Harajuku girls co-opted: everyone imposes their own interpretation on the so-called Harajuku girls. Despite their recent rise to fame, who are the real girls behind the Hollywood obsession?

Japan, Inc., Summer, 2005 by Emily Kubo

Japanese pop culture has always commanded a cultish following--its anime/manga, video games, Pokemon, and Hello Kitty are enjoyed all over the world. But now, Americans have also discovered something else that intrigues them--the Harajuku girls.

The Harajuku girls, done up in bizarre outfits and makeup, hang out in Tokyo's fashionable Harajuku district. Previously little known outside of Japan, they rose to fame when the lead singer of Ska/punk band "No Doubt," Gwen Stefani, featured them in her recent solo debut album: Love. Angel. Music. Baby. A fashion icon who is often seen in kooky outfits, trademark platinum blond hair and engine-red lipstick, Stefani claims these adolescent girls as the muses for her entire album, as well as for her own fashion line, L.A.M.B. The singer's video from her first single "What Ya Waiting For?" is shot with a distinct Japanesy flair, supplemented by four black-liquid eye-lined, pig-tailed, and cherry-lipped "Harajuku girls" prancing around in clothes by Vivian Westwood. In a recent Marie Claire interview, Stefani says the idea of using Japanese girls as backup dancers came to her in a dream. These so-called Harajuku girls appear throughout the album, even in songs that have no apparent relation to them. The album also includes a song titled in the girls' honor, in which Stefani professes, "Harajuku girls, you got the wicked style--I like the way that you are--I am your biggest fan, oh."

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As if video appearances were not enough, Stefani also has Harajuku girls trailing after her for appearances in promotional and red carpet events. During interviews, the entourage sit behind the singer with studied disaffection, and alter their facial expressions and shift around periodically, although always seemingly on cue. When asked about them during an interview on MTV, she replied. "Can you even see them? I mean, are they even there?" claiming they are a figment of her imagination. Rumor has it that Stefani's posse are under contractual obligation to converse only in Japanese in public, thus adding to their foreign allure, although in real life they are plain-Jane American girls who speak perfect English.

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Bystanders argue vigorously on Internet message boards whether Stefani's adoration of the girls is super cool or an atrocious act of cultural hijacking. Although some love the concept, others feel that the singer is exploiting a subculture by packaging the girls a la Hollywood and marketing them to the mainstream. In fact, various web sites/blogs have sprung up that dedicate themselves to the discussion of these four faux harajuku girls, named Angel, Love, Music, and Baby after her album title. In one blog, the author has taken up this controversy as a cause by selling FTG4 ("Free the Gwenihana Four") T-shirts and mugs in order to rescue "the pseudo harajuku girls" from "serving an unspecified term in the custody of pop singer Gwen Stefani." "For freedom!" the blogger chants.

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Although such websites are obviously tongue-and-cheek (surely the girls are well-paid for their odd job), there is no doubt that Stefani's new album and subsequent publicity stunts have pushed the previously obscure Harajuku fashion into the forefront of American pop culture. When asked about this recent trend, Rachel Dodes, a 27-year-old journalist and a New York native says: "Harajuku girls? They are so hot here! I think a gaggle of Japanese girls is the next Louis Vuitton handbag--the ultimate accessory." Harajuku girls, like sushi restaurants, have become another cool Japanese cultural export and yet another addition to the image of 'Japan Cool'. But who are the real Harajuku girls, the true girls that inspired an American pop singer to exalt them to the point of obsession?

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Harajuku as a Fashion Mecca

Before the Olympic Games came to Tokyo, Harajuku was little more than a quiet residential neighborhood, only just recovered from the destruction of World War II. It came into its own, however, in 1964, after the government converted a stretch along Omotesando into an Olympic Village for the athletes. The games brought a slew of foreign visitors, which stamped the once-sleepy town with a cool, modern image. Harajuku remains THE district of fashion.

Although the word Harajuku has only spelled fashion for Westerners in recent years, it has, in fact, been a trendsetter for over 30 years.

In the 1970s, fad cultures here exuberated a more rebellious streak. The original place of congregation was inside Harajuku's Yoyogi Park, where up until the early 80s hip youngsters called the Takenozoku on Sundays engaged in such delinquent behaviors as smoking cigarettes, greasing their hair, and dancing. They symbolized youth decadence and rebellion (even documented by an NHK program). In the mid-1980s, however, dancing, cigarette-touting youngsters gave way to the "bando-zoku," amateur bands who gathered to showcase their talent. Yoyogi Park became an expo of street bands from all over the country and was the birthplace of some of the most popular bands in Japan.