New Kanji master looks crazy..

Have you ever heard of “Ganguro”? As Wikipedia defines it, “Gangur is an alternative fashion trend among young Japanese women that started in the mid-1990s, distinguished by a dark tan and contrasting make-up liberally applied by fashionistas.”

What surprised me the most about this news article is that this Ganguro girl passed Kanji Kentei level 1. Japanese people may be able to pass levels 10 through 7 but level 1 is the most difficult and fewer than 15% of those who take the level 1 actually pass the test.

I don’t want to be rude but ganguro girls are not perceived well in Japanese society and they put much more effort into their fashion, make-up..ganguro literally means “black face” and people in America might find this term offensive but these girls truly think they are cool. They invest a lot of money and time in getting a great tan, wearing crazy makeup all the time.

Japanese society doesn’t take these girls very seriously. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with their fashions but I wouldn’t want my kids following these girls’ lifestyle. So it is a real surprise that this Ganguro girl is basically the Kanji master and she passed level 1 when she was 14 years old!

Her nickname is “Ayutama” and she is 22 years old. She works at a “ganguro” cafe in Shibuya…this is similar to maid cafe in Japan but instead of cute girls in maid costumes, you find ganguro girls at this cafe.

We can’t judge people a book by its cover…! What do you think?