A Tourist in Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan asks Decora Kei (Decoration Style) Girls for their picture. Decora Kei is often confused with cosplay, but it's important to note
that decoration style is a part of the youth fashion community here in Japan.
that decoration style is a part of the youth fashion community here in Japan.
What is The Cosplay Research Project?
Cosplayers in the US portray Kingdom Hearts Characters at Another Anime Con in
Nashua, NH. They won best in show for their efforts in 2007.
Nashua, NH. They won best in show for their efforts in 2007.
The Cosplay Project was started 6 years ago to gather and provide accurate and ethnographic information about the history of cosplay, movement of cosplay around the world, regional specialization of cosplay, and the cross-cultural phenomenon that cosplay has become. It originally began as a part of my undergraduate thesis in anthropology and has become a continuing adventure through my Masters Degree Program to discover and write about cosplay and cosplayers in Japan, the United States, and around the world. In 2005 I realized that cosplay was taking hold in the United States as another kind of Youth Subculture and Community - not always just a hobby to its participants, but a kind of artistic expression and personal identity that manifests itself through fashion, design, theater and character emulation.
What is unique about the practice of costuming that is being called "cosplay" in America and other parts of the world (outside of Japan), is that it is meant to reflect the cosplay movement that started in Japan and yet is very unique in its own right. It has changed and morphed into innumerable subculture groups, conventions and expressions (unique from those that formed in Japan). I was fascinated with how rapidly cosplay was gaining in popularity in the United States and around the world. A number of factors, coinciding with the expansion of disk and digital media, the internet, social media, and levels of media exposure resulting from these networking tools, made for the perfect explosion of ideas and created tremendous interest and response.
In the summer of 2006 I traveled to Tokyo to learn more about how cosplay had started in Japan, and came to find that this project was a much larger undertaking than I had ever imagined! What began as a curiosity, fascination, and an enthusiastic search has turned into an ongoing mission to discover and write about the deeper nuances of cosplay and the identities of those who pursue the hobby and love to express themselves through costume creation, design, theatrical expression and character emulation. I returned to Tokyo in January of 2010 to continue my research on the travel of cosplay from Japan to the rest of the world, but more importantly to also write about what cosplay has come to mean to me and thousands of other people who have made it a permanent part of their lives.
"As anime conventions grew in popularity around the world, so did the interest in other anime-related subculture aspects like cosplay, music from anime, and Japanese video games inspired by Anime. Consumption of anime and anime-related products grew exponentially and I have read in many unofficial reports that international sales now account for a substantial chunk of profits for companies back in Japan producing anime. Books like Fruits and Fresh Fruits which showcase fashion photography (as well as some cosplay photography) from Japan are now hugely successful overseas, as are many books that are cosplay related. I would say one major complaint from myself, other cosplayers, and those interested in cosplay, is that there are not a whole lot of books with a lot of substance to them regarding the background of cosplayers. People want to know more about the people, places, and expression involved in cosplay and fashion in Japan and nobody is really giving us this kind of information." - Gagnon 2008
Summary, Legal Statement and Thanks to Contributers:
Waiting in line for 6 hours to see a masquerade at Anime Boston.
Sometimes doing research means serious patience and commitment.
Sometimes doing research means serious patience and commitment.
Anyone who has tried to conduct research on cosplay (particularly for academic reasons) have run into the same problem: Very little "verified" information, or what are considered to be authorized academic studies, have been done on cosplay. I have run into a few other researchers who have conducted similar, smale-scale projects, and it is my hope that this project will continue to be a collaborative one that will include the data of others' projects and research. Anyone who wishes to be published for their work on this site will be given full credit and citation in their article or photography.
All the information and resources provided on this website will always be free to access around the world and I hope it will be a valuable resource to everyone interested in cosplay. All I ask is that if you plan to cite any of my original research that you will please email me for permission and cite it along with my real name, Mrs. Jessie L. Gagnon, as the author and researcher (Please do not use my Pen Name: Lady Lara Jones when citing specific research). Use of my photos and original research is prohibited without written permission (any email permission from me must be signed with my name and authorized copyright code). If you would like to use another person's referenced materials that located on this site you must contact them directly as they retain their copyright over their materials. I will list email and websites for other contributors where applicable.
Many people have participated in this project and helped it to grow. My special thanks goes out to all the cosplayers, anthropologists, and people in the international media industry who have participated in interviews, submitted photos, video and/or cosplayer profiles, or otherwise helped to expand the anthropological and academic portions of this work . Extra Special thanks go out to Bob G, Tom T, Phil K, Bobbie G, Jasmine L., Julia M. and of course Brian H. Their guidance, advice and assistance have helped to craft this project into what it is today.
Fieldwork, Presentations & References
Ethnographic Fieldwork Conducted:
USA:
Anime Boston, Boston, MA: 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008
Another Anime Con, Nashua, NH: 2007 and 2008
Franklin Pierce University, Rindge, NH: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Gainesville, FL: 2008
New Haven, CT: 2008
Portcon, Portland, ME: 2007
University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH: 2007
Japan:
Tokyo: especially Harajuku and Akihabara districts: 2006 & 2010 (ongoing)
References:
Confucius Lives Next Door: What Living in the East Teaches us about Living in the West, T.R. Reid (Referenced 2008, 2009)
Fresh Fruits, Published by Fruits Magazine and Shoichi Aoki (Referenced 2007, 2008, 2009)
Fruits, Published by Fruits Magazine and Shoichi Aoki ( Referenced 2007, 2008, 2009)
Gothic and Lolita, Published by Fruits Magazine, Masayuki Yoshinaga and Shoichi Aoki ( Referenced 2008)
Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno: Tokyo Teen Fashion Subculture Handbook, Izumi Evers, Patrick Macias, Kazumi Nonoka ( Referenced2007, 2008)
Style Deficit Disorder: Harajuku Street Fashion - Tokyo, Tiffany Godoy and Ivan Vartanian (Referenced 2007, 2008, 2009)
Kickboxing Geishas: How Modern Women in Japan are Changing their Nation, Veronica Chambers (Referenced 2007, 2008, 2009)
The Tokyo Look Book: Stylish to Spectacular, Goth to Gyaru, Sidewalk to Catwalk, Philanoma Keet (Referenced 2007, 2008, 2009)
Digital References Cited:
www.dannychoo.com: Danny Choo.com Your Portal to Japan: Accessed 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 (ongoing)
Surveys, Research and Interviews Conducted on Social Media Sites:
www.animenewsnetwork.com: The Anime News Network: Accessed 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 (ongoing)
www.cosplay.com: The International Cosplay Online Community: Accessed 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 (ongoing)
www.cosspace.com: Accessed 2008
www.facebook.com: Accessed 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 (ongoing)
www.myspace.com: Accessed 2006, 2007, 2008
www.youtube.com: Accessed 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 (ongoing)
Related Papers at Conferences:
Lectures:
2008 Anime Boston 2008: “Escape from the Mainstream: The Japanese Cosplay Youth Subculture,” 22 March.
2006 Celebration of Liberal Arts at Franklin Pierce University: “Exploring Harajuku in Tokyo, Japan,” 27 September.
Presentations Given at Professional Meetings and Conferences:
2008 North Eastern Anthropological Association 48th Annual Meeting at UMASS Amherst: “Escape from the Mainstream: The
Japanese Cosplay Youth Subculture,” 8 March.
