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Your nail art may be cute, but is it Kabuki-cute? New style trend begins with 100 yen stickers

Evie Nyan Jan 7, 2015
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Nail art is something that’s increasingly popular among Japan’s ladies due to the fact that it’s an easy way to express your individual style. As well as DIY-ing it at home with 100 yen store nail polishes and nail stickers, you can also get reasonably affordable yet super-durable gel manicures in a salon which are set by UV light and last for at least a month. Nail art trends tend to come and go depending on the season and whatever’s in style, but occasionally there’s a “boom” for a certain kind of design, with more and more people jumping on the bandwagon. First came anime nail art, and now it’s the turn of traditional Japanese performance art, Kabuki!

Kabuki is a type of dance-drama that dates back to 1603 and is still performed in Japan today. The colourful and sometimes bizarre makeup worn by performers is both striking and instantly recognisable, making Kabuki the perfect motif for nail art that’s both ultra-Japanese and awesome to look at. If you’re not too familiar with Kabuki, here’s a Youtube video of a performance by famous actor Bando Tamasaburo, a noted “onnagata” (female role) performer. The video has commentary in English which explains the story behind the performance.

The current trend for Kabuki-nails seems to have begun when nail-savvy shoppers discovered Kabuki-style nail stickers on sale at 100 yen shops across Japan. These DIY nailists began tweeting pictures of the creations they achieved through skilful use of the inexpensive stickers:

今日100均で見つけて思わず買ってしまった歌舞伎モチーフのネイルシール(^o^)歌舞伎座に行く日が来たら使おうかな pic.twitter.com/8hElGrvVvl

— チャボ (@chabosuke15) July 14, 2014

100均やけど歌舞伎ネイル！ pic.twitter.com/Rl2pd9nfCy

— こより (@KOY0RI) July 5, 2014

歌舞伎ネイル pic.twitter.com/JJeLkRHwDg

— 古谷　葉月 (@furutanihatsuki) January 7, 2014

https://twitter.com/shishi__zizizi/status/497799420809715713

歌舞伎ネイルかわいいです。
シールだから少し汚いけども…
一昨日のことを思い出しニヤニヤしながら就寝します☆彡 pic.twitter.com/A5bVfTDUcM

— きょんきょん (@penguinsan530) July 11, 2014

https://twitter.com/kinusan17/status/471979362594467840 https://twitter.com/space_milkyway/status/496106498628386816 https://twitter.com/minami5576/status/488568925571932160

うれしい（泣） @soleil_aya: 葉月さんのネイルは
本当に素敵！(((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))
大ファンです！

“@furutanihatsuki: 歌舞伎ネイル pic.twitter.com/SGKUwfiu7g”

— 古谷　葉月 (@furutanihatsuki) January 7, 2014

Those with less skill at manipulating fiddly stickers and tiny brushes headed to their usual nail artists to request “Kabuki nails, please!”

https://twitter.com/suzu21mj/status/454939905060110336 https://twitter.com/masumi0827/status/464771880537190400 https://twitter.com/21Choki/status/446588894025236480

歌舞伎ネイルです。思いついてネイリストさんにお願いしました。満足の出来映え(^^) pic.twitter.com/QJOHA1UsrE

— ゆきだるま⛄️yukidaruma (@11yukidaruma) June 3, 2013

What do you think of this new style trend? Is it cute and unique, or just kinda weird-looking? At any rate, if you decide to adopt the Kabuki-style trend yourself, don’t forget to take care of your skin as well! A Kabuki face mask will sort out those unsightly enlarged pores and keep you looking fierce whether onstage or off.

Source: Naver Matome
Image: Instagram (Fuyurikobayashi)