The Bijutsu-kan Gallery, located towards the back of Epcot’s Japan Pavilion in Disney World, hosts rotating exhibits featuring different aspects of Japanese culture. Currently on view is an exhibit called Kawaii: Japan’s Cute Culture, which showcases all things adorable and delves into the history of how kawaii aesthetics have become so pervasive in Japan.
Kawaii is a word used for something seen as cute in an innocent, lovable sort of way. The exhibit is separated into different sections representative of where you can see kawaii in Japanese culture and society. To enhance the cute experience, upbeat Japanese pop songs (J-Pop) play in the background as you look around.
Table of Contents
Entrance
The entrance is marked by a pastel rainbow curving above the Bijutsu-kan Gallery sign. The window display shows the exhibit name in a colorful, bubbly font surrounded by the cutesy, personified figures of a volcano, microphone, and bowl of rice.
The Characters of Kawaii
The first section to the left displays mascots and characters prominent in Japan that exhibit the sweet and cute properties of kawaii. Each plushie on display has an information card next to it explaining who they are and why they are popular in Japan. Characters include Hello Kitty, Pikachu, Rilakkuma, Doraemon, and prefecture mascots like Gunma-chan for the Gunma Prefecture and Kumamon for the Kumamoto Prefecture. I think it’s very cool that even official government symbols can have kawaii designs.
Kawaii at Work & Play
In the Kawaii at Work & Play section, shelves are overflowing with products that show how kawaii is incorporated into everyday aspects of life. There must be hundreds of items here, from cute lunch trays to cosplay accessories to pet supplies to cell phone charms to clothing. There is so much to see in these shelves! One of my favorite parts is the electronics section, which has a collection of little beds designed to be resting spaces for cell phones.
Flanking one side of the shelves is a life-size salaryman, Japan’s word for someone who has an office job that usually requires long hours and complete dedication to the company. The information card explains that even serious-looking businessmen dressed in suits like him collect kawaii items like the ones displayed. On the other side is a life-size figure of a girl dressed in the fashion subcultures popular in Harajuku, Tokyo’s trendy fashion district.
Kawaii at Home
My absolute favorite section of the exhibit is a recreation of a Japanese apartment’s bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom decked out in kawaii style. Everything is so adorable. In the bedroom, we have My Neighbor Totoro bed sheets (love those adorable little soot sprites), figurines of Vocaloid musicians like Hatsune Miku, some Yokai Watch toys, and pretty star-patterned curtains.
Notable items in the bathroom are the Totoro shower curtain, My Melody face towel, and cat-shaped toilet brush holder.
Moving on to the kitchen: a Pikachu tea kettle, cute fridge magnets and stickers, colorful oven mitts, a cat paw-shaped dish sponge, and a Kumamon mascot soap dispenser.
Special shoutout to whoever outfitted the kitchen with this Nyanko-sensei rug – I’m a big fan of Natsume Yuujinchou, the anime and manga this cat creature comes from.
The Root of Cute
This section contains a very cool retrospective of kawaii aesthetics, linking them to Japan’s Shinto religion and explaining their post-World War II popularity. There are examples of kawaii designs throughout history, including art from the past to the present. There is some great educational information in this area.
Melty-Go-Round
In the center of the room, the focal point of the exhibition is Melty-Go-Round, an art piece by well-known Japanese artist and designer Sebastian Masuda. His Harajuku-based fashion store 6%DOKIDOKI and restaurant Kawaii Monster Café in Shibuya, Japan, are loved by those who embrace his penchant for bright colors and kawaii designs. The Melty-Go-Round sculpture is filled with trinkets Masuda collected in Japan and abroad, representing Harajuku fashion’s many influences and inspirations.
On the wall across from Melty-Go-Round is information about Sebastian Masuda and his process for creating the sculpture. It includes a quote from him that I really like: “The meaning of kawaii is that personal cosmos filled with the collection of things one madly loves. ‘Kawaii’ is not something fashionable – dressing up for others or trying to be someone else – but rather collecting things because you simply love them. Fashion is just a statement to show what you love.” Wise words!
Final Thoughts
I love kawaii aesthetics and the culture behind them, so I was psyched to see this featured in the Bijutsu-kan Gallery. As far as I know, Epcot has not announced a closing date for the exhibit.
I think the staff did a fantastic job arranging and organizing each section, and it’s a great place for Disney World visitors to learn more about this part of Japanese culture. From my visits to Tokyo, it’s true that you do see examples of kawaii in so many aspects of everyday life in Japan. Walking through this exhibit makes me want to jump right on a plane to Japan and go back to Harajuku, one of my favorite districts in Tokyo, to admire all of the lovely kawaii designs found there.
(All photos taken by Clara Juliette)
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Clara hopes to share her love of exploring cultures and inspire others through the power of storytelling. In addition to writing and travel, she loves psychology, nature, green tea, and cats.