Long before the mayor of Shibuya announced pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu as an official ambassador of kawaii culture, Sebastian Masuda, her art director, had been on a mission to spread ¡°kawaii culture¡± across the world, advocating it as not only a potent source of Japan¡¯s emerging soft power, but also as a cultural revolution in its own right.
Now that today¡¯s youth in Japan are set to be recorded in history as the ¡°kawaii generation,¡± Masuda, as one of the most important architects of the phenomenon, discusses the future of what he says has been an oft-misunderstood facet of Japan¡¯s culture.
You originally made a name for yourself in the Tokyo fashion scene through your Harajuku shop 6%DOKIDOKI. How did that come about?
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