Japanophilia: A Fine Line Between Fascination and Fetishisation

In the smoking area of the Vic, a boy scoffed, “Sorry, I only date Japanese girls.” I stared back at him in a state of shock. He can’t be serious. Still bewildered by our brief exchange, I shared it with a Czech-Japanese friend, who explained that this encounter was only part of a much larger pattern of cultural appropriation and fetishisation, even among our peers. Its origins can be traced back to stories of Japanese ‘comfort women’ during WWII and have since embedded itself in society through stereotypes, books, movies, and operas and musicals like Madama Butterfly  and Miss Saigon, both of which have problematic romances between Asian women and American men.

But it’s gone beyond sexual fetishisation — it's seeped itself into mainstream society in the form of cultural obsession. In the mid-1990s Japanese entertainment really began to trickle across the ocean in the form of comics (Manga), movies, anime, or the Japanese candy kit obsession of the 2010s. Japanese entertainment was everywhere. Culminating with Avril Lavigne’s 2013 music video for ‘Hello Kitty’, in which she parades through Tokyo indulging in sushi and repeatedly singing “kawaii,” ‘cute’ in Japanese. In response to the natural backlash, she wrote on Twitter saying: “RACIST??? LOLOLOL!!! I love Japanese culture and I spend half of my time in Japan.” The image of Japan became superficial and subject to fetishisation as an exotic and otherworldly country. This led to the rise of a new phenomenon: Japanophilia. A category of Westerners infatuated with Japanese entertainment emerged, often dressing in ways to reflect Japanese anime, or liking things simply because they are ‘Japanese’.

After that, Japanophilia in mainstream culture went a little undercover. Take Iris Law, for example — a model, influencer, and prized ‘nepo baby’ who, I would argue, subscribes to this Japanophilia. Law spends large portions of the year in Japan, exploring local food and culture and sharing her experiences on Instagram. Recently, she even participated in a traditional tea-tasting competition, ‘Tōcha,’ documenting her involvement and laughing at her terrible guesswork. While this might seem innocent, it borders on a fine line between genuine appreciation and exoticising Japanese culture as a ‘cool’ accessory. Law’s fascination has become part of her brand: she appeared on the cover of Vogue Japan and in British Vogue in an article titled “From Mulberry Bags to Kawaii Cakes, Iris Law Shows Us Around Her Tokyo.” There’s an undeniable undertone of arrogance in the piece, as she gushes over “cute” details like the “amazing taxis” she jokes about “shipping back to London.” It’s a perfect example of how Japanese culture is commodified and often infantilised for Western audiences, serving as a backdrop for personal branding rather than genuine engagement.

Ansel Elgort, another actor and nepo baby, filmed in Japan for Tokyo Vice and took up learning the language and culture, reaching an “admirable fluency” according to many. This is all very commendable — or would have been, had he stopped there. Elgort went on to produce an exhibition, ‘書道and写真’ (Calligraphy and Photography), at the Kaikai Kiki Gallery in Tokyo, featuring his various calligraphy works. His pieces displayed an elementary grasp of the centuries-old tradition of shodo (the way of writing). When showing the work to a Japanese friend, she remarked that it “looked like a foreigner trying to be artsy,” and continued to explain calligraphy as an often very private meditation: “It’s something my grandmother does; it’s an art and a method of reflection.” There are so many wonderful, and much better, calligraphers in Japan, like Kaneko Sachiyo, known for her creative exploration of the tradition. It makes one think, what earned Elgort, a Hollywood movie star, this platform? It simply doesn’t sit right. We continue to allow, and even endorse, this arrogance disguised as cultural appreciation, perpetuating the fetishization of Japanese culture.

Illustration by Amelia Freeden