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LOST (and FOUND) in TRANSLATION #015 – “REKIJO”

アバター Penmaru 29/06/2015 4 min read
Do you think that history is the domain of dusty old men? Or at the very least, a guy’s hobby? Not so! One of Japan’s charming points is that you get all kinds of otaku, all with their own special niches. Today, we’re going to look at one of those types: “rekijo”. 歴 Reki (history) 女 Jo (woman) Rekijo is a relatively new word (first appearing around 2005) that refers to a kind of female history buff. Now, there have always been woman who are interested in history. What makes rekijo different? Why the sudden need to create a new category? Well, rekijo aren’t just interested in history as a subject. They’re particularly interested in certain historical figures (such as the samurai of the warring states period) and their interpersonal relationships. To put it simply, they think that these old heroes are “moe”. LFT_015 Rekijo Let’s face it, Japanese people love “idols”. There are loads of men who are smitten with AKB48 or one of the other girl groups, and many woman who love Johnny’s boy bands. One way of looking at rekijo, is that they are women who have made the heroes of the past into their idols. They fantasize about relationships with men like Date Masamune, Yukimura Sanada, Oda Nobunaga or Tadaoki Hosokawa. Now, if you’re failing to see the attraction here, remember that games and manga in Japan have done a lot to “characterize” these historical figures (see News Anchor), by emphasizing certain personality traits and depicting them as dashing, handsome “ikemen”! (ikemen = hottie) The result is that historical sites and shops, which were once frequented only by middle aged men, are now also patronized by young women in their 20s and 30s, who buy lots of goods!… sounds like a win-win situation all round to me!   [catlist name=”LOST AND FOUND” thumbnail=”yes” thumbnail_size=160 content=”no” date=”yes” dateformat=”M j, Y G:i” template=page_list]  
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