Fashioning Japanese Subcultures

I was expecting more. The book is not bad; but half of it the author spends saying things like "In this book I'll show how this became that" or "How this is related to that" (which is the reason I bought the book), but (almost) never shows.As I said before, it is not bad, the second half of the book does present the topics well and give information about them (instead of just saying it will). Other than that, it is written by an academic personality, wich makes the book a reliable source to quote on your college papers.

Good

This was a gift to a friend and my friend LOVED the book

You must read if like harajuku

Such a really good book, interesting and complete.

I think the main thing one have to consider when getting this book, is the fact that this is only a general overview of some of the major fashion subcultures in Tokyo. This is also meant to be a schoolbook (hence the price). That being said, I personally think it's a pretty good read. As someone who has been actively involved in Japanese street fashion groups in the west, I learned new things that never dawned on me before (especially concerning Shibuya's fashion market and how it works). I definitely recommend for those who don't know much about the different subcultures, or the history of them; this touches up on most of it.

Fashioning Japanese Subcultures was disappointing; despite the promise of new fieldwork, Kawamura’s insights on Japanese subcultural styles are neither new nor thoroughly developed. Sadly, some of the points she makes in the book are misleading or inaccurate (this is particularly notable in her gyaru and Lolita chapters). There are a set of good works about Japanese youth culture and fashion prior to this book. Yet the book cites almost none of these sources, and instead claiming that it is the “first academic publication” to discuss these styles. Paying more attention to these previous studies on Japanese youth and visual cultures would have improved the complexity and accuracy of the points Kawamura makes in this book. The book might be good as an introductory guide to some of Japanese subcultural styles, but considering the book as being written and promoted as a “scholarly book,” I would expect, and certainly wish for, much more than what this book offers.

An ideal reference for anyone studying Japanese and an interesting book for an insight on the Japanese way of life.

I was expecting more images of Goths and Gothic Lolitas.