ABSTRACT
This chapter describes purikura, both the machine and its photo-sticker product. Purikura encode many interesting linguistic and cultural features that reflect an incredible spectrum of imaginative thinking and playful creativity. The tiny photos offer a unique point of entry into understanding contemporary concerns and worries. As a type of unregulated cultural production, they are often annotated and reflect a spectrum of cute, odd, or grotesque aesthetics and themes. Purikura are circulated among friends, plastered on cellphones and notebooks, and collected in thick albums. This genre of photography is significant as an example of how people are not simply consuming popular culture forms, but have creative control of them through their own unique appropriations and modifications.
