In the discussion on Japanese design we discussed a plethora of examples that teeter-tottered between being cultural appropriation and nothing at all over cultural appreciation, and some that constituted cultural appropriation. There were some aspects of Japanese design that seemed to “adopt” shapes and drawing styles such as brushstrokes. When in reality, these are not solely Japanese design rather they are more simply just artistic design. There were other examples however that were more obviously Japanese design such as the text and use of “cute culture”. Cute culture consists of using “cute” animals or figures within designs. After looking through examples of cute culture, it was easy to note that Japanese culture definitely usescute culture, but does not own it therefore is not considered cultural appropriation for using any kind of cute animal within a design. A culture cannot simply adopt something as vague as cute animals.
One aspect of Japanese design that was not discussed as thoroughly as I thought it would be was the fashion style: Harajuku. This fashion style got its hype from the Gwen Stefani song/album because she used this style in her video. Harajuku Japanese design I believe is definitely one aspect that if used in another’s design would 100% be considered cultural appropriation. When Stefani used Harajuku design in her video, she struck a huge nerve because what she did by using this fashion was stereotyping Japanese culture completely. Because she used the fashion style for something that it was not intended for, it makes the video cultural appropriation even if she said she was inspired by the culture to use the design. Japanese design has been the oddest to discuss and analyze for cultural appropriation. Throughout the entire discussion I have yet to see an example of cultural appreciation within this design. It seems to either be okay to use a part of Japanese design or it would be considered cultural appropriation if on did so.