The Characterized Body and Politics in Japanese Social Culture

doi:10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2025.03.005

Abstract

Abstract: In a mass consumption society, the pervasive emphasis on the characterization of body among social members has spurred the production and popularity of anime character merchandise that is particularly pronounced in Japan, known as the “Kingdom of Characters”. It is precisely the close interaction and consumption practices between people and anime characters, including the characterized display and cosplay of the body, the aestheticization of the body, and the metaphor of body politics that make anime characters no longer mere the given images with functional and directional attributes but the symbolic complexes imbued with sociocultural identity characteristics and social value attributes. Consequently, anime characters as art images have become a form of social consciousness that reflects reality and life by shaping vivid and specific social representations, thereby serving as an important carrier for Japanese social ideology.

Key words: anime character, the characterized body, social attribute, the characterized politics

CLC Number:

C913
G13/17

HAN Ruobing. The Characterized Body and Politics in Japanese Social Culture[J]. Japanese Research, 2025, 39(3): 59-68.

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