Up until recently, the hood was mostly a taboo clothing item in Japan. The common thinking was that only criminals and people who had something to hide would wear a hood over their head while out and about on a perfectly clear day. Anyone who bought a hoodie or sweatshirt was doomed to leave the hood unused, dangling lifelessly behind them.
But thanks to the power of the internet, a new trend in Japan is spreading: “hooded girls,” basically just photos of girls wearing hoodies with *gasp!* their hoods up. Because nothing turns something from kowai (scary) to kawaii (cute) faster than pretty girls on Twitter.
Most of the Western world, aside from a few exceptions, has embraced the hoodie for years. But up until recently, if you wore a hood in Japan, no matter who you were, you automatically turned into this:
Flickr (Mark Taylor)
But now, thanks to the help of “hooded girls,” (okaburi-joshi in Japanese) you can turn into this instead:
https://twitter.com/megutan_dapo/status/556675299119607808If you’re a fan of this change in cultural norms, then you can thank Suu, a member of the Japanese girl group “Silent Siren.” She has tweeted several selfies of herself as a “hooded girl,” inspiring her thousands of followers to, well, follow suit.
▼ Here’s one of Suu showing off her “hooded girl” skills.
今日は大阪NHKホール
— すぅ(SILENT SIREN) (@sumiredooon) January 12, 2015
セミファイナルだわぁ。
昨日はシンデレラタイムに寝れた👰💍 pic.twitter.com/6Qr8izLboe
▼ And another, encouraging others to make use of their once-flaccid hoods.
今日はadidas NEOの撮影でした☺︎
— すぅ(SILENT SIREN) (@sumiredooon) January 8, 2015
おかぶり女子(フードかぶっちゃう系)がくるらしい pic.twitter.com/2Qk4w8Tv9S
Here’s some more pictures of the “hooded girl” boom she’s helped cause:
▼ The classic “are you sure it’s okay for me to put my hood up?” look.
ありがてぇ…。
— シロ (@MR_HYBRID) February 5, 2015
【画像】「おかぶり女子」街で急増中!!2015年ニュートレンドの兆し : ワロタニッキ http://t.co/qvaSIrbALF pic.twitter.com/VHYPXlh2jr
▼ Masks down, hoods up!
Twitter (@ts_momoco)
▼ Some girls need a little help overcoming the mental block to put up the hood.
今日は早めにレポート出して帰ってこよう(*`・ω・´)寝不足続きでおねむ…
— Ꮇ*°@西野家 (@pmy_kanayanfam) January 22, 2015
カナやんのように3日寝なくても大丈夫!みたいな能力ほしい…
寝るのがもったいって言える能力がほしい
おかぶり女子カナやん💓 pic.twitter.com/qxOb6GzJXm
▼ Apparently the “hooded girl” boom has spread to Korea as well. They’re a bit behind on how to do a proper peace sign though.
Twitter(@BTvxq5)
Of course Japanese netizens had lots to comment about the “hooded girls.” (Some liberties were taken when translating the puns.)
“I thought they were ‘wooded girls’ at first. I guess this is better?”
“They look like Little Red Riding Hood.”
“It’s good for hiding bald spots I suppose.”
“Well I mean, it’s cold, so why not? Don’t want to get frostbite on your ears.”
“Ohh. I thought they were ‘crooked girls.’ Their pictures are all taken at angles….”
So what do you think? Are “hooded girls” deserving of their hashtags? Or are they just ho-hum? Personally, I think they need to step up their game by trying out some more extreme hoodies.
Source: MyNavi News via Kinisoku
Images: Twitter (1, 2, 3) (Edited by RocketNews24)
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