Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Eight Million
IDOLIZED SELF
IN JAPANESE SOCIETY
the face of each agent of interaction. Research has shown that 11 American individualist notion of selfhood (cf. Whittaker
1 11.1
(omote) and what should be kept unseen (ura), or between their S~lggestiverecent theories on "performing identities" point out
outward expressions (tatemae) and their hidden personal intentions I 11.11 the constituents of identity such as gender, class, and ethnicity
(honne). They tend to surrender, or at least tone down, their indi- $ 1 1 less a function of knowledge than performance, or less a matter
(,
vidual qualities to the conventional images of collaborative self- 111' final discovery than perpetual reinvention (Fuss 1991: 7). For in-
hood in order to avoid face-threatening actions (Lebra 1976; Bach- , , I ,lnce, Epstein ( 1 ~ 8argues ~) that identity is neither a determinative
nik 1994)~~ Combine these psychological and attitudinal aspects and I Ii:~racteristic of a person that unwinds from within nor a serial en-
one can infer the effectiveness of idol performances-that is, the , I ( . [ ment of socially imposed roles that could vary considerably
virtue of presenting oneself as a publicly adorable figure who can I bvcr the course of one's life, but an intermediate position between
"style," or "module." Zarrili (1990) introduces this concept in his 4. A similar argument is given by Scott (19s: Chap. 8) in reference to kabuki. Kaiiz,
in his view, is specified as the actor's speech and movements on the stage, although
the term's meaning extends to stage properties, costumes, and make-up, which are
3. Singleton (1989) also discusses how parents demand this kind of disciplined con- not simply decorative accessories but are also necessary aids to the technique of the
centration from their children in Japanese folkcraft pottery apprenticeships. actor. These ornaments frame the actor into an established style (1955: 105).
and to talre up positions w i l l ~ i lI I~I I * S I , I , ~ I - I ~ . I I I . ~ I . I , I ) I . I I ~ I I I III I I * . , 1 1 1 1 . *.I111 1 1 1 I I I ~ I I ) : I I - . ~ ' I .I,.
~ ,111 o l ) 01 wol.sl~il),01.S O I ~ ~ C ~ I"Able
j ( b ~ . l ~ I I I ~ but
term "idol performances" will bc usc~tlill st~l>sc.clt~c*~~~ c.l1;1j>1 c*l.sI )I I 11 is n'i1 I I I 1 \ 1 1 .;t~lrsl. I I I ~ . ( - . ' I ' l l ( * j;lp;lnc)sc.ccluivalent of the original mean-
book to signify a form of symbolic self-prcscnt;~tio~l t11;11 ( * I I ( . O I I I - - ~ I I , : 111 "i(lol" i l l I31iglish is pizb, which is a combination of two
passes the packaging, characterizing, stylizing, or modcling ol' sell' ;IS L V I II.IIS: ,st/, which means "fabrication," and 24 which means "im-
practiced by adolescent personalities in the domain of popular cul- 1,:(8" 01- "statue." This implies that aidoru is an arbitrary concept
ture and mass society in contemporary urban Japan. What makes I I ; I ~ could be defined in many ways.
the idol style distinct from other styles of performance is its posi- 111 cliscussing the fluidity of idols as a philosophical concept,
tion in the youth market. In a society where a significant portion of I ;l-;lncisBacon once said:
the consumer market consists of children and young adults, becom- 'I'lic idols imposed by words on the understanding are of two kinds. They
ing a popular adolescent role model means making a considerable .Ire either names of things which do not exist . . . , or they are names of
amount of profit. This is the single most important motivator for things which exist, but yet confused and ill-defined, and hastily and ir-
idols and their promotion agencies to produce idols as s y r n b o l ~ . ~ regularly derived from realities. . . . The [latter] class, which springs out
ol a faulty and unskillful abstraction, is intricate and deeply rooted. . . .
For it both signifies that which easily spreads itself round any other body;
RELIGIOSITY I N
and that which in itself is indeterminate and cannot solidify; and that
IDOL PERFORMANCES which readily yields in every direction; and that which easily divides and
scatters itself; and that which easily unites and collects itself; and that
What, then, is an idol? What does it mean to stylize oneself as an which readily flows and is put in motion; and that which readily clings to
idol personality and to be worshipped in Japan today? The study another body and wets it; and that which is easily reduced to a liquid, or
of idol performances as a symbolic phenomenon calls into question being solid easily melts. (Bacon 1985 [rbzy]: 284; brackets mine)
the religiosity of idol performances. In saying this, however, I do
not mean to treat idol performances as a religious praxis. I intend This statement shows that idols are semantically unstable, and idol-
to consider idol performances as secular religion by highlighting ized objects are subject to-changes in meaning. For Bacon, idols ba-
sically referred to preconceptions or misconceptions. Reflecting his
analogies between idol performances and religious rituals using
iconoclastic Puritan background, Bacon treated idolatry as phi-
concepts such as "charisma." Doing so unfolds the mechanism of
losophical obstruction, or a force that prevents us from attaining
idolatry: that is, the way in which social relationships, networks,
truthful understanding about the nature of the world. As a remedy
and institutions are built around objects of popular worship. I will
to such an intellectual disorder, he proposed empirical analyses in
keep intact the distinction between religion, which consists of
which objects of our thought are critically examined and evaluated.
community rituals that are performed to influence the nonhuman
Any truthful understanding of the world could be generated
realm, and popular culture, which consists of commercial events
through thorough analysis of gathered data. Bacon called this
and representations, even though I will discuss the religious aspect of
method of investigation "induction."
popular culture.
For young boards of directors, stockholders, advertisers, and
Idols, referred to in Japan as aidoru (from the English "idols"), is
distributors who wish to assure their place in contemporary Japa-
a derivation of a term that originally referred to an image of a per-
nese popular culture and consumer society, the semantic ambiguity
of idols is an instrument rather than an obstacle in conceptualizing
5. Yoshida's (1984) study, for example, reports that Japan's children's market con- their world. Their activities are oriented to the commercial mysti-
stituted a gross product of 10 trillion yen (estimate) in the fiscal year of 1983. Accord- fication of desirable objects rather than the scholarly analyses of
ing to one of my informants, an advertising agent, this particular article inspired
many people in the trend industry. their essential qualities. Precisely because idols have fluid meanings,
32 The Ethnography of Idol Production The Ethnography of Idol Production
changes in the public taste is what the idol industry in contempo- ceremonial observances (1996: 38, 39, Chap. 12).
rary Japan has been doing over a period of almost four decades. In idol performances, idols are typically presented to the public
My task as an "idologist" is to uncover through the inductive as "pure" personalities, and this reflects the relation of idol perform-
method of analysis how actors, producers, and audiences incorpo- ances to the Shintoesque idea of purity. The "pure" image of an idol
rate specific social, cultural, and historical aspects into the making encompasses "innocent," "childlike," "cute," "tomboyn appearances
of idol imagery. and personal qualities, all of which signify the ndive and thus charm-
In religious practices, worshippers construct and construe their ing performances of young celebrities that are supposedly untainted
icons as the symbolic centers of their communities through ritual- by commercial professionalism. The pure image of idols often ac-
ized permances and folkloric narrations. Ritualized performances companies a consecrating catchphrase "Kiyoku, tadashiku, utsuku-
that revolve around icons could frame distinctions between sacred shiku!" or "Pure, honest, and beautiful," and for idol fans especially
and profane, the special and the routine, or transcendental and con- this means that idols are distant from scandalous romances and acts
crete realities. Of analytical importance here is the effect of framing I hat are considered immoral-although in fact idols, like performers
rather than what is being framed: through rituals, people set them- of other entertainment genres, often become the subjects of scandals.
selves, their places, and their activities off from the rest of their soci- 'I'hus, the purity of idols could be regarded as pretense, an aspect of
ety and remove physical and psychological impediments to their re- tlc.liberate style, rather than an essential quality.
lationships with the divine (see Bell 1997: 160). Such a function of One notable aspect of the shinto view of purity is that defile-
ritual is apparent in Japan where, as Nelson (1996) observes with fas- Illcbntsand pollutions are not necessarily thought of as "sins," even
cination, ritual practices that resemble those dating to centuries ago I liough these transgressions violate a divine state of harmony. Nel-
in structure and expression can be found today. L . oobserves ~~ that while "sins," according to American and Euro-
In Japan's indigenous religion, shintd, rituals serve purposes such I)cS.lnreligious sensibilities, directly affect the individual's soul like
as thanking the divine beings for plentiful food supply; beseeching . I I'ilthy cloak that only the direct forgiveness of God can remove,
protection for local communities by these divine beings, known as Il c 3 l ilcrncnts are thought of in shinto as temporary separations from
&mi; and honoring the departed souls of clan members. Purifica- I I I Il,~~-rnonious
~ interaction of body, soul, and the lifeworld. Thus
tion for removal of physical and psychological impediments to J I I , I(.( )-Christian preoccupations with virtue do not apply to the
one's relationship with kami constitutes a significant aspect of ) . I ~ ) , I I I ( T ~ 'conceptions of impurity and purity. Purity and impurity
shintd rites, and this is expressed in behaviors such as rinsing the 11 1. I I,I~ ,111 t i t hctical to virtue or harmony. They are simply a fact of
hands and mouth with water upon entering a shrine, which is con- I '4 is.11-I I(.(' ,I l'l1icting all of us, including divine beings; with no lin-
gering guilt complexes, defilements can be obliterated by purifica- Weber's classic work (1958) exploring the relationship between
tion rituals (Nelson 1996: 104). Such a perspective applies to idol the Protestant ethic and the building of capitalist institutions
performances, wherein idols that have been involved in scandals shows, for instance, that the structural transformation of the
can be and often are reintegrated into the public scene after a pe- European economy from precapitalist to capitalist modes of pro-
riod of dismissal from the entertainment world, accompanied by duction was dependent not only on changes in the objective condi-
the demonstration of apologetic attitudes before audiences. As we tions of the market (the development of automation, mass produc-
shall see in the chapter on Seiko Matsuda, some idols use scandals tion, surplus value, an exploitative system, and so on) but on a
and their noncontagious characterizations t o stir public conscious- charismatic reformulation of the meaning of economic activities in
ness, give voice to their challenging spirit, and establish their which Protestants, especially Calvinists, and their work ethic
unique positions in the mass society of present-day Japan. played a major role (Eisenstadt, quoted in Weber 1968: xxxii). Web-
Media institutions operate in this context both as developers of er illustrates how charismatic forces could reshape the centers of a
idol mythology and as "demonizers." They watch the growth of society by altering the meaning of these central social orders and
idols and invent stories that shape and reshape the images of idol- the ways people participate in these orders.'
ized subjects. Some of these stories glorify their subjects, while In contemporary Japanese popular culture and mass society,
others (such as those in tabloids) create scandals. Communities of successful idols such as Seiko Matsuda, whose story will be told in
worshippers-support groups and fan clubs-develop their own fe- ;I subsequent chapter, are considered charismatic because they
tishistic rituals, including choreographed cheers and special hand- demonstrate the transformation from an ordinary young person to
shakes. From the perspective of those who worship idols, these ,In extraordinary figure that influences the public. In Japan, cha-
figures purify their hearts and provide them with peace of mind, if risma encompasses a person's abilities to face challenges, overcome
not satisfaction of desire per se. Promotion agencies tied up with struggles, and accomplish dreams against all odds. It also includes
the media enhance rites of worship with concerts, conventions, es- I he person's ability t o surpass the limits of tradition and attain a
says, and magazine articles. Enmeshed in these networks, the posi- llew meaning in life that can inspire other members of the society.
tions of young hopeful personalities are gradually transformed into In the case of Matsuda, old expectations about Japanese femininity
those of the stars. The symbolic values of these personalities are in- Ilnve been vastly modified as more and more women in Japanese
cessantly translated into monetary values along the way, and the \ociety have been influenced by her will to sacrifice romance, mar-
processes of idols' personal development are marketed. ~.i.~ge,
and family for her career. Matsuda's will to stand out in the
,l,~piineseentertainment world and contest the traditional view of
T H E CHARISMATIC women as mothers rather than artists or workers captured public
. ~ ~ ~ c n t iThe
o n . trajectory of her transformation from an object of
QUALITY OF IDOLS
Because they can become the objects of public adoration, idols are 7 . 'I'hcrc is a problem inherent in the initial assumption of any sociological
charismatic personalities (Weber 1968; Shils 1~65).One crucial as- .~ll.~lysis OF charisma: such an analysis may stress its disruptive effects. While char-
pect of charisma lies in the power of these personalities to trans- I ~ . I I I . I I ~ (I'.OII.CS could he seen as a focus of social conflict, cultural dissension, or the
form themselves and the society in which they are positioned m I ~ . * .I ~11c.1 i011 oC cxisting social order, I adopt Eisenstadt's insight that this does not
II~.~:,III. i ( l c . : ~ 111:11 ~hcscforces could also become a part of the institutional
meaningfully. Charismatic individuals and groups can rGorgn~lizcl 111(s