JAPAN EXPO 2009

How many visitors we had to Japan Expo 09.
This is not an official report, but local free paper METRO has reported the number of visitors as 164,000.
The number is record high, and played an incomparable role in attracting guests among the other similar events.

Noteworthy is that this number is total man-days number. If someone visit it four days, the number is 4. Keeping the booth, I have noticed that many people came repeatedly through four days. There are so many big fans..

Then, why do they like Japan so much? Why did only Japan Expo attract people in this depression?

France is a country, where legal protection is complete for permanent position of workers. Working hours are only 36 hours and they have strict restriction on overtime work. There is no service work after working hours as in Japan. The conditions of nursing care and child rearing are assured incomparably better than in Japan.

This is an enviable thing, but it has also the other side of the coin. The liability of businesses are greater here, and the hollowing was accelerated. Main business were gone to the East Europe as Poland and Turkey and proportion of employed people to the population are smaller.

Condition of permanent worker are secured, but young people and foreign workers (immigrants) suffer repercussion. Answering to the questionnaire from us, many filled the profession space as unemployed.

One of my friends, a capable women at the age of 30, who are good at English and proficient at Power Point, never had a chance to be employed formally after her school. She is no exception. She could have only temporary work, and could not have authentic career. I have learned that many young people become conscious of this contradiction.

Many among those who like Japan are finding an impasse in French society. Many visit Japan Expo, spend a day playing costume and hanging around. Many come before it opens and are staying after it. For a while JAPAN accepts them so tenderly.

Of course they don’t know the real Japan. Answering to our questionnaire 49 among 50 said “I want to go to Japan,” but only one said “I have been in Japan.”
They form a imaginary country Japan on the base of the knowledge they have got from mangas and animes.

In this respect Japan Expo has a face of a festival of the young people who are suffering from the repercussion. That is why it attract more visitors in the depression.

miyavi cosplayer

This girl in the photo is my top choice among costume players I have seen here this year. She is playing the costume of Miyavi..

miyavi 2008

Miyavi is a legendary guitarist, whose live show caused audience to faints a year ago. He is enjoying high popularity here in France.

She said she too was a big fan of Miyavi. She had finished herself very well in every detail..

A carbon copy of Miyavi!

JAPAN EXPO BOOTH 2009

Tokyo Kawaii★SHOP in Japan Expo 09 had a sale of Hime-kei decoration articles, worked out by Hearty&Hearty -hina in Fukuoka.

Hime-deco of pink furifuri is Japanese specialty but it supposedly originated from French court culture. I have interested in the way how French visitors would accept it.

Actually on the table it attracted visitors. They stopped curiously and came closer to look at it positively. They showed interest, trying opening and closing pochettes or compacts, but hardly opened the purse. Maybe the prices are a little higher than their budget.

The first purchase was by German trio, who drew in the shop and bought them without delay.

“Germans are openhanded. French test articles carefully but don’t buy them.” said a Chinese keeper of next booth.

Hina

I have visited Design Festa opened in Tokyo Big Site.

Design Festa is an event, where artists in the world present, exhibit and sell their original works in free style. It takes place two times a year, and this is the 29th holding. There are no screening, and everybody can present his work, if it is his original one.

It has, besides more than 2000 booth area, a live stage, show spaces, a mini theater space (performed in dark area) and restaurant area, and they were all busily run.

Among them a markedly busy one was Hearty&Hearty, which presented Hime-kei (casual princes fashion) furniture and articles.

Mrs. Hina, its organizer, was there with her husband from Fukuoka. She spends all her time, producing hime-kei commodities to sell them on the Internet..

She presents her works in English as well on her blog – a diary on the works of Hine-kei furniture and goods -
She is interviewed by local TVs. Once a bag worked by her was successfully bid at 400 thousand yen through an online auction.

“Hime-kei is not a fashion,” she says, “but a women’s instinct.”
She told me her dream, that she will decorate hotel rooms and salons in brilliant pink some day

A rococo styled “hime-kei” – born in France, and nurtured in Japan. We will exhibit hime-kei commodities in Japan Expo in Paris this year to confirm the reaction of French youth.

Japan Pop Culture Festival

Japan Pop Culture Festival will take place at Maison de la culture du Japon a Paris (Japan Culture House in Paris),

Japan Culture House in Paris has opened in 1997 with 6 floors above ground, and 5 underground, to constantly introduce Japanese culture covering tea ceremony, flower arrangement, calligraphy, incense burning, martial arts, game of go, Japanese chess etc.
It is the first time for Japanese Foreign Ministry to host an event of animation or fashion overseas. Its simultaneous holding with Japan Expo is to take advantage of the perfect chance when many people interested in Japan will gather. From Japan also “Kawaii ambassador” will be sent.

The general producer of this enterprise is Takamasa Sakurai, who has made speech on the animation culture in 15 cities of 11 countries over the world. His story of his personal experience is no less amusing to hear than that of any professional performer.
And Mr. Sakurai authored a book, named “animation culture diplomacy” and on the jacket are read: “The world loves Japan so much!”.

I have read it through.
It is a book you can read joyfully as if you heard his voice. “In France and Spain girls said they would like to be Japanese in relation with fashion.” His experience doubles also mine.
“
Also his analysis is steady enough.
Why there are so many Japan fans? Sakurai, based on the process of the widespread of Japanese animation in the world, lays out as follows.

- It was the beginning of 1970th years, when the Japanese animation began going abroad in abundance. The growth of TV stations in these days undoubtedly caused them flowing out. For a new TV station it is indispensable to secure TV programs.

- New programs for a new TV station do not come out easily like a magic performance. Latecomer always suffer from shortage of personnel and budget.

- For these stations there were a perfectly suitable resource – namely, animation.
- An animation film scarcely treats current affairs and are never go out of date. Besides, characters in it generally stateless as in “Heidi, girl of the Alps”, “UFO Robo Grendizer”, “Candy Candy” and so on, and in many cases the films themselves are based on foreign origin.

As a result many watchers were not aware even of the origin of the film. So naturally the Japanese anime have penetrated into the world.

I have heard that a foreign student, insisting that an animation film was from Japan, experienced bulling in France.
- Young people, who brought up by animation has possibility to keep favoring Japan. The number of these young people who has similar sentiment toward Japan will be growing in the future.

In this context the time has come when Japanese Government raises straightforward pop cultures covering animation and fashion.

I recommend you read this book.

BRUTUS

I have read “Gals save Japan!?” in a special edition of the magazine “BRUTUS”, introduced in Cool Japan Blog.

This is a special topic of the magazine that ordinary carries topics as:
* Science of living space 2009 “Small but lavish house.”
* Buddha statues “It’s amusing and cool”
* Special mountain topic “A dialogue with nature and yourself in wood”

Now gals are bringing forth a big movement in our society. Some gals are of an economic effect of 10 billion yen, and some are focus of attention from abroad. Japanese big businesses pay attention on the movement of gal generation. This edition “Gals save Japan” presents and analysis the real aspect of gals, breaking your preconceived notion about them. Make out the possibility of gals to save Japan.

A 10 billion yen gal Tsubasa Matsuwaka;
Eri Momoka, as an Agemo, so a boss;
Buritonii Hamada, manga-ist;

The magazine introduces all celebrity gals from Tokyo University gals to Lolita gals.

Koakuma ageha

Now is the time, when not a success experience nor a fiasco experience are of any use. and you cannot break through the present situation without a novel idea. In the monkey society, the youngest female monkey before others try to wash potato in the stream to eat.
In our society it may be young gals, who try first.

Maybe Mr. Atsushi Miura wants to say that aged people can do nothing new, so rest on gals in the future.

It is laudable for him an aged man to estimate gals, but his inexperience to treat gals is regrettable.

What is a gal at all?

It seems to me, that the project of the topic went without defining the word.
In fashion businees circle the word is understood in relation with the culture of Shibuya and 109, but BRUTUS stand at a loose definition of the word as “an active girls, who can create something new”.
As a result the gals in the context covers from Gothic& Lolita to “Ashiya kai” in Kansai.

Regrettably each author speaks different gals in their article.
Among those stories the column of Kenro Hayamizu is summarized as:
The special remembrance edition of Ai Isjima of the magazine “Koakuma ageha” is a perfect sketch of the 3rd generation of gals. Belonging to the last generation of “Yankee” Ai Iijima is an elder sister of the generation of ko-gals. Her half life is a double of the imagined scenery of Ayumi Hamazaki, the “guru of ko-gals”.
Her traumatic lyrics is just what made teenage girls support her.
What is common in the 3rd generation of AGE gals as Ai Iijima and Ayumi Hamazaki is its brilliant aspect and darkness behind it. They did suppress nothing.

The antipode of the gal is Yuri Ebihara from CanCam, with an ideology of popularity in unspecified majority. The difference is between the boy’s glace and the marriageability.

On the other hand a gal, as Eri Momoka or Tsubasa Masuwaka gets married at the age of 20 or so and gives birth. Gals criticize popularity because they reject to be arrested by the consuming society.

“Koakuma ageha” is said to be the textbook for “Kyaba Jo”. Her work is not for deluxe spending but as a final choice for her independent living. It is a strategy to live in the long lasting depression since 90th years.

“Ever since I was born Japan has been like this, and I don’t understand the depression.”
This phrase, printed on the front cover of the magazine “Koakuma ageha” (March, 2009) may be a declaration to live brilliantly in society accepting the given ground, not making pretext of it..
A new generation was born when Japan lost its status of first rank economical power, followed by a long depression.

This must be an opinion of an author, who knows very well the ground of the present gals.

Chibi Japan Expo in Marseille

A reporter’s article on Chibi Japan Expo in Marseille appeared in news paper Senken Shinbun (2nd, Apr.)

The following extract is the second half of the third article of a series “Real Japan is cool” titled “It’s now! Make a sale!”

“Kawaii!” cried grown people, too.

- “Japan Expo in Paris” organized by SEFA is an event of Japanese manga, animation and sub cultural goods gathered together in a site. Recently it shows remarkable growing. In the last September the event accepted 134,467 visitors, while three years ago the number of visitors was 41,000.
SEFA has held Chibi Japan Expo responding to the furor, besides the regular one in Paris. Makoto. Kurita, only participant from Japan, did flourishing business with socks and other goods with ornaments of characters.

- Mr. Kurita considers: “Kawaii is a new value for Western countries where an adult must be adult like. They will be relaxed when permitted to be kawaii. and this relaxation might evolve to an affinity with Japan.”
- He says “I want to market more Japan abroad.” in connection with his participation to the event this time. Last year he had chance to see the furor there. But at the time he was irritated at the fact, that most vendors of Japanese commodities were foreigners.

- Next time Japan Expo will have 10th presentation. Considering the growing number of women visitors, fashion related presentation will be bolstered up. Mr. Kurita, too, will take a part in it. He is animated: “I will prepare interesting commodities, even if it may not be in a big scale.”
In the article the phrase “Kurita, only participant from Japan” is not correct. It must be “Kurita, only direct participant from Japan”, because some Japanese residents in Marseille had booths besides me. But it is correct that many Chinese and Koreans were selling there under the name of Japan.
What a waste of chance, overlooking such a fever!

*(Photo) Two in kimono is French girls. Every day they visited there in this costume.

Chibi Japan Expo in Marseille 2008

I have been in France for two weeks during and after Chibi Japan Expo Sud.
Though I had planed to send timely information to Apalog readers, I couldn’t find time until now, for various affairs, regrettably, have stop me doing it, and my mind didn’t have room for it.

I am now making this text in TGV, or French super express train.
(The entire picture of Chibi Japan Expo in Marseille is available in Apparel-web, to which I have contributed it.)

Chibi Japan Expo took place from 20th to 22nd Feb for the first time in Marseille. Though the number of visitors are relatively small in Friday the first day, in Saturday and Sunday we had more visitors than expected. In total we had about 30 thousand visitors (quick estimation).
SEFA considers the project successful. (However, it has not decided yet if it will have this event next year in Marseille.)

In these circumstances our booth TOKYO KAWAII SHOP enjoyed high popularity. One of the reason may be its name, straightforward and easily acceptable for French.

On the wall were Tokyo street snaps by Rei Shito, and on the shelves are many variety and fashion goods borrowed from many cooperation businesses. The BGM was X-JAPAN.

The kind of articles that are actually sold in Sibuya or Harajuku always attracted many people. Staffs were even asked to stand together for visitor’s pictures, and were asked the e-mail address. So fervent was the popularity of Japan.

There were many booths presented by Japanese living there and by Chinese and Koreans but it was only us, who come direct from Japan. That’s why the attention of visitors were focused on us.

This time we made presentation in Chibi Japan Expo with plural purposes.
- To intensify connection with the company SEFA;
- To grasp the local market;
- To collect personal information such as email addresses etc.
We intended to try ourselves to know real conditions.

We could harvest many fruits, thanks to the assistances of more people than we expected before. Among the fruits the most valuable are
The confirmation of effective connection with SEFA was the most valuable fruit among others.
The president of SEFA permitted us use the title “Partner of SEFA in Japan”.

But there are many points to think over, too.
For instance, expensive goods were hardly sold, so we couldn’t make profit proportionally to the number of visitors. They often beat down the prices and didn’t estimate the value of quality articles. During the bargaining shoppers actually showed us their money bags, and we found that even office workers had no more than a 20 EUR bank note. We learned that they buy quality articles with credit card or check. (Maybe because of crime prevention.)

We have to get over several hurdles to make business out of the fever of COOL JAPAN.

French TVA (Tax on the added value) is as high as 19.6%.
In addition you have to take into consideration European Safety Standard called CE (Conformite Europeenne). Its application to toys, home appliances and medical instruments are compulsory, and production and sales of these articles without CF-mark are prohibited. The related judgments are up to French authorities.
For instance, a gum eraser, a kind of stationery goods, can be
recognized as a toy, when it is designed KAWAII-like, and CE mark is required. In the case of breach its importer is punished, so often importers are not willing to be agents.
An event like Expo is exceptional, but in a long term business you can’t sell everything you like, – that is what I learned this time.

What is our advantage?
Our greatest harvest is that we could get consumers’ information. We could assess what is marketable and what is not – what is customers’ preference.

In total the web will be a big forth.
Now we are talking about our plan – on the basis of our collected email addresses, we will launch a membership based web shop (to purchase on behalf of them) of Japanese articles for French customers.
If we do what everybody can do, we will be imitated. We need to build up our own knowhow strenuously..

As the TGV run faster, my resolution to make our business successful is getting stronger.

Jean-Francois DUFOUR, Kurita

Now I am in Marseille.
Yesterday I had a first meeting with the representatives of SEFA. They are Jean-Francois DUFOUR, Thomas SIRDEY and Sandrine DUFOUR.

Thomas SIRDEY, Sandrine DUFOUR and Kurita

Today the real part of the Chibi Japan Expo is beginning.
Soon “Tokyo Kawaii Shop will open.

Kurita, Chigira, Cibot

Sae CIBOT of Societe d’Exploitation des Festivals Asiatique (SEFA), the company which organizes Japan Expo, has visited our office. CHIGIRA, head of the company Apparel Web, and WADA, besides me, welcomed her.

Hitherto Sae Cibot was a coordinator to promulgate Japanese pop culture in France. She worked in DELCOURT, special publishing firms of Japanese mangas, and has concerned herself in the French translation of the manga “NANA”.

She has engaged in the consulting of the TF1 Video and Les Films du Paradoxe in the imaging field. What’s more, she has her own label “soundicious” and had a hand in the production of MUCC.
Appreciated her multifaceted career, she has join the company SEFA in charge of Japanese-related fields.

On Chibi Japan Expo in Marseille:

Once in Southern France were manga events with the name of “Cartoonist”. The scaling up of Japan Expo in Paris influenced the Southern France and the voices were boiled over in the network to invite a similar event there, and Chibi Japan Expo was projected.

The advance tickets of this event are sold (at the time of two months ago) three times as much as those of the Chibi Japan Expo which took place in Paris last autumn. (Chibi Japan Expo in Paris gathered 23,000 visitors in three days.)

And more women and teenagers are seen, she said, among visitors to Chibi Japan Expo than those to the original Japan Expo. And kawaii things are well sold, such as headgears with rabbit ears, accessories, colored tights, sunglasses, belts, T-shirts and so on.
So, SEFA wants to prepare, besides Gothic-Lolita things, also STREET things and the like. For music it wants to have also others besides Visual-Kei.

A problem is that insufficiency of the authentic articles from Japan causes a flourish of fake articles. It hopes many participation of Japanese businesses exclude fake articles.
SERA expects there will be a booth, which will sell articles of Japanese businesses put together.

It is concluded, that we Cool Japan Expo have to help SEFA, asking a help of CHIGIRA’s Apparel Web.

It is in our prospect, that we will sell articles on behalf of the businesses, which confided them to us, performing on-the-spot promotions and researches. And after the event we will feedback to them reports of sales reactions and general on-the-spot reports.

We will send you more information from now on. We welcome your participation.

Kazuaki FUJITA, Valerie CONCHATRE

I introduce you a nice couple.

I had invited them to my office in Nishikicho, Kanda for the NHK program “Tokyo kawaii TV”.

Fujita is a young boss of a company Public Art, inc., and have an atelier in Higashinippori, Tokyo. His “Casper John” in Laforet Harajuku are proposing clothes and accessories suitable to the new age, making fashion inspired from music and subculture. He often had appeared on the front page of a magazine KERA, when he was futurizing Gothic-Lolita taste.

Valerie is a French Japan-mania woman, who loves subcultures as music and fashion, and is a walking encyclopedia of manga and music. She was working as a member of staff in the Japan Expo 2007.

And when Fujita was in Paris preparing for his collection in Laforet Harajuku, they had a fortunate encounter in the site of Japan Expo.
I had chance to get several new facts from Valerie.

For instance, long before the start of the Japan Expo before 9 years, there had been many small events of manga lovers in Paris since more than 20 years ago..

Japan Expo itself had begun as a small event with 3 thousand or so visitors. It grew year after year, taking in various subcultures other than mangas, and in 2008 it attained a size of more than 130 visitors as one of the greatest events in Europe.

France is the place, where the number of manga readers is the second largest in the world. Yong persons’ interests in Japan are stretching out from manga to animation, fashion and music. Pumping water up from this stream, they have made flower the Cool Japan on this fecund land.

The event guest of Laforet Harajuku in 2007 was Nana Kitade.
To the question who should be for the event in 2008, Valerie recommended Miyavi….
At this time most of the Japanese staff didn’t know Miyavi. But Fujita strongly supported her to recommend Miyabi, and resulted in that big success.
On Japanese visual-kei bands it may be a good idea to ask opinion from French. .

After one year from that time, in July 2008 these two persons were sitting side by side at a booth in Laforet Harjuku. They will pass the Christmas time in Paris and as soon as the documents of both countries will be ready, they will be get married.

Hujita – the cutting edge of Japanese fashion, and Valerie – a missionary of Japanese subculture. This nice couple will play a big role in the coming events of Cool Japan Expo.

I hope that our good relations will be kept long, including NHK “Kawaii Japan.”

Dream of Sanuki 2008 in Paris

I received an email from Ms. Mie Ozaki, who is teaching French in Kagawa College.

Shuddering in the recent cold wave I am preparing for the next year presentation. A performance of an avant-garde calligraphy and a presentation of Japanese drums are in perspective.
I am fumbling my way this time as I was last time. I will send you a project paper as soon as I finish it.

Ms. Ozaki is one I was acquainted with in the last Japan Expo in Paris.

At the time she set up a booth named “Dream of Sanuki 2008” and sold half cooked Sanuki Udon (wheat noodle), Ajiseki stone a special product of Kagawa Prefecture, japanwares, handmade Japanese paper, mizuhiki, kites, traditional art works as calligraphy and works of artists. (On a big screen in the site a film “UDON” was presented first time in Europe.).
It was at a Udon shop in Paris, she dropped in as a French language trainee, that she had an idea to set up an Udon booth in Japan Expo. Seeing people standing in a queue for udon for 1400 yen a bowl she strongly resolved to present a genuine Sanuki Udon on the occasion.

However, in order to realize that idea it will cost several million yen including the travel expense. With no money, nor connection she kicked of from zero.

She has tried to catch every possible chance to find out sponsors, But mostly she was neglected and routinely rejected
Many people, however, cheer her up, admiring her planning and enthusiasm, saying “I will help you when you will be in a pinch.” but few people have actually fund her. Rejection, however, made her work harder. She talked to everybody about her dream of Sanuki, mailed to distant acquaintances and wrote essays on news papers.

As a result of her exertion she succeeded at getting the backups of Tourist Association of Shikoku District Transport Bureau of MLIT, Kagawa Prefecture, Tourist Association of Kagawa Prefecture, NHK Kochi Broadcast Station, Japanese Embassy in France, JETRO Kagawa and Kagawa Association of Corporate.,
Besides, Fuji TV, the holder of copyright of the film UDON, permitted her present it at rock-bottom price.

And she went to France with two volunteers carrying 200 kg of specialty products and art works of Kagawa Prefecture to booths in the site.

The Japanese Embassy in France registered the “Dream of Sanuki 2008 in Paris” as a memorial project of Japan-France 200th anniversary, and invited it to the eve party of Japan Expo in the embassy residence.

The booth enjoyed large sales of Marugame fans, half cooked Udon, Japanese facecloths and five toed socks, those with different looks and accessible prices. Furthermore, Japanese silk zoris, sanuki lanterns, dyed objects of Sanuki, ink brush paintings, fabric jewel bags, leather craft works, kites and roof tiles
attracted visitors, for there was no other booth exhibiting and vending Japanese art works.

A fervent desire of a woman has moved others and realized “Dream of Sanuki.”
A really required thing is not money, but an adamant enthusiasm and the network which supports it, that’s all.
Her words are so heavy because nobody but those who accomplished something can utter.

Day by day it is getting more peculiar the autumn colors of Maruyama Castle comfortable to my eyes. Thank you for all your trouble. Let us keep our emotional ties!
By the way, I am going to apply to the Tourism Ministry for a subsidy as a cooperating body with its “Yokoso Japan” campaign, and planning a tourist questionnaire on the site.
And I will rent a booth and a stage there, and will prepare some sales incentive. How do you think about it. I would be very glad if you give me an advice.

Mie Ozaki

Power of Ms. Ozaki shows no sign of weakening.
She will appear in Paris, with many cooperation and backings also in the coming year.

“Dream of Sanuku 2009 in Paris” is already beginning.

Pei Ling, Matsuyama

I visited the company Enchantement in Osaka, a company which does business for Japan-France cultural exchange with manga as an axis.

Its company mission is to “enchant world people and contribute to the happiness and development of the human being”. It records 9 times in the participation in the Japan Expo and other manga-related events in France with vending booths.

The boss of this company, Hidetoshi Matsuyama, was once employed in a game business, but after that he entered again into the postgraduate course of Kansai University to study manga culture. His master’s thesis was “The mechanism how Japanese manga enchants different culture societies – with France as an example.”

In conversation with Mr. Matsuyama I sheared many points in the opinions with him.

For instance:
- The origin of the phenomenon Cool Japan is manga and animation. In France the generation that grew with manga and animation since 1980, have attained the adult ages now.
This generation that was acquainted with Japan through manga and animation and came to yearn for it, now exert traction on Cool Japan.

- But no Japanese has positively contributed to this Cool Japan phenomenon. Japanese pays little attention to this intense look from abroad. Rather, many non-Japanese are getting their hands on it, and phonies start to appear.
It’s the time now Japanese have to send information overseas.

- The word “Japanese subculture” probably remind you male “otaku”. But. that comes from mass communication bias. There are many female “otaku”.
Among visitors to the Japan Expo in France the men to women ratio was half to half. They are fashionable, and consuming as well.
Also in Japan have to be a event in which ordinary women can participate, and it certainly possible.

According to him, a manga “Hikaru’s go-play” effect on the boom of a game of go in France now. Mr. Matsuyama himself have learned go from a French. More people devoted themselves in judo and karate in France than in Japan. Even such an inversion phenomenon are taking place.

His wife Mrs. Pei Ling comes from Taiwan. She was working as a Chinese-English interpreter in courthouse, but now she is helping him in his business.
Popularity of Japan in Taiwan is something, too. For instance in a bookstore in Taiwan a half of the shelves are occupied by Japanese books, and make you cry where it is here.

We, three, sat at a table in some maid cafe in American Village. I could enjoy there authentic dish, different from that of a maid cafe in Akihabara.