Modern-day crones?
On my return from Matsue, I alighted from the omnibus and observed a young woman – her back turned – with a shock of hot pink hair and an array of ragged, colourful layers waiting at the bus-stop. I hovered, fussing with my suitcase and brushing down my black Zara jodhpurs, sensing eccentric style and curious make-up, and hoping that she would turn around so I could admire her sartorial wares front-on. However, when she finally spun about I was gob-smacked: her face was painted with thick chocolate paint, her eyes were encircled with white-glowing haloes and down her nose was a long silver lick of paint. All rather startling, but I had to remain composed and wheeled my suitcase forth without a twitch.
From my observations along Hondori Arcade, I knew that this fashion trend was somehow related to the burnt-to-a-crisp-sausage tan and Hawaiian-inspired clothes of the ganguro, where bronze skin, white lipstick, bright florals and crazy blonde hair are prized above all. But the girl with hot pink hair was a step further than that. Quite a leap-frog away, actually.
And so I undertook some cyber sleuthing and discovered that said girl was of the yamanba fashion. Curiously, despite its day-glo colours, yamanba has a dark history. The name of this style descends from yama-uba, the word for "mountain crone", an infamous character who scared the daylights out of little kidlets in Japanese folklore. Apparently, the traditional yama-uba has a shock of white-gold hair; the same crowning glory of most yamanba gals. The fashion’s peculiar penchant for the white line painted down the chocolate brown nose also renders yamanba gals' faces skeletal and frightening. In a way, this luridly-coloured but spookily made-up fashion is like the Western goth – but amusingly in reverse! Brown, charcoaled facepaint, instead of white; white-glittery panda-eyes, instead of kohl-smudged; and many-hued clothes of unspeakable fluorescence instead of sombre blacks, greys and velvety shades. But the origins of yamanba are that of fear, death and good ol’ horror – a very gothic twist!
From my observations along Hondori Arcade, I knew that this fashion trend was somehow related to the burnt-to-a-crisp-sausage tan and Hawaiian-inspired clothes of the ganguro, where bronze skin, white lipstick, bright florals and crazy blonde hair are prized above all. But the girl with hot pink hair was a step further than that. Quite a leap-frog away, actually.
And so I undertook some cyber sleuthing and discovered that said girl was of the yamanba fashion. Curiously, despite its day-glo colours, yamanba has a dark history. The name of this style descends from yama-uba, the word for "mountain crone", an infamous character who scared the daylights out of little kidlets in Japanese folklore. Apparently, the traditional yama-uba has a shock of white-gold hair; the same crowning glory of most yamanba gals. The fashion’s peculiar penchant for the white line painted down the chocolate brown nose also renders yamanba gals' faces skeletal and frightening. In a way, this luridly-coloured but spookily made-up fashion is like the Western goth – but amusingly in reverse! Brown, charcoaled facepaint, instead of white; white-glittery panda-eyes, instead of kohl-smudged; and many-hued clothes of unspeakable fluorescence instead of sombre blacks, greys and velvety shades. But the origins of yamanba are that of fear, death and good ol’ horror – a very gothic twist!
posted by Miss Ember at 3:08 am
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