Do you ever see something so cute you just want to squeeze it? The kawaii aesthetic is just that -the Japanese culture of cuteness. This can be anything- from anime, to artwork, to real people. The word “kawaii” derived from the phrase “a radiant phase” referring to someone who is red from blushing, which later developed into meaning “cute.” You probably see the kawaii aesthetic more than you realize in your everyday life!
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Origin of Kawaii
So what is kawaii’s origin? Originally the 11th century definition of “kawaii” was not a positive one, meaning the person has pitiful qualities. Later this meaning was changed to define women as submissive. This meaning changed once again to infer embarrassment, which eventually led to meaning adorable.
Popularity of Kawaii
Kawaii extends to cute handwriting, cute merchandise, cute fashion- basically anything you can imagine but cute! A lot of the kawaii aesthetic has a child-like feel to it, as it involves soft colors, young-looking faces, and childish objects such as toys. There are also subgenres of kawaii, proving just how popular it is.
Gurokawa
Gurokawa is a subgenre of kawaii that is known as “creepy cute,” combining grotesque imagery with the kawaii cuteness. The best way to describe this subgenre is “horror in pastel,” as the colors valued by the kawaii aesthetic remain consistent throughout this subgenre.
Erokawa
The other subgenre of kawaii is erokawa, which contracts the innocence of the kawaii aesthetic by sexualizing it. This subgenre ties together the cute element with erotic imagry, and often carries over into adult kawaii fashion.
Example of Kawaii
A great example of the kawaii aesthetic is Hello Kitty, a cartoon we all grew up in the United States and Japan alike. Many kawaii characters like Hello Kitty have simple yet adorable designs that are very memorable. Many Pokemon characters, Care Bears, Animal Crossing characters, and other animated characters are considered a part of this aesthetic as well. Next time you see cute imagery, ask yourself if it would be considered kawaii!
Sources: https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Kawaii
