In Comparison: Japanese, Caucasian,
and African American Perceptions of
Beauty
Japanese Beauty & Philosophy
 Beauty in Japanese
thought "is not limited to
physical beauty, i.e.,
beautiful flowers,
beautiful women, but
involves spiritual beauty
also because Japanese
ideology demands purity
of mind, refinement of
tastes, of individuals and
mutual love.
 Extremely aesthetic
culture
Wabi-sabi
 Zen-like philosophy which
emphasizes tranquility with
external. In other words,
negates the idea that all beauty
and knowing is not out there
waiting to be discovered, but
within each moment.
 Natural, ancient way which
emphasizes simplicity.
 All things are impermanent.
All things are imperfect.
All things are incomplete.
 When accepted, these three
tenants, allow for the
maturation of contentment and
happiness found in the
Tatemae and Honne
 Tatemae literally means “the
outward structure of a
building”
 Honne refers to the true and
inner voice of a person.
 Japanese society recognizes
these two might conflict due
to the fact that society values
harmony.
 This idea of “face” as it is
called or tatemae is
important to society which
would make outward
appearances important.
Past & Present
 Japan has more of a
mixture of traditional and
modern styles in an
everyday context. It is not
abnormal to walk down
the street and see people
wearing kimonos in Japan.
Uniforms
 Uniforms are common in
Japan. To the trained eye, it is
possible to tell where
everyone “belongs” based off
of their uniform.
 Each school and company has
a different uniform which
everyone wears. In
companies the presidents wear
the same uniform as the
factory workers.
 This is due to the fact that
group unity is essential to
Japanese culture.
 The Japanese view social
harmony as vital and frown
upon selfish individualism. It
is expected that everyone is
different, but social harmony
Bihaku
 Bihaku – An expression which
means 'beautiful white'
 The Japanese have long been
derma-obsessed. Tanned skin is
traditionally looked on with
disdain in the Orient, where
poets and writers idealized fairskinned women in their work.
Even the Japanese icon, the
geisha, was rated by the
condition of the skin on the
back of her neck - the paler and
softer it was, the more beautiful
she was deemed to be.
 Japanese today will use
chemicals to lighten skin color.
Harajuku
 Harajuku is a place in Tokyo
where, on Sundays, Japanese
youth will gather to exhibit
their personal style wearing all
sorts of odd clothing
combinations. Additionally,
there are sometimes informal
music performances
 Considered to be the hottest
new source of fashion
 This new fashion even more
outrageous when juxtaposed
with the uniformity or
traditionalism typical of
Japanese fashion.
Japanese Beauty Regimen
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According to the “Challenging Beauty”, a
study conducted by Dove relating to
differences in perceptions of beauty in
different countries, the data illustrate that
Japanese women are least likely to
consider using deodorant, facial products,
skin care as enhancing their beauty. This
is considered a normal routine. Japanese
women tend to turn more toward color
enhancers to feel beautiful.
The data collected for “challenging
Beauty” also indicated that Japanese
women felt that taking good care of
themselves was the best way to feel
beautiful
According to the study, an important
aspect to feeling beautiful is having a
sense of style.
The study showed that Japanese women
do not feel pressured by society to look a
certain way, in other words, the emphasis
and strive for beauty is extremely
Hip-hop culture in the U.S. and Japan
 The European standard of
beauty still applies to AfricanAmerican women today despite
the negative self-opinion it
tends to promote.
 Hip-hop culture, despite its
frequent objectification of
women, seeks to break-down
old gender roles and therefore
gains a wider audience.
 In Japan, female Hip-Hopers
use the genre to defy gender
restrictions for women
Idealized Features: Japanese
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Pale skin
Straight hair
Clean complexion
Personal sense of style
Slim and cute “kawaii”
 Despite amount of western
models, retain a sense of
national identity in terms
of what is considered
beautiful i.e. pale skin.
DUDES
 Men not considered part
of the equation in terms of
beauty
 In the past, men primping
or being overly concerned
with their looks was not
attractive at it was unmasculine.
 Having a good physique is
essential to the male
model of physical
attractiveness. 
Men: Past and Present
 Men who are admired at present tend to be more
androgynous than in the past
 Men starting to take beauty into account and spend more
time thinking about fashion and grooming etc.
 These men have been dubbed “metrosexuals”
Metrosexual Japanese Men
 Japanese men have
overwhelmingly gone for the
metrosexual lifestyle.
 Average 20 something males in
Japan spend more time in a
salon than average 20
something females in the U.S.
 Japanese men are using a range
of products including Clinique
etc.
 Men are spending exorbitant
amounts of money, a man might
spend $5,000 for a “casual”
outfit consisting of only the
most notable designers.
Ideal Features: African-American
 At present:
 Light skin color
 Styled hair
 European features
 Thin
Idealized Features: Caucasian-American
 toned build
 Tanned skin
 Long, shiny hair
 As tall as possible
 Clear complexion
Comparisons
 Japanese and African-
American culture prefer
lighter skin.
 White people prefer
tanned skin
 Japan: everything goes
(more of a mixture
between traditional and
modern)
Comparisons cont.
 Both Japanese and
African-American women
desire straight hair
however, they utilize
different methods of
obtaining it.
 Especially important in
African-American women,
in Japan it is just a
preference
Three different cultures not extremely
varied either in what is considered
beautiful, nor how to obtain beauty.
 “If all our women were to become as beautiful as
Venus de Medici we should for a time be charmed,
but we should soon wish for variety, and as soon
as we had obtained variety we should wish to see
certain characteristics in our women a little
exaggerated beyond the then existing common
standard” -Darwin
 I say let me never be complete
I say may I never be content
I say deliver me from Swedish
furniture
I say deliver me from clever
arts
I say deliver me from clear skin
and perfect teeth
I say you have to give up
I say evolve, and let the chips
fall where they may
Beautiful. Freaking beautiful.
-Tyler Durden,
Fight Club (inadvertently
advertising the principles of
wabi-sabi)
 Once there was an ugly barnacle, he was SO ugly
that everyone died. The end.
–Patrick Star
Works Cited
 Non-Digital Sources:
 “Ain’t I a Beauty Queen?” Black Women, Beauty, and the
Politics of Race by Maxine Leeds Craig, Oxford University
Press, New York, 2002.
 Contemporary Japan. McCargo, Duncan.
Works Cited
 Websites (Data):
 http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/uploadedfiles/dove_whit
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e_paper_final.pdf
http://www.guardian.co.uk/japan/story/0,7369,1185335,00.html
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NTN/is_47/ai_10872
2594
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/2395/Black
_hair_care_and_culture_a_story
http://www.japanesestreets.com/magazines.htm
http://www.morbidoutlook.com/fashion/articles/2000_11_japanes
e.html
Works Cited
 Websites (Pictures):
 http://www.ruggedelegantliving.com/a/images/Beyonce.Carousel
.jpg
 http://www.moviereporter.net/newsimages/newsGross_368.jpg
 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/hikkiforever/magazines
/08.jpg
Works Consulted
 English Japanese Dictionary. Harper Collins
Publishers. Glasgow, Great Britain, 2003
 Making Out in Japanese. Geers, Todd & Erika. Tuttle
Publishing, Tokyo, Japan, 2003.
 Oshare. Shiro & Hana. Japan. (It’s a Japanese
fashion book, I can’t read any of it!)
 http://www.translatum.gr/converter/currency.htm
 http://www.dickinson.edu/departments/amos/mosaic01steel/je/W
IGS.jpg
 http://www.beautifulhairdos.com/pictures/beyonce.01.jpg