Yamambas. Part 2

Japan is a cosmopolitan country, a country where you could find the most extreme fashion styles; one of those is the well known Yamambas.

The Yamamba style 

The Yamamba style is a extreme version of the Ganguro style, which is an alternative fashion style between young Japanese women where they have tanned skin and blond or orange hair, the Yamamba style take this a little bit harder, women have dark tan, blond or multicolored hair, white lipstick, brightly colorful makeup, plastic dayglo-colored clothing and strange accessories, they use the brightest colors of the Brazil carnival and some Hawaiian accessories, but the Yamambas look quite grotesque and striking.

The Yamanba, a mountain demon

The Yamanba is a mountain demon which made some connection with their folklore; there are some ghosts and demons that have the same appearance, these spirits are represented with the same color palette. As Yamanba is a version of the Ganguro, we can see the relation in the ganguro term which comes from the Japanese words gangankuro which means extremely dark, and guro which means grotesque.

The Yamambas girls

This fashion started in 2000, when young Japanese women wanted to be like the typical Californian girl or the classical Barbie and started their own style. Nowadays we can see some of these tribes in the major cities like Tokyo and Osaka, but to see them we should go to Shibuya Street. 

The Yamambas girls usually spend huge amounts of money on estheticians, tans, clothes and makeup to fit their appearance. They get tan at least three times a week and dress is of high importance, because highlight is all that they want, they want to be seen.

Characteristics of the Yamambas

One of the characteristics of the Yamambas is the use of the latest technology, every single girl of the group has cell phones, ipods, etc., which means that to be part of the group you have to have money.

The Yamambas have a kind of ritual dance called the Para Para. In Tokyo there are expensive clubs where these girls practice their dance. The Para Para use hand movements and steps of the J-pop rhythm which is a modern Japanese music, when they dance, everyone follows the steps together at the same time. 

There are different levels of Ganguro and Yamambas; they are classified for the make-up and clothes they wear, or for the money.