In case you haven’t noticed, Halloween is kind of a big deal here in Japan. Even more so than America, which I was surprised to discover, because I figured that Americans are more likely to get excited over a holiday that promotes eating excessive amounts of candy and dressing up in culturally insensitive costumes. From the moment I first arrived in Japan in early September, I immediately took notice of the fact that there were Halloween decorations, costumes and knick-knacks being sold at almost every store I came across. At one point I even walked by a love hotel, which for some godforsaken reason had a giant inflatable gate in front of its normal entrance that just said ‘HAPPY HALLOWEEN” across it with a smiling pumpkin. Clearly, the Japanese takes Halloween very seriously.
The Halloween festivities here are aplenty, but the biggest of them all takes place in the streets of Shibuya, where crowds of people in costumes roam the streets. I can’t imagine that most of these people are sober, but apparently everyone goes, from your expected drunk college kids to mothers pushing their babies around in strollers; and the costumes are good.
But just like anywhere else, there are two types of people on Halloween: the ones who go all out and the ones who don’t. However, Japanese costumes are bound to be different from what I would see in America, because of the differences in popular culture. Back home, a lot of girls are satisfied with throwing on a pair of cat ears (this is by no means me shaming them – I’ve done it before. You’ve probably done it before.) Here, I couldn’t even find a single pair of normal cat ears at my local Don Quijote, which stocks up with a variety of Halloween costumes and accessories for relatively low prices. While I was there, I took a note of the Halloween costumes that stood out to me most (in both good and bad ways). So if you still don’t know what the hell to be for Halloween, maybe these options will give you some inspiration.
1. “Ribbon Miko Girl” or the Japanese Equivalent of a Sexy Nun
If you’ve ever visited a Japanese shrine, such as Meiji-Jingu in Harajuku or Senso-ji in Asakusa, this outfit might look familiar to you. A miko is a Japanese shrine maiden, and their real outfits look like this. Miko were once traditional shamans, but today they play a far less active role in worship and are usually working behind the reception or souvenir stands. Perhaps this normalization of Miko as institutionalized workers is why costume makers thought it was appropriate to create a sexualized Halloween costume inspired by them, but I was still shocked when I first came across this costume. If the shrine is sacred, after all, shouldn’t the women who work there be respected the same way?
2. “Gudetama” or Depressed Egg Idol
The thing about Japan is that people really like eggs here. Almost every restaurant display you pass by usually has some kind of dish that is garnished with a fried egg, and I for one am NOT complaining because I can eat eggs with almost anything and everything. I guess that Sanrio, the company responsible for the birth of the Japanese icon Hello Kitty, decided to take this egg craze to new heights when they created Gudetama, an anthropomorphic egg that apparently is always very lazy and sad (Same). Anyways, Gudetama has managed to capture the hearts of the entire nation with his melancholy antics, and he’s inescapable—you can find him on restaurant menus to laundry detergent packaging. So, naturally, you can be him for Halloween as well.
3. Sexy Taxi Driver
What else is prominent in Japan besides shrine maidens and talking eggs? Taxis, duh. However, Japanese taxis aren’t yellow, leading me to think they took their inspiration from the New York City cabs that I’m used to back home. Regardless, it’s a strange costume to me. Who thinks, “I want to be a sexy taxi driver?” when they think about a potential Halloween costume? Have they ever seen a real taxi driver, most of whom are middle-aged men? Are you imagining these middle-aged men in this costume now like I am? No? Okay, I’ll stop now.
4. The Schoolgirl
I know you were waiting for this one. If I didn’t see a single schoolgirl costume while I was here I probably would have started wondering if I was really in Japan. I will never be able to understand the creepy fetishization of female high school students but it seems to be largely accepted in Tokyo, considering that you can find this kind of costume all-year round, not just on Halloween. Surely the people who wear this costume are completely aware of the stereotype it portrays, but I guess if you see this sort of thing on a regular basis you become unfazed by it. Still, I wouldn’t be caught dead in this costume.
5. “Pure Nurse”
I just found the name of this one slightly baffling—in America, the nurse costumes for Halloween are usually trying to be the exact reverse of pure. I’ve noticed in Japan there is a stronger desire to be seen as innocent and cute, hence costumes like “Pure Nurse” are easily marketable, but in America most girls my age are trying to push away the cute label and appear more grown up and well, you know, hot.
6. Swimwear…?
This costume made me laugh upon seeing it because I have no idea why this costume company thought that a person wearing a swimsuit and swim cap was a fresh and exciting costume idea. Secondly, you are going to freeze your ass off in this costume if you wear it outdoors. Lastly, do you think that you can actually wear this swimsuit in the pool? I’m seriously wondering about this now.
7. “Black Sister”
I CHOKED when I read the name of this costume. Could they not have just said Nun? But this is Japan, I guess, so we’re just going to go with it. Whereas the Miko costume was the Japanese equivalent of a sexy nun costume, this nun costume is actually far tamer than the various nun costumes I would see in America. Like the “Pure Nurse” costume, this costume is clearly going for the cute and innocent approach with the obnoxiously large white bow in the front of the dress.
8. Yikes
The last three costumes I took pictures of were either culturally insensitive or just made no sense to me at all— “Kimono Girl,” “Smile banny,” and “Indian Girl.” Yes, the last costume is literally labeled “Indian Girl,” and hopefully you know that that is NOT an Indian girl. Obviously, they were actually trying to portray a Native American, but there are a lot of reasons why this costume should not be worn. The kimono costume is also off putting to me because I have worn a real kimono before and I know that this costume looks nothing like an actual kimono. I’ve seen costumes where traditional Chinese qipaos are labeled as Japanese kimonos, and frankly as an Asian-American I get really annoyed when I see how most Halloween costumes about Asians sweep aside the fact that there is a huge diversity of cultures and traditions in Asia and throw anything together as long as it looks oriental. It’s racist. There’s no other way to put it.
But to end things on a brighter note, we have this charming “Smile banny”—I think they were trying to say bunny—costume that is just a revealing dress with some bunny ears and a tail but hey, what the hell! It’s Halloween, do whatever you want.
Photos by Christine Inzer