Japan: Advertisement for liquid pomade from Matsuura Cosmerics, Bitaol, 1937

This 1937 adveritisement represents a 'moga' or 'modern girl' as envisaged in Japan in the 1930s. Taken from the Weekly Asahi (Rising Sun), the beauty seen here can not be other than a platinum blonde as in the Hollywood movies, representing a contemporaneous enthusiasm for the West and its standards.

'Moga' [モガ] is a Japanese term for modern girl from the 1920s (mobo [モボ] is the male term for modern boy) appeared in the Taishô period [大正時代 Taishou jidai ; July 1912 to December 1926]. This Japanese model followed the Western fashion and lifestyle to the early 1930s, from the garçonne in France or the flapper in US, like the kallege ladki in India, the neue Fraue in Germany, or the modeng xiaojie in China.

The first women’s magazine, 'Josei' [女性 - Woman], edited from 1922 to 1928 years, became compelling readingfor young Japanese women fond of new ideas and Western modernism.

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Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

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