Why Japanese men like to wear makeup

Walking around the streets of Japan, you will notice that Japanese men have surprisingly good skin. This is partly due to the fact that Japan is near the sea and the air is fresher, but also because many Japanese men wear makeup.

Japanese men are no less interested in beauty than women. In order to pursue a "lovely" appearance, Japanese men use a lot of cosmetics, skin care products, and even frequent all kinds of salons and beauty parlors. This is not uncommon in Japan, and it is even more so for men between the ages of 15 and 25.

Significant feature: eyebrow grooming

A Japanese women's magazine once conducted a questionnaire survey of 100 men and found that they regarded eyebrow grooming as a daily necessity. Nearly 70 percent of the boys trimmed their eyebrows and used facial cleansers; 30 percent carried oil-absorbing tissues; and 25 percent carried lip balm and were very attentive to daily skin care.

Japanese male celebrities appearing in TV dramas and commercials are also leading the eyebrow-trimming trend.

Kimura Takuya:

Kameishi Kazuya:

Matsumoto Jun:

Nail care and beauty treatments are a must

In addition to eyebrow trimming, some men also opt for beauty treatments and nail care.

Hiroko Fujikawa, who runs a nail salon in Tokyo, Japan, says 40 percent of the customers who come in are men.

Fujikawa said, "The first thing you do when you meet someone is shake hands and give him your business card ...... More and more men are realizing that having clean and beautiful hands and nails is a very important thing. "

"Even with limited incomes, some Japanese men prefer to spend their money on improving their image rather than drinking and getting drunk."

Men's bras, body-shaping underwear popular

Japan last year introduced bras designed for men with well developed pectoral muscles, claiming to give them all-day "anti-earth gravity" protection against chest deformation.

Underwear maker Triumph Japan also marketed a men's body-shaping underwear. The corset flattens the wearer's stomach and lifts the buttocks.

A spokeswoman for the company said the shapewear, which is designed for men in their 30s and 40s, was so popular with Japanese men that many stores sold out of the product.

The spokesman added that many men buy the seamless and beige underwear so they look better when wearing leggings or white pants.

Makeup: men's quest for beauty

Japanese men's quest for beauty has become a fad.

Mayu Shimokawa, sales manager at Mandan, Japan's second-largest male cosmetics company, said: "What's popular now (in Japan) are men who are pretty, cute and sophisticated. Muscular, hard-working men look old and outdated."

But Genaro Castro Vazquez, a gender expert at Japan's Keio University, told reporters, "Some people think that a change in men's appearance means a change in their male social role, and that's not true. Men can look feminine if they like. The important thing is that in Japan there is no contradiction between masculinity and looking good."

Now, this group is growing. For these Japanese men, using skin lotion and wearing nice clothes are not enough to fulfill their desire to look beautiful. Now they are trying things that once only women did.

Attracting women's attention with their appearance

According to Shiseido, Japan's most famous cosmetics maker, about more than half of all Japanese men agree that they should invest in their outward appearance. In addition, more Japanese women (more than 70 percent) are in favor of the idea.

Ikuo Daibo, a professor of interpersonal and social psychology at Japan's Osaka University, said there are three main reasons behind the trend: an affluent society, individualism and the power of women.

Daibo explained that when Japanese society became affluent in the 1970s, and when hard work didn't always bring success, Japanese men began to invest more time in their personal hobbies, while their children became more keen on self-improvement.

Improving one's appearance is the easiest way to create a unique and better self," he said. At the same time, because women are empowered, men are starting to look like pets ...... Men are starting to want to look good enough to attract women, and women are no longer attracted to men who are dictatorial."

Men have had a make-up culture throughout history

"Men have had a make-up culture throughout history as well, and in Japan men have only been going without make-up since the Meiji Restoration in the last hundred years."

From ancient times until the Taisho period, a make-up culture called "kurotoshi" (blackening of the teeth) was prevalent in Japan. In the Heian period, men also had their teeth dyed black.

From ancient times, men, such as court nobles and officials, used to wear white powdered makeup, and this culture continued until the end of the Shogunate. Samurai also imitated those noble officials by applying white powder in public until the middle of the Edo period, when the custom of wearing makeup in and out of public was abolished.

However, it is said that the kojas (the officials in charge of the rituals and ceremonies of the shogunate during the Edo period), who had a lot of social contacts with the noble officials, continued to wear make-up like them until the end of the shogunate. In addition to this, the average samurai of the upper class wore light makeup in order to correct a dull complexion when meeting with their lord.

Interpreting history, it is clear that makeup was more of a male thing for most of the time. The higher the status of those in power, in particular, the more prevalent makeup became.

Perhaps makeup was actually a normal thing for the men who drove history!