The Cult of Kawaii: Exploring Japan's Idol Industry

This essay provides an in-depth exploration of Japan's vibrant and flashy idol industry. Beginning with a dissection of the historical roots, it traces the evolution from geishas to host clubs, and ultimately to modern idols. The analysis delves into the cultural and social dynamics behind these phenomena, uncovering the intricate layers of Japan's entertainment world.


Key insights are drawn from Hiroshi Aoyagi's work on Japanese idols and the following sources:

Aoyagi, Hiroshi. Islands of Eight Million Smiles: Idol Performance and Symbolic Production in Contemporary Japan. Harvard University Asia Center, 2005.

Bardsley, Jan. "Teaching Geisha in History, Fiction, and Fantasy." The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, vol. XVII, no. 2, Spring 2010.

Gagné, Nana Okura. "Staged Seduction: Selling Dreams in a Tokyo Host Club by Akiko Takeyama (review)." The Journal of Japanese Studies, vol. 45, no. 1, Winter 2019, pp. 186-191. Society for Japanese Studies.

Greenwood, Jocelyn. Geisha: A History of an Empowered Group.

Henson, Kristy D. "For $1,000 I'll Love You Too: An Understanding of Japanese Hosts and Host Clubs." Marshall University, May 2013.

Kiuchi, Yuya. "Idols You Can Meet: AKB48 and a New Trend in Japan’s Music Industry." The Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 50, no. 1, 2017, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Linhart, Sepp. Review of "Society for Japanese Studies." The Journal of Japanese Studies, vol. 21, no. 2, Summer 1995, pp. 451-456. Society for Japanese Studies. JSTOR, Accessed 04 Dec. 2015.

Xie, Wendy. "Japanese ‘Idols’ in Transcultural Reception: The Case of AKB48." Virginia Review of Asian Studies, vol. 16, 2014, pp. 74-101. Appalachian State University.

Nil Nilgiree's video:    • The Dark Reality of Japanese Host Clubs  

If you would like to dive further into this topic, I would recommend reading Idols and Celebrity in Japanese Media Culture, edited by Patrick W. Galbraith and Jason G. Karlin.

Thank you for watching!