The final Superflat essay.
My third and final essay in relation to Japan, Anime and the Superflat.
Good riddance.
Word Count: 3300
Analyse the key concepts of 'superflat' in the context of Japanese society, and its relevance to the countries future.
When one thinks of Japan any number of cultural signifiers will pop into mind. Most likely the distinct style which is anime will be one of these. This is because the aesthetic of big eyes, colourful characters, and abundant cuteness has perforated Japanese culture. It may appear harmless, but Takashi Murakami sees this as a very serious issue; swimming alongside what would appear a lighthearted facet of Japanese contemporary life. Murakami's ideas and theories about what is happening to Japanese culture can be found within his notion of the 'superflat', with Murakami's book Little Boy serving as the core argument for this essay. Within the book the key elements that define superflat are as follow: Murakami's belief is that Japan is still too traumatised about its Pacific War defeat. Its people are still struggling to come to terms with their own history; the wider ramifications of which can be easily enough glimpsed within Jean Baudrillar's book The Illusion of the End. Murakami's concerns for his people are mirrored with Baudrillard's thoughts of how important it is to realise ones own past but not dwelling on it, in order to ascertain some possibility at a future. According to Murakami and Susan Napier's Panic Sites: The Japanese Imagination of Disaster from Godzilla to Akira everything that Japan is today stems from its history and how America treated it. The subsequent boom in the economy helped to feed Japan's consumerist culture (which is another important element of the superflat), with highly marketable items like Hello Kitty, Pokemon, and Yuru Chara's 1 developing and nurturing subcultures. Which leads me to the final and probably most important element which makes up superflat culture. The otaku 2 and kawaii 3 subcultures which have sprung forth from the fertilse soil of history and a growing economy. All these things lead Murakami to one grim conclusion; Japan is trying to escape from its own reality through extreme means. He and other Japanese artists like Chiho Aoshima, Yoshitomo Nara, Hideaki Kawashima and Aya Takano have taken it upon themselves to explore and expose the side of Japanese culture mainstream Japan wished to ignore. These artists plays a role in providing vital social commentary for the Japanese people, and how their art hopes to create awareness and pave the way for a better future.
To begin to understand the topic being addressed a clear understanding of Japan's historical context has to be gained. Japan has had a long history of suffering and cultural turmoil. The root of which was the two atomic bombs which fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nicknamed 'Little Boy' and 'Fat Man', respectively. The subsequent surrender of Japan and the instatement of Article 9, which decreed that Japan would never participate in war and would be devoted to peace, 4 had a huge impact on the country. Article 9 “cast Japan in the role of the 'child' obliged to follow America's 'adult' guidance, and the nation willingly complied.” 5 It stirred feelings within the Japanese that lead, particularly the younger generation, to perceive America and the American way as superior. 6 It is little to no surprise then that occupied Japan was so drawn to the Western way of life. The very foundation of anime, which is now probably seen as a very Japanese product, actually stems from Western animation like that of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse. 7 But Japans version of animation came out in the form of Tezuka Osamu's Tetsuwan Atomu 8 or Astro Boy as he is know in the west, and later grew to have its own authentic style which the superflat artists utilise for their own means Yet returning to the foundation of anime... Here we have a 'little boy' who is a robot powered by atomic power. It is not difficult to draw the parallels to the Pacific War, which at that time was still fresh in everyones minds. This direct link from a cute, lighthearted cartoon to the Pacific War serves to illustrate the “tortuously twisted road that lead from war to recovery.” 9 The ingredients that formed superflat were all there in the beginning. America infantilising Japan, and Japan taking on the role by starting to create a fantasy world for itself through anime and manga. 10 This is a problem because “not seeing the world is a method of escaping it”, 11 which Japan is very guilty of.
As Baudrillard puts it, in order to understand the future, and in fact reach it at all, the past has to be come to terms with and let go of, which appears to be what the superflat movement is trying to achieve within Japanese society. Yet how can the Japanese hope to achieve some semblance of a future if they refuse to look at reality? Anime is filled with the fallout of the atomic bombs; memories strewn throughout; iconic images like the mushroom cloud littering the film reels; apocalyptic scenes are never reconciled. All that the Japanese are doing with their creation of anime, cute imagery, and fantasy worlds, is escaping the reality of their own world, their own society.
“Rather than pressing forward and taking flight into the future, we prefer the retrospective apocalypse, and a blanketed revisionism. Our societies have all become revisionistic: they are quietly rethinking everything, laundering their political crimes, their scandals, licking their wounds, fueling their ends.” 12
This all leads to paint Japan in a dismal light. There is a sense of a culture deeply lost within itself and its past. Constantly replaying the same old images, victimising itself while under a grand illusion that they are actually saving themselves. Examples of this can be found anywhere in anime. The Time Bokan series for example ended each episode with the villains exploding and leaving behind a large mushroom cloud. In the next episode everyone would be back, alive and happy. 13 This once again can be drawn back to Japan's lost battle, and the unattainable want and perhaps need to feel like everything will be alright. But instead of directly addressing the issues Japan sits by idly watching its shows, trying to find some resolution. It is of course essential to also mention the feature lengthen anime classic Akira by Otomo Katsuhiro, when it comes to speaking about a direct visual representation of the horror that is embedded into the Japanese psyche, in relation to the Pacific War. Akira features one of the most famous apocalyptic and dystopian scenes of the late 1980's, early 1990's. 14 The world that the Japanese were forced to experience in 1945 has become such an integral part of their psyche that even 43 years after the event, when the movie was released, there was and still is such great empathy and strong emotion running though the culture. The trauma of the war, coupled with anime, appeared to be a way to create a temporary fix and reconciliation with their past. But unlike the characters in Akira the Japanese choose not to act and revolt against the system that has them entrapped.
With so much pain in the past Japan eagerly turned towards the future, especially with the onset of a strong economy fast approaching, which ultimately fast tracked the society to where it currently stands; in a myriad of problems. By the 1970's the children of post-war Japan, as can probably be gathered, were now young adults and pumped full of adulation for Western civilisation, as well as a false sense of reality, thanks to a staple diet of anime. This is the period where superflat truly starts taking shape. Jeff Fleming recounts his thoughts when artist Momoyo Torimitsu showed him photographs of places that looked very much like Miami's South Beach. In reality, however, it was Urayasu, a suburb in Tokyo. The inhabitants returned there everyday to “their vision of another time and place, fabricating a synthetic reprieve from daily routines. It is a fantasy world.” 15 This is to illustrate the amount of westernisations which has occurred and the extent to which the Japanese go to avoid reality. Also things like the culture and society are beginning to flatten out and lose their detail. This period really illuminates what a few decades of being infanilised will do to a country. Being at the height of the economic bubble meant that the Japanese could live quite comfortably.
“We realized that life was perfectly fine with just a modicum of joy. No need to party- hearty every day of your life. No one was starving, no one was that bored. If you were hungry, you'd go to the convenience store. In the mood to shop, you'd go to Don Quijote. And soon, the basis of everyday life depended on convenience stores and discount shops. The local convenience store is now a significant factor in apartment- hunting.” 16
Yet another example of how flat the culture become. They had the protection of America and could idle in a period of economic security. It was the time when the kawaii became quite lucrative and Japan saw a boom in the market for characters, for which Japan is now known as the “empire of characters” 17. Yuru Chara, for instance are mascots for every region in Japan. The origins for Yuru Chara stems from ancient Shinto religion, which believed that there was a god in every object. 18 In modern day Japan there isn't a single place that does not have a mascot or Yuru Chara associated with it. They are purely designed to attract attention through their cuteness, as well as to be tools for public relations within a regional base. But Hello Kitty, “was a harbinger of Japan's burgeoning consumer culture in the 1970s” 19 by the company Sanrio. She is probably one of the most famous Japanese characters ever created, and was certainly the first to be ever made as a purely marketable item. 20 This leads me to the next significant point.
To properly appreciate the amount of damage Japans history has caused its people it is now time to look at the two main subcultures; The otaku and the kawaii. The otaku culture, of which Murakami is a part of, developed before the kawaii culture. It saw its origins with the creation of the anime Space Battleship Yamato and Mobile Suit Gundam. “Both works share a narrative genesis in a post-atomic world. And both are fundamental to the birth of otaku culture.” 21 Particularly with Mobile Suit Gundam the children and young adolescence were able to dream of a new world built in outer space.
“For the Japanese, their hearts newly healed from post-war trauma, this was the perfect scenario for the future. For the children the scenario was 'real'. Yet that future has never arrived - their dreams were shattered. And they grew into adults, unable to relinquish those dreams.” 22
This ultimately destroyed a part of the otaku as they fell into a world of isolation. This was also due to the large generation gap and propagated by the stringent Japanese social structure which is still prevelant today. 23 This lead to otakus' seeking out one another and forming groups, one of which, the Aum Shinrikyo, fell into notoriety when in 1995 it carried out a Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo underground. 24 The media coverage was phenomenal and caused a social stigma to be attached to otakus' everywhere. Yet that did not deter the otaku who's life style continues “to proliferate because they constantly transform themselves.” 25 It is interesting to note that the otaku's life style is indeed so well supported and can be made an integral part of Japanese society. This seems to me a clear indication that otaku-ism is indeed a product of Japans past and will continue well into the future. The same can be said for kawaii culture, which became more prevelant in the 1980's, “when the majority of the nations population engaged in lucrative occupations in commercial, financial, or communication-related fields, which allowed for the existence of pure consumers.” 26 Although the kawaii culture has mainly the women consuming, it is certainly not gender specific. As the entire post-war population of Japan was brought up being coddled by America so the men are also partial to consuming kawaii culture. According to Eiji Otsuka, a prevelant author in the realms of kawaii culture, the whole structure surrounding the kawaii is infused with a sense of women having to be cute and innocent. 27 Therein lies sex appeal and quite frequently school girls will use this to their advantage, which results in Japan being home to a thriving bura-sera industry. 28 Like the otaku, the kawaii consumer suffers from a warped sense of the world and is thrust into a place of their own. Otsuka argues that the adolescent girl is a direct reflection and representation of Japan's mentality and social behaviour in the 1980's postmodern society. He parallels the growth in kawaii with the growth of the consumer trends. 29 The reason why this makes sense is because these adolescent girls refuse to, or at the very least, wish to prolong their childhood and innocence, and to stave off ideas of “maturity rooted in the conventional roles of wife and mother.” 30 It reflects back on this society that wishes to forgo all responsibility and maturity and forever rely on its parent.
Herein lies the problem which Japan is affronted with to this very day, and which is the very face and essence of the superflat culture as seen by Murakami and his fellow artists. Murakami has been struggling for a long time within his society to create an awareness for this superflat culture which they all inhabit. To Murakami cuteness can sometimes feel like “an escapist, infantilzed and anti-intellectual cloud has been cast over the country.” 31 Yet it has become an integral part of his very society, for good or for bad. Murakami's shifting relationship with his society in terms of the work he has been creating has been linked to 1990s historian Takashi Fujitani saying ' flattening out of culture - the collapse of history, meaning, and the eternal truth - may in fact, be stimulating a new search for authenticity.” 32 This resonates deeply, I feel, with what has happened in Japan. Japan's history has collapsed in on itself as Baudrillard philosophised that it would, 33 if the past wasn't left alone as mentioned previously. This in turn has forced the culture to flatten out due to economic factors and just generally through the way that society has evolved through its colonial past; and as Fujitani said, Japan has now found a new kind of authenticity within the works of Murakami. Superflat is a reflection on “that young people are searching for alternatives to the strict patterns of conventional Japaneses life, and the predictable roles that society expects them to fulfill.” 34 It is for them that Murakami creates his works, which are characterised by a multitude of eyes, vivid, bright coloures and of course that distinct, flat, two-dimensional plane. For a while Murakami focused on works dealing with individualism and identity, as Japan is still unclear about its own identity. A good example of this through Murakami's art is DOB in the Strange Forest. It features Murakami's copyrighted character DOB, half mouse, half monkey, in a life sized sculpture featuring twelve polka-dotted mushrooms. These mushrooms feature multiple eyes, are rather cute but also have a menacing feel about them. The mushrooms are phallic, menacing and ever watchful all at the same time,
“Covered with eyes they become all seeing, observant of the skinny and lonely DOB's every move. Could this refer to otaku culture, isolated individuals propagating their networks under the cover of night, 'all eyes', watching the world but never acting on their own two feet?” 35
It is questions like this that Murakami's art, as well as Chiho Aoshima, Yoshitomo Nara, Hideaki Kawashima and Aya Takano's works try to deal with. Their role in society is to be social commentators; observers. To bring the focus where it needs to be. They achieve this through the very essence of their works. The superflat artists works can all be identified by their inherent “childish and amateurish” 36 characteristics, which reflect society so very well. Yet don't think that 'childish and amateurish' is necessarily a negative thing. These are new, unique, assertive, and most of all authentic pieces of creative art. 37 Murakami worked a lot creating images of mushroom and flowers. All brightly coloured with cheerful faces. Murakami “self-mockingly portrays the confounding tendency of Japaneses culture to find cuteness in an icon of war.” 38 Everything about the superflat art is a reflection back on Japanese society. Even the fact that Murakami has been selling his art as merchandise plays into his consumerist society's ways. “Art should rid itself of its traditional aura and authority and bask in the pure obscenity of being merchandise.” 39 This is a state of being that currently really fits Japan's society. His society has evolved in such a way that the things Japanese desire and find valuable are those items you can consume. Murakami saw a market there and focused his art on it, which is a sure fire way to bring attention to his works and hopefully the greater issues belying them.
Art is merchandising, the cute is prolific and desirable, the past is constantly haunting, and the youth are entrapped in a society which is struggling to find its own identity, while everyone seeks escape into a fantasy world; yes, this is Japan. Throughout the essay there were constant themes. A futile return to the past, using the medium of anime as a tool for exploration and also escape. But it never really did anything more significant than pull out iconic symbols from history, like the mushroom cloud, to serve as a heavy reminder to the Japaneses of all they lost and all that was done to them. Another constant was the infanilisation and the wider ramifications this had on the whole of post-war Japan. This by far would seem to be one of, if not the most damaging factor and key concept in determining how Japan developed, during a severe period of fragility, to be what it is today. Also the otaku and kawaii subcultures were basically begging to be created because of the socio-economic factors. These two subcultures are an outlet for society and shows us how the conditions Japan's people have been living in, both physically and mentally, have shaped them. These three things, history, circumstance and reaction to the circumstance are what the superflat is, which we can now observe in its entirety. The superflat is crucial to understanding Japaneses society because it is what makes up the whole of the culture. There is nothing else. All there is is an infusion of consumerism and the kawaii into every facet of Japanese life, coupled with a constant return to the horror of the past without any real closure, and a constant feeling that you are the child of a country much bigger and better than yourself. Murakami has been striving to point this out to his people because without acknowledging your past, Baudrillard would say, there cannot be a future. This is why the superflat both as an art form and as social commentary is crucial. Murakami has managed to tap into a market because that very same market is the actual problem his culture is facing. But there is hope that the superflat as an art, will bring attention to the cultures own superflat state of existence. It certainly isn't all grim news. Japan has finally found something that reflects itself and is a true product of its times and circumstances. With the superflat to inform and teach Japan's people they may manage to overcome the hurdles and move into the future. Murakami truly has found the meaning of the nonsense of the meaning.
1Yuru chara stands for Yurui character, and literally means "loose", “slow”, “forgiving” or “mild”. A close English analogues would be “lovable loser”.
http://smt.blogs.com/mari_diary/2006/04/yuru_chara.html [cited August 2007]
2Otaku - “Rabidly fanatical fans of anime are called by the pejorative term otaku and looked down upon by conservative Japanese society...”
Napier, Susan J ANIME from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle: experiencing contemporary japanese animation, New York; Palgrave MacMillan; 2005. pg 7
3Kawaii - “ultra-cute (cho-kawaii) girl’s manga written by and for men,” typically featuring “a girl heroine with large eyes and a body that is both voluptuous and child-like”
Iida, Yumiko Between the Technique of Living an Endless Routine and the Madness of Absolute Degree Zero: Japanese Identity and the Crisis of Modernity in the 1990s Journal of Positions: East Asia Cultures Critique - Volume 8, Number 2, Fall 2000, pp. 423-464
pg 427
4 Kawasaki, Akira Article 9's Global Impact, Washington, DC: Foreign Policy In Focus, July 26, 2007
http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/4426 [cited November 2007]
5Murakami, Takashi Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, Yale University Press; 2005; pg. 22
6Cruz, Amanda and Midori Matsui and Dana Friis-Hansen Takashi Murakami: the meaning of the nonsense of the meaning, New York; Abrams, Inc; 1999; pg 36
7Napier, Susan J ANIME from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle: experiencing contemporary japanese animation, New York; Palgrave MacMillan; 2005; pg. 16
8Tezuka, Osamu Astro Boy, 1963-1966, 30 min, 193 episodes.
9Murakami, Takashi Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, Yale University Press; 2005 pg. 112
10Manga - a Japanese graphic novel, typically intended for adults, characterized by highly stylized art.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=manga&x=0&y=0 [cited September 2007]
11Fleming, Jeff My Reality : Contemporary Art and the Culture of Japanese Animation, New York ; Independent Curators International; 2001; pg. 40
12Baudrillard, Jean The Illusion of the End, Cambridge; UK; Polity Press; 1994; pg. 22
13Murakami, Takashi Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, Yale University Press; 2005; pg. 12
14The scene referred to here is the opening in which a vast atomic explosion engulfs Tokyo.
Otomo, Katsuhiro and Izo Hashimoto Akira, produced by Akira Committee/Kodansha, directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, 124 min, Pioneer Entertainment, 1988, DVD.
15Fleming, Jeff My Reality : Contemporary Art and the Culture of Japanese Animation, New York Independent Curators International; 2001; pg. 15
16Murakami, Takashi Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, Yale University Press; 2005; pg. 135
17Ibid; pg. 86
18Ibid; pg. 86
19Ibid; pg. 44
20Ibid; pg .44
21Ibid; pg .122
22Ibid; pg .119
23Ibid; pg .188
24http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarin_gas_attack_on_the_Tokyo_subway
25Murakami, Takashi Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, Yale University Press; 2005; pg. 133
26Ibid; pg. 210
27Ibid; pg. 210
28 “bura-sera" or "buru-sera" the term for a specific male fascination relating to that Japan's schoolgirls.
Mikkelson, Barbara The Love Machine, Urban Legends Reference Pages, July 8, 2007
http://www.snopes.com/risque/kinky/panties.asp [cited October 2007]
29Murakami, Takashi Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, Yale University Press; 2005; pg. 112
30Ibid; pg. 112
31Cruz, Amanda and Midori Matsui and Dana Friis-Hansen Takashi Murakami: the meaning of the nonsense of the meaning, New York; Abrams, Inc; 1999, pg 34
32Ibid; pg. 41
33Baudrillard, Jean The Illusion of the End, Cambridge; UK; Polity Press; 1994; pg. 5
34Cruz, Amanda and Midori Matsui and Dana Friis-Hansen Takashi Murakami: the meaning of the nonsense of the meaning, New York; Abrams, Inc; 1999, pg 41
35Ibid; pg. 40
36Murakami, Takashi Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, Yale University Press; 2005; pg. 229
37Ibid; pg .229
38Ibid; pg .14
39Cruz, Amanda and Midori Matsui and Dana Friis-Hansen Takashi Murakami: the meaning of the nonsense of the meaning, New York; Abrams, Inc; 1999; pg. 17
Good riddance.
Word Count: 3300
Analyse the key concepts of 'superflat' in the context of Japanese society, and its relevance to the countries future.
When one thinks of Japan any number of cultural signifiers will pop into mind. Most likely the distinct style which is anime will be one of these. This is because the aesthetic of big eyes, colourful characters, and abundant cuteness has perforated Japanese culture. It may appear harmless, but Takashi Murakami sees this as a very serious issue; swimming alongside what would appear a lighthearted facet of Japanese contemporary life. Murakami's ideas and theories about what is happening to Japanese culture can be found within his notion of the 'superflat', with Murakami's book Little Boy serving as the core argument for this essay. Within the book the key elements that define superflat are as follow: Murakami's belief is that Japan is still too traumatised about its Pacific War defeat. Its people are still struggling to come to terms with their own history; the wider ramifications of which can be easily enough glimpsed within Jean Baudrillar's book The Illusion of the End. Murakami's concerns for his people are mirrored with Baudrillard's thoughts of how important it is to realise ones own past but not dwelling on it, in order to ascertain some possibility at a future. According to Murakami and Susan Napier's Panic Sites: The Japanese Imagination of Disaster from Godzilla to Akira everything that Japan is today stems from its history and how America treated it. The subsequent boom in the economy helped to feed Japan's consumerist culture (which is another important element of the superflat), with highly marketable items like Hello Kitty, Pokemon, and Yuru Chara's 1 developing and nurturing subcultures. Which leads me to the final and probably most important element which makes up superflat culture. The otaku 2 and kawaii 3 subcultures which have sprung forth from the fertilse soil of history and a growing economy. All these things lead Murakami to one grim conclusion; Japan is trying to escape from its own reality through extreme means. He and other Japanese artists like Chiho Aoshima, Yoshitomo Nara, Hideaki Kawashima and Aya Takano have taken it upon themselves to explore and expose the side of Japanese culture mainstream Japan wished to ignore. These artists plays a role in providing vital social commentary for the Japanese people, and how their art hopes to create awareness and pave the way for a better future.
To begin to understand the topic being addressed a clear understanding of Japan's historical context has to be gained. Japan has had a long history of suffering and cultural turmoil. The root of which was the two atomic bombs which fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nicknamed 'Little Boy' and 'Fat Man', respectively. The subsequent surrender of Japan and the instatement of Article 9, which decreed that Japan would never participate in war and would be devoted to peace, 4 had a huge impact on the country. Article 9 “cast Japan in the role of the 'child' obliged to follow America's 'adult' guidance, and the nation willingly complied.” 5 It stirred feelings within the Japanese that lead, particularly the younger generation, to perceive America and the American way as superior. 6 It is little to no surprise then that occupied Japan was so drawn to the Western way of life. The very foundation of anime, which is now probably seen as a very Japanese product, actually stems from Western animation like that of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse. 7 But Japans version of animation came out in the form of Tezuka Osamu's Tetsuwan Atomu 8 or Astro Boy as he is know in the west, and later grew to have its own authentic style which the superflat artists utilise for their own means Yet returning to the foundation of anime... Here we have a 'little boy' who is a robot powered by atomic power. It is not difficult to draw the parallels to the Pacific War, which at that time was still fresh in everyones minds. This direct link from a cute, lighthearted cartoon to the Pacific War serves to illustrate the “tortuously twisted road that lead from war to recovery.” 9 The ingredients that formed superflat were all there in the beginning. America infantilising Japan, and Japan taking on the role by starting to create a fantasy world for itself through anime and manga. 10 This is a problem because “not seeing the world is a method of escaping it”, 11 which Japan is very guilty of.
As Baudrillard puts it, in order to understand the future, and in fact reach it at all, the past has to be come to terms with and let go of, which appears to be what the superflat movement is trying to achieve within Japanese society. Yet how can the Japanese hope to achieve some semblance of a future if they refuse to look at reality? Anime is filled with the fallout of the atomic bombs; memories strewn throughout; iconic images like the mushroom cloud littering the film reels; apocalyptic scenes are never reconciled. All that the Japanese are doing with their creation of anime, cute imagery, and fantasy worlds, is escaping the reality of their own world, their own society.
“Rather than pressing forward and taking flight into the future, we prefer the retrospective apocalypse, and a blanketed revisionism. Our societies have all become revisionistic: they are quietly rethinking everything, laundering their political crimes, their scandals, licking their wounds, fueling their ends.” 12
This all leads to paint Japan in a dismal light. There is a sense of a culture deeply lost within itself and its past. Constantly replaying the same old images, victimising itself while under a grand illusion that they are actually saving themselves. Examples of this can be found anywhere in anime. The Time Bokan series for example ended each episode with the villains exploding and leaving behind a large mushroom cloud. In the next episode everyone would be back, alive and happy. 13 This once again can be drawn back to Japan's lost battle, and the unattainable want and perhaps need to feel like everything will be alright. But instead of directly addressing the issues Japan sits by idly watching its shows, trying to find some resolution. It is of course essential to also mention the feature lengthen anime classic Akira by Otomo Katsuhiro, when it comes to speaking about a direct visual representation of the horror that is embedded into the Japanese psyche, in relation to the Pacific War. Akira features one of the most famous apocalyptic and dystopian scenes of the late 1980's, early 1990's. 14 The world that the Japanese were forced to experience in 1945 has become such an integral part of their psyche that even 43 years after the event, when the movie was released, there was and still is such great empathy and strong emotion running though the culture. The trauma of the war, coupled with anime, appeared to be a way to create a temporary fix and reconciliation with their past. But unlike the characters in Akira the Japanese choose not to act and revolt against the system that has them entrapped.
With so much pain in the past Japan eagerly turned towards the future, especially with the onset of a strong economy fast approaching, which ultimately fast tracked the society to where it currently stands; in a myriad of problems. By the 1970's the children of post-war Japan, as can probably be gathered, were now young adults and pumped full of adulation for Western civilisation, as well as a false sense of reality, thanks to a staple diet of anime. This is the period where superflat truly starts taking shape. Jeff Fleming recounts his thoughts when artist Momoyo Torimitsu showed him photographs of places that looked very much like Miami's South Beach. In reality, however, it was Urayasu, a suburb in Tokyo. The inhabitants returned there everyday to “their vision of another time and place, fabricating a synthetic reprieve from daily routines. It is a fantasy world.” 15 This is to illustrate the amount of westernisations which has occurred and the extent to which the Japanese go to avoid reality. Also things like the culture and society are beginning to flatten out and lose their detail. This period really illuminates what a few decades of being infanilised will do to a country. Being at the height of the economic bubble meant that the Japanese could live quite comfortably.
“We realized that life was perfectly fine with just a modicum of joy. No need to party- hearty every day of your life. No one was starving, no one was that bored. If you were hungry, you'd go to the convenience store. In the mood to shop, you'd go to Don Quijote. And soon, the basis of everyday life depended on convenience stores and discount shops. The local convenience store is now a significant factor in apartment- hunting.” 16
Yet another example of how flat the culture become. They had the protection of America and could idle in a period of economic security. It was the time when the kawaii became quite lucrative and Japan saw a boom in the market for characters, for which Japan is now known as the “empire of characters” 17. Yuru Chara, for instance are mascots for every region in Japan. The origins for Yuru Chara stems from ancient Shinto religion, which believed that there was a god in every object. 18 In modern day Japan there isn't a single place that does not have a mascot or Yuru Chara associated with it. They are purely designed to attract attention through their cuteness, as well as to be tools for public relations within a regional base. But Hello Kitty, “was a harbinger of Japan's burgeoning consumer culture in the 1970s” 19 by the company Sanrio. She is probably one of the most famous Japanese characters ever created, and was certainly the first to be ever made as a purely marketable item. 20 This leads me to the next significant point.
To properly appreciate the amount of damage Japans history has caused its people it is now time to look at the two main subcultures; The otaku and the kawaii. The otaku culture, of which Murakami is a part of, developed before the kawaii culture. It saw its origins with the creation of the anime Space Battleship Yamato and Mobile Suit Gundam. “Both works share a narrative genesis in a post-atomic world. And both are fundamental to the birth of otaku culture.” 21 Particularly with Mobile Suit Gundam the children and young adolescence were able to dream of a new world built in outer space.
“For the Japanese, their hearts newly healed from post-war trauma, this was the perfect scenario for the future. For the children the scenario was 'real'. Yet that future has never arrived - their dreams were shattered. And they grew into adults, unable to relinquish those dreams.” 22
This ultimately destroyed a part of the otaku as they fell into a world of isolation. This was also due to the large generation gap and propagated by the stringent Japanese social structure which is still prevelant today. 23 This lead to otakus' seeking out one another and forming groups, one of which, the Aum Shinrikyo, fell into notoriety when in 1995 it carried out a Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo underground. 24 The media coverage was phenomenal and caused a social stigma to be attached to otakus' everywhere. Yet that did not deter the otaku who's life style continues “to proliferate because they constantly transform themselves.” 25 It is interesting to note that the otaku's life style is indeed so well supported and can be made an integral part of Japanese society. This seems to me a clear indication that otaku-ism is indeed a product of Japans past and will continue well into the future. The same can be said for kawaii culture, which became more prevelant in the 1980's, “when the majority of the nations population engaged in lucrative occupations in commercial, financial, or communication-related fields, which allowed for the existence of pure consumers.” 26 Although the kawaii culture has mainly the women consuming, it is certainly not gender specific. As the entire post-war population of Japan was brought up being coddled by America so the men are also partial to consuming kawaii culture. According to Eiji Otsuka, a prevelant author in the realms of kawaii culture, the whole structure surrounding the kawaii is infused with a sense of women having to be cute and innocent. 27 Therein lies sex appeal and quite frequently school girls will use this to their advantage, which results in Japan being home to a thriving bura-sera industry. 28 Like the otaku, the kawaii consumer suffers from a warped sense of the world and is thrust into a place of their own. Otsuka argues that the adolescent girl is a direct reflection and representation of Japan's mentality and social behaviour in the 1980's postmodern society. He parallels the growth in kawaii with the growth of the consumer trends. 29 The reason why this makes sense is because these adolescent girls refuse to, or at the very least, wish to prolong their childhood and innocence, and to stave off ideas of “maturity rooted in the conventional roles of wife and mother.” 30 It reflects back on this society that wishes to forgo all responsibility and maturity and forever rely on its parent.
Herein lies the problem which Japan is affronted with to this very day, and which is the very face and essence of the superflat culture as seen by Murakami and his fellow artists. Murakami has been struggling for a long time within his society to create an awareness for this superflat culture which they all inhabit. To Murakami cuteness can sometimes feel like “an escapist, infantilzed and anti-intellectual cloud has been cast over the country.” 31 Yet it has become an integral part of his very society, for good or for bad. Murakami's shifting relationship with his society in terms of the work he has been creating has been linked to 1990s historian Takashi Fujitani saying ' flattening out of culture - the collapse of history, meaning, and the eternal truth - may in fact, be stimulating a new search for authenticity.” 32 This resonates deeply, I feel, with what has happened in Japan. Japan's history has collapsed in on itself as Baudrillard philosophised that it would, 33 if the past wasn't left alone as mentioned previously. This in turn has forced the culture to flatten out due to economic factors and just generally through the way that society has evolved through its colonial past; and as Fujitani said, Japan has now found a new kind of authenticity within the works of Murakami. Superflat is a reflection on “that young people are searching for alternatives to the strict patterns of conventional Japaneses life, and the predictable roles that society expects them to fulfill.” 34 It is for them that Murakami creates his works, which are characterised by a multitude of eyes, vivid, bright coloures and of course that distinct, flat, two-dimensional plane. For a while Murakami focused on works dealing with individualism and identity, as Japan is still unclear about its own identity. A good example of this through Murakami's art is DOB in the Strange Forest. It features Murakami's copyrighted character DOB, half mouse, half monkey, in a life sized sculpture featuring twelve polka-dotted mushrooms. These mushrooms feature multiple eyes, are rather cute but also have a menacing feel about them. The mushrooms are phallic, menacing and ever watchful all at the same time,
“Covered with eyes they become all seeing, observant of the skinny and lonely DOB's every move. Could this refer to otaku culture, isolated individuals propagating their networks under the cover of night, 'all eyes', watching the world but never acting on their own two feet?” 35
It is questions like this that Murakami's art, as well as Chiho Aoshima, Yoshitomo Nara, Hideaki Kawashima and Aya Takano's works try to deal with. Their role in society is to be social commentators; observers. To bring the focus where it needs to be. They achieve this through the very essence of their works. The superflat artists works can all be identified by their inherent “childish and amateurish” 36 characteristics, which reflect society so very well. Yet don't think that 'childish and amateurish' is necessarily a negative thing. These are new, unique, assertive, and most of all authentic pieces of creative art. 37 Murakami worked a lot creating images of mushroom and flowers. All brightly coloured with cheerful faces. Murakami “self-mockingly portrays the confounding tendency of Japaneses culture to find cuteness in an icon of war.” 38 Everything about the superflat art is a reflection back on Japanese society. Even the fact that Murakami has been selling his art as merchandise plays into his consumerist society's ways. “Art should rid itself of its traditional aura and authority and bask in the pure obscenity of being merchandise.” 39 This is a state of being that currently really fits Japan's society. His society has evolved in such a way that the things Japanese desire and find valuable are those items you can consume. Murakami saw a market there and focused his art on it, which is a sure fire way to bring attention to his works and hopefully the greater issues belying them.
Art is merchandising, the cute is prolific and desirable, the past is constantly haunting, and the youth are entrapped in a society which is struggling to find its own identity, while everyone seeks escape into a fantasy world; yes, this is Japan. Throughout the essay there were constant themes. A futile return to the past, using the medium of anime as a tool for exploration and also escape. But it never really did anything more significant than pull out iconic symbols from history, like the mushroom cloud, to serve as a heavy reminder to the Japaneses of all they lost and all that was done to them. Another constant was the infanilisation and the wider ramifications this had on the whole of post-war Japan. This by far would seem to be one of, if not the most damaging factor and key concept in determining how Japan developed, during a severe period of fragility, to be what it is today. Also the otaku and kawaii subcultures were basically begging to be created because of the socio-economic factors. These two subcultures are an outlet for society and shows us how the conditions Japan's people have been living in, both physically and mentally, have shaped them. These three things, history, circumstance and reaction to the circumstance are what the superflat is, which we can now observe in its entirety. The superflat is crucial to understanding Japaneses society because it is what makes up the whole of the culture. There is nothing else. All there is is an infusion of consumerism and the kawaii into every facet of Japanese life, coupled with a constant return to the horror of the past without any real closure, and a constant feeling that you are the child of a country much bigger and better than yourself. Murakami has been striving to point this out to his people because without acknowledging your past, Baudrillard would say, there cannot be a future. This is why the superflat both as an art form and as social commentary is crucial. Murakami has managed to tap into a market because that very same market is the actual problem his culture is facing. But there is hope that the superflat as an art, will bring attention to the cultures own superflat state of existence. It certainly isn't all grim news. Japan has finally found something that reflects itself and is a true product of its times and circumstances. With the superflat to inform and teach Japan's people they may manage to overcome the hurdles and move into the future. Murakami truly has found the meaning of the nonsense of the meaning.
1Yuru chara stands for Yurui character, and literally means "loose", “slow”, “forgiving” or “mild”. A close English analogues would be “lovable loser”.
http://smt.blogs.com/mari_diary/2006/04/yuru_chara.html [cited August 2007]
2Otaku - “Rabidly fanatical fans of anime are called by the pejorative term otaku and looked down upon by conservative Japanese society...”
Napier, Susan J ANIME from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle: experiencing contemporary japanese animation, New York; Palgrave MacMillan; 2005. pg 7
3Kawaii - “ultra-cute (cho-kawaii) girl’s manga written by and for men,” typically featuring “a girl heroine with large eyes and a body that is both voluptuous and child-like”
Iida, Yumiko Between the Technique of Living an Endless Routine and the Madness of Absolute Degree Zero: Japanese Identity and the Crisis of Modernity in the 1990s Journal of Positions: East Asia Cultures Critique - Volume 8, Number 2, Fall 2000, pp. 423-464
pg 427
4 Kawasaki, Akira Article 9's Global Impact, Washington, DC: Foreign Policy In Focus, July 26, 2007
http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/4426 [cited November 2007]
5Murakami, Takashi Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, Yale University Press; 2005; pg. 22
6Cruz, Amanda and Midori Matsui and Dana Friis-Hansen Takashi Murakami: the meaning of the nonsense of the meaning, New York; Abrams, Inc; 1999; pg 36
7Napier, Susan J ANIME from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle: experiencing contemporary japanese animation, New York; Palgrave MacMillan; 2005; pg. 16
8Tezuka, Osamu Astro Boy, 1963-1966, 30 min, 193 episodes.
9Murakami, Takashi Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, Yale University Press; 2005 pg. 112
10Manga - a Japanese graphic novel, typically intended for adults, characterized by highly stylized art.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=manga&x=0&y=0 [cited September 2007]
11Fleming, Jeff My Reality : Contemporary Art and the Culture of Japanese Animation, New York ; Independent Curators International; 2001; pg. 40
12Baudrillard, Jean The Illusion of the End, Cambridge; UK; Polity Press; 1994; pg. 22
13Murakami, Takashi Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, Yale University Press; 2005; pg. 12
14The scene referred to here is the opening in which a vast atomic explosion engulfs Tokyo.
Otomo, Katsuhiro and Izo Hashimoto Akira, produced by Akira Committee/Kodansha, directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, 124 min, Pioneer Entertainment, 1988, DVD.
15Fleming, Jeff My Reality : Contemporary Art and the Culture of Japanese Animation, New York Independent Curators International; 2001; pg. 15
16Murakami, Takashi Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, Yale University Press; 2005; pg. 135
17Ibid; pg. 86
18Ibid; pg. 86
19Ibid; pg. 44
20Ibid; pg .44
21Ibid; pg .122
22Ibid; pg .119
23Ibid; pg .188
24http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarin_gas_attack_on_the_Tokyo_subway
25Murakami, Takashi Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, Yale University Press; 2005; pg. 133
26Ibid; pg. 210
27Ibid; pg. 210
28 “bura-sera" or "buru-sera" the term for a specific male fascination relating to that Japan's schoolgirls.
Mikkelson, Barbara The Love Machine, Urban Legends Reference Pages, July 8, 2007
http://www.snopes.com/risque/kinky/panties.asp [cited October 2007]
29Murakami, Takashi Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, Yale University Press; 2005; pg. 112
30Ibid; pg. 112
31Cruz, Amanda and Midori Matsui and Dana Friis-Hansen Takashi Murakami: the meaning of the nonsense of the meaning, New York; Abrams, Inc; 1999, pg 34
32Ibid; pg. 41
33Baudrillard, Jean The Illusion of the End, Cambridge; UK; Polity Press; 1994; pg. 5
34Cruz, Amanda and Midori Matsui and Dana Friis-Hansen Takashi Murakami: the meaning of the nonsense of the meaning, New York; Abrams, Inc; 1999, pg 41
35Ibid; pg. 40
36Murakami, Takashi Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, Yale University Press; 2005; pg. 229
37Ibid; pg .229
38Ibid; pg .14
39Cruz, Amanda and Midori Matsui and Dana Friis-Hansen Takashi Murakami: the meaning of the nonsense of the meaning, New York; Abrams, Inc; 1999; pg. 17