The strange trend of Japanese youth: trying to look like African Americans

Dutch photographer Desire van der Berg traveled around Asia for seven months. This girl currently lives in Hong Kong, but when she was in Tokyo in December 2013, she was introduced to Hina, a 23-year-old Japanese woman who worked in a Tokyo fashion boutique called Baby Shoop. The slogan of the store is the phrase "Black for life". She describes the store's products as "a tribute to black culture, music, fashion and dance style." Hina's appearance also suits what the Japanese call B-style - short for "Black" (black) and "Lifestyle" (lifestyle), which refers to the subculture of young Japanese who adore American hip-hop culture so much that they do everything to look and act like African Americans.

(Total 12 photos)

1. “Hina appeared in a documentary about B-style a couple of years ago, and I accidentally saw him,” says the photographer. So I became interested in this culture. It took a lot of effort, but in the end I contacted Hina using Facebook. I wrote that I wanted to photograph her, and she really liked this idea. But it was a little strange and difficult, because neither Hina nor her kind know a word of English. During our meetings, we needed an interpreter.” Pictured: Hina in Tokyo. (Desire van den Berg)

2. “There are a lot of strange things in Japan, take at least the Harajuku quarter - incredible things happen there. B-style is what you can find on sites like wtfjapanseriously.com. Hina often travels to New York, she idealizes America. Japanese television is full of American films and commercials, which may be one of the reasons for such a love for the United States. She sees America as a promised land." In the photo: sale in the Baby Shoop boutique for B-style lovers. (Desire van den Berg)

3. B-style is not very popular in Japan. You will not meet such guys and girls on the streets. Will have to search hard. According to Hina, a couple of years ago, the culture was more popular, and now there are only a small fraction of adherents of style in every city. It's definitely not mainstream. It may even be too small to be called a subculture.” Pictured: A former B-style fan shows a photo of herself with a friend on her phone. (Desire van den Berg)

4. “Hina goes to the solarium every week to make her skin darker. I was even surprised that there are tanning salons here at all, because in Japan beauty is partly in pale skin. Pictured: The rappers at a concert in Shibuya. (Desire van den Berg)

5. “Hina is 100% Japanese and naturally has pale skin. She tans and uses various bronzers and self-tanners. Adherents of this culture listen to hip-hop and go to special hairdressers to braid or make themselves wavy hair. You can find such salons in the Tokyo "ghettos", and African Americans work in them. Hina wears colored contact lenses - light brown to make her eyes look bigger." Pictured: at a B-style event. (Desire van den Berg)

6. “There are various B-style events where the Japanese break dance, hip-hop and R&B. Although this event attracts mostly Japanese people, a lot of typically American slang can be heard here. I was at one such concert, and it suddenly seemed to me that everything fell into place. There was a feeling that this subculture is much larger than I thought. Pictured: at a B-style event. (Desire van den Berg)

7. “It's normal in Japan, but under YouTube videos like this, you'll see a lot of comments from people who think it's wrong. Many people think that copying African Americans is outrageous. Hina and her 'colleagues' don't know about it." Pictured: at a B-style event. (Desire van den Berg)

8. “When I was in Japan, I realized that staring at people is very impolite. On the streets you will see the strangest and most unthinkable people, but no one is staring at them. It's easier for people to be who they want to be. Hina's parents are satisfied with her hobby. Mom believes that this stage will soon pass. Despite the fact that many Japanese feel at home in the crowd, Japan is still a country of extremes that manage to coexist together. In the photo: catalogs of one of the few Japanese brands for bi-stylers. Famous clothing line from Kendrick Lamar. (Desire van den Berg)

9. Product from the Baby Shoop boutique. (Desire van den Berg)

10. At a B-style event. (Desire van den Berg)

11. Hina's YouTube video about this cultural trend has become so popular that she is now recognized on the streets of the United States. (Desire van den Berg)

12. Japanese who want to be black. (Desire van den Berg)