While Japanese cool hunters might lament the lack of pop cultural exports in recent years — all the more conspicuous when compared to K-Pop's successful forays westward — kawaii (cute) culture has quietly permeated into global consciousness with all the effortless grace of singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu farting out a rainbow.
You don't have to be an ardent Japanophile to know kawaii — its trademark vibrant palette and infantilized characterization can be found in much of the nation's contemporary cultural exports: Most noticeably in the commodity cuteness of Hello Kitty, Pokemon, Line lovebirds Brown and Cony and the countless yurukyara mascots that blight our TV screens.
International early adopters of the style, such as Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, have re-imagined kawaii through a Western lens and contributed significantly to its popularization abroad. Now, one company, Asobisystem, is looking to shine the spotlight back on its birthplace — the Harajuku district in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward — by opening a new building that sets out to be a one-stop shop offering all the essentials demanded by international visitors.