The 7 standards of Japanese Beauty


I may sound biased but do think that Japanese girls are really pretty. It is a strange feeling to go home every two or three years because everything looks new and fresh to me.

I guess this is what happens when you live in the U.S. for ten years.

I see a lot of beautiful women here too but in Japan, there are so many girls who look like dolls!

I want to share the five standards of Japanese Beauty and these values are shared among other Asian countries. Another thing about Japan is that there are so many unusual beauty gadgets in stores. Fortunately, there are Japanese markets that I can go here in the U.S. so if I really want to buy those, I can but it is really amazing that people actually buy these facial masks that you are supposed to wear overnight to make your face slimmer. It just looks uncomfortable to me no pain, no gain, right?

These are the five most common standards of beauty in Japan.

1. Double eyelid. (Futae)

There are so many beauty products in Japan. Glue, clear tape and double eyelid surgery is the most common plastic surgery in Japan. We all want what we don’t have, I guess. This is the reason why many Japanese people often assume Hafu children (they are usually referring to those with white parents) are cute because of their double eyelid.

Mono eyelid which is supposedly the primary ethnic feature of Japanese and of course Asian population but reportedly, it is hard to find Japanese celebrities who do NOT have double eyelid since the Japanese entertainment business selects those with futae or people who really want to survive in the Japanese entertainment business undergo a double eyelid surgery.

2. White skin (Shiroi Hada)

Have you heard of the word, “Bihaku”? The word means “beautiful white”. Japanese culture and tradition have always valued women with lighter skin. This one standard of Japanese beauty has always been the same in ancient and modern times.

3. Clear flawless skin

This is the same everywhere. Women who have flawless skin are considered more attractive. Japanese beauty stores sell all kinds of products to keep your skin clean, fresh and flawless.

4. Small face (Kogao)

This is kind of strange because my American friends would ask, “What makes small face more attractive?” It sounds even a little odd. But again this is due to the influence of Hafu models, the majority of which are Eurasian models and they tend to have smaller face for their height. There is a word, “Hattoshin”, which literally means “eight heads body.” I don’t necessarily believe that this should be the beauty standard but I am not writing about my personal opinions but this is all about the generally accepted beauty standards in Japan.

5. Long legs.

This also sounds strange but you don’t absolutely need to have long legs to be considered attractive but because of these Hafu models, Japanese society celebrates skinny people with small faces and long legs. It sounds interesting but models usually have long toned legs!

6. Skinny.

This is definitely important despite the fact that Japanese beauty standard tends to focus more on your face rather than your overall body. The average Japanese people are slim and naturally, as long as you are healthy skinny, you are good. The sizes of Japanese clothes are so small and of course beautiful people should be able to buy clothes in these department stores.

7. Tall (not big), skinny nose (not flat)

Japanese beauty values tall but not big nose. There are a number of beauty products that appear plain creepy but these tools are supposed to make your nose taller and more straight.

I find it ridiculous that more and more expectations are imposed on us women and Japanese women try really hard to maintain white skin. I am Hafu but my mother has a slight dark skin due to her South East Asian heritage. But people used to complement my lighter skin complexion. After living in Sunny California, it is pretty much gone because I don’t have the time to wear sun block everyday. I just stop caring but when I see my high school pictures, it still surprises me how pale I was. Was I really attractive? I don’t know..I think healthy looking skin is far more appealing than just having “white” pale skin.

Based on these beauty standards in Japan, it really does make sense there are so many polished Japanese women walking on the streets..they look like living dolls. How about your country? What are the common standards of beauty in your culture? It is always interesting to do comparison among different cultures.

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