Saturday, August 1, 2009

Japanese Cosplay as a Form of Art

By Michele Hiromi

Japanese Cosplay is about the person becoming a chosen character or idea. The person looks and acts exactly like the character they are portraying.

All over the world in modern day subcultures are forming, concentrating on wearing specific costumes and act out the chosen characters behaviour. Many of the cosplayers take characters from fantasy films, books, comic characters, and science fiction roles, and in instances they imitate the animal kingdom representing mostly mythical creatures such as dragons and unicorns.

Competitions and festivals are held worldwide, with emphasis particularly in Japan each year where people gather to exhibit their exquisite Japanes cosplay costumes as well as viewing other cosplayer's costumes, most of the costumes being handmade and others ordered to specification from shops specializing in costumes.

Tailors and seamstresses are now cashing in on this opportunity and make excellent livings from the Japanese cosplayer fanatics. Costumes are made to specification even down to the finest details of the character portrayed; nothing is changed from the original item and design. The finer details are exact matches, like the thread used, ribbons, and colours and so on.

In Japan there are specialized clubs that cater for the sex industry and these clubs are called image clubs. Staff working at the clubs; also dress up as animation characters. Both males and females cross dress while cosplaying.

Terms and conditions have been set by cosplay groups, that whatever character you have chosen to dress up as, you have to become the character, in words, action and nature. Japanese cosplay is not only dressing up and acting out, there are also a rich culture as well as tradition behind the character they have chosen to portray.

Japanese cosplay originated in Japan, and majority of cosplay still takes place in Japan. Cosplay is considered to be typical behaviour in Japan, and has spread across the globe just as anime has becoming a popular hobby and various print media features cosplayers.

However there are costumes worn without any conviction by Japanese cosplayers that westerners would not consider wearing as it would be culturally not correct like a Nazi uniform or any other uniforms worn by dictators in the past. Japanese cosplay does not only cover specified role playing but covers all kinds of obsessive fandom.

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