Japan's rednecks
When class systems become fashion symbols
The US has its rednecks, Australia their bogans and the UK has chavs. Yes, every country has a catch-all, often derogatory term for disaffected youths. Even in the outwardly polite and conformist society of Japan, there are frustrated young folk. So what do we call this cohort?
Definitions
If the name Yankii sounds familiar, you may be thinking of the US term Yankee. Of course, outside of the US, the description of Yank or Yankee can describe any American citizen. Japan decided that this fit-all term would be appropriate to describe a loud, obnoxious subculture within the Japanese youth. How they came to that conclusion is anyone’s guess.
Approaching this post as an observational nature documentary, we move on to describing the appearance.
Appearance
Unfortunately there are no macaroni feathers. The Japanese Yankii can first be recognised by their brightly dyed and permed hair. Typically of a blonde or orange shade, rarer forms may even have colours like blue, or purple, which don’t fit in this strict format.
They have adapted to wearing American style outfits from the 1950s, often clothing themselves in tanned animal skins (also known as leather). As the Yankii is a pack creature, the distinctive exterior allows fellow members to understand their social hierarchy, and warns other members of the social ecosystem not to approach. The clothing has other major signifiers (usually large kanji lettering) as a sign to ward off unwanted attention, much like the poison dart frog.
Drawing inspiration from their social isolation away from the mainstream Japanese demeanour, the Yankii’s appearance embraces working class imagery. Lest my readers believe this culture is a male dominated group, I can assure you that the female kind is equally represented.
The female Yankii’s, commonly referred to as Yan Mamas, do share many of the same external features of the wider Yankii cohort with brightly coloured hair and patterned with kanji. Beyond simple attire, many Yankiis can be identified by a particular crouching pose. Known as ‘unko suwari’, translated as shit squat, this human position has become synonymous with the Yankii at rest.
Habitat and Habits
For all attempts to break from institutional holds, our subjects can be observed in several typical locations. As Yankiis share their habitat with other subcultures and Japanese culture in general, they often find their liveable spaces at risk of destruction or worse… gentrification.
Frequently found outside of junior high or junior high adjacent outposts such as the Undonkai (Japanese Sports Day), their presence is defined in their defiance to adhere to social conventions. It is this tension with the dominant subcultures that frequent these biospheres, which has resulted in much publicised clashes.
The role of junior high and high school fits the typical lifecycle of the Yankii; they only begin developing and growing into their iconic look in their early teens. It is typically agreed that exposure to elder Yankiis is the primary mechanism for new members joining, but scholarship remains divided on whether early onset development can be induced.
The local bus stops are also a frequent gathering point for the Yankii as it acts as a watering hole. This allows them to meet members of their own kind and provide a space for possible mating habits. The subculture has traditionally experienced difficulty in finding companions, due to their status on the outskirts of Japanese society.
The advent of the internet promised new channels for the forlorn Yankiis, with platforms developed such as “Yankee Arabuyu”(translated to I love you Yankii). This online meeting spot found initial success with targeted Yankii profiles, asking questions on favourite Yankii slang, or if they had experience criminal convictions. Yet habitats are shrinking for this subculture, even their formerly famous online ecosystem no longer exist. By acting now and telling youths to avoid a conventional success path, perhaps you too can save this endangered apex predator.
Ageing Aesthetics
By the late teens and early twenties, there are several stereotypical locations in which aging Yankiis can be found. Most famously is evolving to being a member of the many construction sites found clumped across Japan’s urban centres. In these cases, they do not need to shed too much of their exterior self, but can now function in harmony with the general Japanese ecosystem.
There are many other Yankiis who metamorphose into other beings found in the vast tapestry of Japanese life. Be it salaryman, teacher, or even cosplayer, the now changed adult need not show any signs of their younger self. While the occasional slang may slip out, there is little to suggest that the former Yankii has not shed their past.
The final category is also the most contentious, with extensive media coverage. The Yankii to Yakuza pipeline. While this piece has not documented much of the criminal behaviour that Yankii’s often commit, the youth subculture’s crimes are regularly reported on in local news. Often found guilty of petty crimes, many find themselves in the prison ecosystem. From there, here are many who decide to lean further into the gangster aesthetic that was so prized in their youth, now choosing to feature as gangsters themselves. For Yankiis in this phase, they too change form, often fitting their new landscapes of prisons, clubs, and undisclosed hideouts. It is an oft documented phenomenon, and has led many in Japanese society to shun the Yankii entirely.
Yankiis today
There is a widely held assumption that this youth movement is on the decline. Whilst it’s true that there are always young and emerging subcultures, Yankii culture has persisted through decades of turbulence that would have ended a less enduring subculture. It remains a way for Japanese youths to push back against a system that is seemingly rigid and unchanging. While many have encountered negative interactions with this misunderstood populace perhaps the first step in living with the subculture is through an in depth look at their behaviour.
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If I may add my two yen, I can't speak of other parts of the country, but here in the inaka of Shikoku, being a yankii is not so much a youth culture than a full subculture in itself.
Maybe it started as a youth culture decades ago, but those formerly young people never stopped being yankii as they aged, and nowadays, one becomes a yankii mostly because their parents or even grandparents are yankii.
I have come across quite a few 'Yankee' people during karate tournaments. You sometimes see small children with absurd hair styles being pushed into full contact tournaments and then getting yelled at if they lost or cried during the event.
Not all yankee parents are like this of course. But I have noticed that there seems to be a preference for parents like this to sign their kids up for 'full contact/fighting' karate over more traditional forms where character development is emphasized more than the violence.