The Expat Files: Feeling the love in Tokyo

No one does shopping like the Japanese.

In fact, the shops here are more like retail temples than mere buildings containing merchandise. Some of the world’s biggest names in architecture (Renzo Piano, Toyo Ito, Herzog and de Meuron) have teamed up with the biggest names in luxury brands (Hermes, Tod’s, Prada) to create buildings that could be accurately described as design museums rather than shops.

When a national obsession ruins a name
The big names aside, even my local shopping area has many small independent places that are every bit as intricately detailed and expensively fitted out. BUT, one aspect of this perfect picture lets the whole side down. The names of some of these emporiums are in English, and they don’t always reflect what’s for sale inside. Here are just some of the local examples:

Love Girls Market – No, it’s got NOTHING to do with prostitutes. It just stocks ordinary, standard fashion suitable for any workplace.

Hearty Nail – A manicure salon.

Hearty Hair – Yes, a hair salon.

I am Candy – A dog-grooming salon.

X Girls Stages – Surprisingly not a lap-dancing venue, it’s actually a very nice children’s clothes shop.

Love Hair Mist – OK, this isn’t a shop. I think it’s a hairspray but I’m saying nothing more…

Why do they do it?
The answer lies in the affection the Japanese have for all things kawaiee which is the Japanese word for cute. But just as the English word cosy doesn’t adequately capture the Danish concept of hygge, kawaiee is so much more than mere cuteness.

Hearts, teddy bears, kittens or small dogs, and anything pink and fluffy are the height of fashion and desirability, and not just for children! It’s perfectly acceptable for 40-year-old women to dress up as Little Bo Peep just to pop down to the supermarket. It’s kawaiee! The words love and heart (or the adjective ‘hearty’), written in pink of course, are very kawaiee and this is obviously a boost for any business!

What is hearty anyway?
The word hearty is usually used to mean big or abundant. So, someone might say “I ate a hearty meal”. What these shop owners are probably trying to communicate is the same idea as lovely hair and lovely nails. They just haven’t got it quite right.
While these names might amuse English speakers, they do successfully appeal to the local target market.

It would be an entirely different matter if they were hoping to export internationally. Japanese car manufacturers give many of their models two English names – one that will work for the local market and one for the rest of the world. For example, Nissan’s sports car is known as the 350ZX internationally. In Japan, it’s called the Fairlady…How kawaiee!

 

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For those WordSpin readers that don’t know Rachel Oudyn, she was a full-time copywriter for Eye for Image until her husband was transferred to Japan. Rachel and Robert now live in Tokyo with their one-year-old twins Hannah and Thomas.

Rachel is still part of the extended Eye for Image family working part-time. As illustrated here, Rachel loves nice buildings and enjoys shopping and people watching (that’s not the same as stalking).

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