On this blog, as well as in many kawaii history references, the origins of kawaii is traced back to the early 20th century Japan, starting with Yumeji Takehisa and following the evolution of goods being targeted at school-age girls, aka ‘the shojo.’ Other references pinpoint the start of kawaii culture to the 1970s with the rise of hello kitty and the use of childlike handwriting by teen girls rebelling against the ridged culture of post-WWII Japan. Neither of these opinions is necessarily right or wrong. Artistic styles and trends rarely have clear start and end dates, and kawaii is no exception. While kawaii as a modern concept clearly has its routes in the 20th century, elements of the kawaii aesthetic can be found throughout Japanese history.
An appreciation and affinity for cuteness is not unique to Japan and could be argued to be an innate human (or even mammalian) experience; triggering us to provide and care for our helpless offspring. Despite the ubiquity of the cuteness response, Japan is unique in its appreciation of cute and how this aesthetic has been incorporated into its artistic traditions. In trying to explore why kawaii emerged in Japan, Dr. Joshua Dale, an expert in the field of cute studies at the Tokyo Gakugei University, outlines four traditional and aesthetic values of Japanese culture that contributed to the rise of kawaii:
- Valuing the diminutive
- Treasuring the transient
- Preference for simplicity
- Appreciating the playful and transient
You can watch Dr. Dale discuss these points in this youtube video, along with 3 other lecturers discussing various topics on kawaii. These four aspects of traditional Japanese culture raised by Dr. Dale really resonated with my understanding of Japanese art and helping to explain why the modern kawaii aesthetic would flourish there in the 20th century. I hope to do a more detailed post digging into each of these points, however, I wanted to briefly introduce these here to provide context for why we see early evidence of kawaii through Japanese art history. While these early examples of ‘proto-kawaii’ may not be what pops into mind when hearing the word kawaii today, understanding that there are aspects of traditional Japanese culture that underlie modern kawaii, it’s not surprising that we would see evidence of art exhibiting these values in various combination popping up throughout Japanese history.
The earliest evidence of the Japanese appreciation for cute can be traced back to the Heian period (794-1185), a period of relative stability where Japanese culture flourished, especially among the imperial court. Poetry was a staple of court life, and good writing and artistic skills were highly valued among both men and women of the court. Some of the earliest references to kawaii show up in the writings of two of the most famous women authors from that period: Sei Shonagon, author of The Pillow Book, and Murasaki Shikibu, author of the seminal novel of the Heian Period The Tale of Genji.
Sei Shonagon (c. 966 – 1017) was a lady-in-waiting to Empress Sadako. She documented her life in court in her diary-like journal, The Pillow Book. Sei’s writings give us a glimpse into what courtly life might have been as well as the values of that time. The Pillow Book is filled with various musing from long narratives and anecdotes to short poems and numerous lists on various topics ranging from ‘Seasonal palace festivals’ to ‘Occasions that induce half-heartedness’. In one of these many lists, Sei provides us with things she finds ‘utsukushi,’ a word that at that time shared a common meaning with modern kawaii. Some excerpts from the english translation of The Pillow Book include:
- A baby’s face painted on a melon
- A very young son of a noble family walking about dressed up in ceremonial costume.
- An enchanting little child who falls asleep in your arms while you are holding a playing with it
- Things children use in doll play. A tiny lotus leaf that’s been picked from a pond…In fact, absolutely anything that’s tiny is ‘utsukushi’!
- A very white, plump child of around two, who comes crawling out wearing a lavender silk-gauze rob with the sleeves hitched back, or a child walking about in a short robe that looks more long sleeves than robe.
- Pretty little white chicks, its lanky legs looking like legs poking out from under a short robe, chirping loudly as it runs and pauses here and there around someone’s feet.
From cute little chicks to tiny babies in oversized kimonos, these items Sei mentions have a lot in common with our modern concept of kawaii. In Sei’s list, you also see examples representing all four of the cultural and aesthetic values raised by Dr. Dale. An appreciation for all things small, the transient cuteness of babies and small animals highlighted by contrasting that childishness with oversized clothing they will soon grow to fill, the joy in the simplicity of things like a tiny lotus flower, and the overarching theme of play and amusement. Reading the example of oversized clothes on young children couldn’t help but reminded me of the scene in Cardcaptor Sakura when middle school Syaroan transformed into grade-school Syaroan, and Sakura just couldn’t hold in the overwhelming cuteness of the situation:
In Murasaki’s The Tale of Genji written in in the early 11th century, we don’t get quite the same insight into the values of kawaii as seen in The Pillow Book. However, this novel is often cited as one of the earliest references for the use of the word ‘kawayushi’, which would evolve into the modern-day kawaii. In contrast to ‘utsukushi’ used by Sei Shonegon, this early form of kawaii was used to describe women who were pitiful, helpless, or overly obedient. Overtime, the two words morphed into something new. Utsukushi changed into utsukushii, meaning beautiful, while ‘kawayushi’ would go through a few more evolutions before turning into the modern word kawaii.
An early visual example of proto-kawaii from this time period are the Scrolls of Frolicking Animals, known in Japanese as Chōjū-jinbutsu-Giga (excerpts shown above). Dating from the 12th-13th century, these scrolls show anthropomorphic rabbits, monkeys, and frogs playing and imitating various human activities like wrestling or preparing for ceremonies. These scrolls are also one of the first examples of linear monochromatic drawing for which there was no precedent in Chinese or European art at the time. While these scrolls are often attributed as being the start of Japan’s rich manga tradition, it is the element of play, whimsy, and preference for simplicity that connect this scroll to the evolution of kawaii. Anthropomorphic animals imitating daily life is still a common motif employed in kawaii art, and the Chōjū-jinbutsu-Giga continues to delight today.
These are just a few early examples of the kawaii aesthetic showing up quite early in Japanese art history. Check out part 2 of these series for more examples of Kawaii form the Edo Period coming soon.
