52 What are gyaru? (About the Slang, Fashion and History of Japan's Gyaru/Gal)

Ichimon Japan: A Podcast About Japan and the Japanese Language by JapanKyo.com

On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What are gyaru?

Topics Discussed

• What the term gyaru/gal means/refers to
• About the word gyaru
• How the word gyaru was used in Dragonball by Master Roshi
• What a kogyaru/kogal is
• About the singer Namie Amuro and her role in popularizing the gyaru subculture
• About Ayumi Hamasaki's influence on the gyaru subculture
• About the supposed but unconfirmed connection between the gyaru subculture and the American TV show Baywatch, as well as Pamela Anderson
• About the iconic "loose socks" (lūzusokkusu)
• About E.G. Smith, the supposed origin of loose socks
• An interesting linguistic quirk about the Japanese term for "loose socks"
• About ganguro and yamanba gyaru and their dark tans
• About ageha gyaru
• The connection between gyaru, eurobeat and parapara
• What eurobeat is
• What parapara is
• Contemporary gyaru
• What gyarugo is
• Examples of popular gyaru slang
• What karipaku means
• What MK5 means
• What ChōSW means
• What sumisu means
• What ATM means
• What gachi means
• What agepoyo/sagepoyo mean
• What doron means
• What tehepero means
• What gekiokopunpunmaru means
• And much more!

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Sources, Links, Videos, Etc.

Here are some of the Japanese language articles found when researching the topic of this episode.

• ヤマンバ、イベサー、ガングロ…ギャル・ギャル男はどこに消えたのか？ 【 「ギャル文化」と「渋谷」をめぐる歴史を紐解く】
• ギャル文化特集～ギャルの歴史と生態～
  • This is the article that has the illustrations of the gyaru that Ryan mentions during the episode.
• ガングロ
• ギャル系ファッションとは。ブランドと歴史【イラスト＆図解
• アラサーしかわからない！？90年代のギャル語クイズ
• 歴代ギャル流行語大賞／年代流行

Here's some of the English language sources read for this episode.

• Japanese Gal Language: What is “Agepoyo?”

To check out the "snakes in a well" episode of Ichimon Japan, use the link below.

• Is Yamaguchi cursed to have”ugly” girls? (Places in Japan Known for “Beautiful” & “Ugly” Women) | Ichimon Japan 50

Don't forget to check out the latest episodes of the Japan Station podcast via the links below.

• My Sumo Academia: Talking About Sumo Today and in the Heian Period (Colton Runyan) | Japan Station 76

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Japanese Vocabulary List

Most episodes feature at least one or two interesting Japanese words or phrases. Here’s some of the ones that came up on this episode. All information is from Jim Breen's WWWJDIC.

• Pichipichi
  • ぴちぴち (adv-to,vs) (1) (on-mim) bursting with youth and energy (esp. young woman); vivaciously young; spunky; energetic; (adv-to) (2) (on-mim) (fish) jumping around energetically (e.g. when caught in a net); (adj-no) (3) (on-mim) bursting (e.g. seams); tight; (adv-to) (4) (on-mim) splattering (e.g. cooking oil)

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Special Thanks

Opening/Closing Theme: Produced by Apol (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Fiverr)

Ichimon Japan cover art: Produced by Erik R.

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Full Show Notes

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