing this style, and it is only NOW that fewer and fewer girls practise the style.
ParaPara is not rare, DVDS are brought out all the time!
:\
July 31, 2009 at 11:02 am
SG Travel
wow, it’s interesting so many people come too comment on just this one article. In Singapore, there isn’t much about trend. Mostly people are dressing up nice, but in simple, safe way…. There are some exceptions, but those are rare
August 4, 2009 at 1:39 am
laila
I like the para para on “High School Teacher”, it looks like so much fun
http://japansugoi.com/wordpress/para-para-dance-videos/
August 7, 2009 at 6:43 am
Bo to
I find it very interesting that the style is considered a ‘rebelion’ against traditional modes of dress. The dress sense might appear to go ‘against the grain’, but is it not expressing the same thing as their parents’ dress sense?
Why did upper classes want to appear pale (this used to be a European ambition also, until the 70′s)? It was to ‘show off’ that they didn’t have to work, that they spent all their time indoors rather than working in fields (also the reason for long finger nails etc). In a modern context, this style implies the same: you don’t have to work, you can afford to dress in a manner that limits your choice of jobs, you can shop all day.