ABSTRACT
This chapter offers an explanation for the great impact of cuteness, and then explores the different incarnations this everyday aesthetic has taken to illustrate its multivocality. Cuteness is found in every corner of Japan, often used to characterize objects; persons; behavior; an attitude; and even handwriting and slang. Cuteness is such a ubiquitous part of Japan's popular landscape that it comes in different varieties. There are other forms of cuteness, such as disgusting cuteness and creepy cuteness. One kind of cuteness that has gained traction is grotesque cuteness. The sentiment of cuteness is most readily associated with young women, and apparently it is this social category of persons that is attracted to cuteness. The strong symbolic association between children and women suggests an attempt by men to place females in an inferior social position. Cuteness is also combined with the Lolita fashion, a particular type of ero-kawaii.
