Harajuku

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For other uses of Harajuku, see the disambiguation page

Image:Harajuku-eki-april-2002.jpg Image:Harajuku bridge 02.jpg Harajuku (原宿) is the common name for the area around Harajuku Station on the Yamanote Line in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo, Japan.

1 Misconception
2 Origin
3 Urahara (backstreet Harajuku)
4 Harajuku as an icon
5 Harajuku in music
6 External links

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Misconception

For external observers, it has been primarily known as a hangout for teens and contains the department store Laforet, which has many trend-setting brands for young people. But the majority of shoppers are from Saitama, Chiba, or other areas outside of Tokyo.

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Origin

Harajuku became famous in the 1980s due to the large numbers of street performers and wildly dressed teens who gathered there on Sundays when Omotesando was closed to traffic. Those movements lead to the vibrant "Hokoten Band Scene". This was stopped at the end of the '90s and the number of performers, Visual Kei fans, rockabilly dancers and punks has steadily decreased since.

Near the train station there is the Meiji Shrine, which is famous for the large number of people who come to visit every year, as well as Yoyogi Park. Also nearby are Takeshita Street, a street lined with fashion boutiques and various goods mostly for young teenagers, and Omotesando, a very long street with cafes and upscale fashion boutiques popular with residents and tourists alike.

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Urahara (backstreet Harajuku)

The area known as "Ura-Hara" (backstreet Harajuku) has become well-known for independent casual fashion designs, footwear and so on. The more playful styles are exposed globally in publications such as FRUiTS.

Its origin goes back to the early '90s, with the opening of Bounding Hunters and following gathering of fashionable on the residential backstreet of Omotesando. The street is called "cat-street" for the fact that there are many cats crossing the street. The streets are heavily crowded on the weekend when teens gather to shop and hang out with their friends. Local landmarks include the headquarters of NHK.

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Harajuku as an icon

Harajuku is a popular iconic location in the entertainment world, both inside and outside of Japan. The American singer Gwen Stefani references Harajuku in several of her songs and incorporates four female dancers dressed like Harajuku Girls into her background act. A song is even dedicated on her album, Love.Angel.Music.Baby, titled 'Harajuku Girls' and the word "原宿" (Harajuku) is depicted on the stage surface during her music video for Hollaback girls. Her use - what critics call her appropriation - of Harajuku girls and Harajuku fashion has been criticized by many Asian-Americans for perpetuating stereotypes of submissive Asian women. [1]

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Harajuku in music

The Scottish group Belle & Sebastian also refers to Harajuku in their album Dear Catastrophe Waitress. A winter-themed special edition of Takeshi's Castle (known as MXC in the United States) contained a scene filmed at the station where Hayato Tani (aka "Captain Tenneal") gives one of his pep-talks to the contestants. Well known pop-artist, Gwen Stefani, also dedicates an album and fashion line to Harajuku and its subcultures in her song "Harajuku Girls".

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