In a country known for conformity, Tokyo is where you go to stand out! Here, style is defined by defying social norms. With a new look, challenging Japan’s biggest taboo – Depression and mental illness. This new style sub-culture is called yami kawaii and this means sick cute. The style shows off dark imagery of syringes and bandages that rest alongside anime characters, pink lace and scripted words like ‘I want to die’.
While Japan faces an epidemic with its high suicide rates, yami kawaii strives to break this ancient taboo and its cloud of silence that lay dormant over Japan.
So, I am sure my readers are asking what exactly is yami kawaii and what does it look like? Well, the style of clothing is generally colours of pastel and soft appearance with elements of darkness. Grotesque and medical themes are also incorporated into the style. What seems to make this trend appeal to the wider community is the cuteness in look yet the anti-social words that are strewn across the clothing. Words like, ‘fuck you’, ‘I want to die’, ‘I want to kill you’ and ‘I love you’. Yami kawaii’s heroin of comic is a fictional character known as Menhera-Chan. The character transforms into a girl who holds magical powers and she gets her term from a person who suffers from mental illness.
Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. With talking about depression frowned upon. This conveys that Ill mental health is excluding individuals from actively expressing themselves within society.
That is where yami kawaii fashion plays a therapeutic part used as a potential coping mechanism for complex emotions and to those suffering from a mental illness.
Japan has a long way to go in combating the negative stigma that envelopes mental illness. However, kawaii is helping people express a desire to heal and form connection with others in what can be a very isolating period.
Here in Australia, while acknowledging that we too have inequalities surrounding mental health, people here do recognise the illness as an injury. Where people from Japan see a person with mental illness as needing reprieve and take it as a weakness.
When one has trouble practicing self-love yami kawaii helps those ask for love ❤
Inequalities surrounding mental health 
Interesting piece of Japanese culture, art and fashion. I can imagine this yami kawaii trend potentially appealing to, and bringing together an otherwise marginalised group. It also seems to pose a risk in celebrating suicidal ideation, that this might make it increasingly difficult for genuine emotional and psychological distress to be taken seriously. Perhaps however the nature of what brings people together, or helps them feel included is insubstantial, there does seem to be so much research pointing towards the value of social connection, belonging, feeling seen and valued. Idea’s that further explored by by Johann Hari in his recently published book Lost Connections.
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