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Metropolis Japan
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metropolis Japan
Hokusai to Pocari Sweat: Japanese Aesthetic of 'Transparency'
"Toumeikan" is symbolized by water and made visible by the color blue By What is Toumeikan? These are compliments in Japanese—odd ones, maybe. Toumeikan (透明感), directly translated as 'sense of transparency,' is a common phrase used to praise someone's… well, transparent beauty. Transparent, like water: clear, cool, fresh, light, reflective and pure. But what exactly does it mean to look transparent? There is a common Japanese phrase, mizu-moshitataru ii otoko —literally, 'a man so handsome, water drips from him' (more commonly, though not exclusively, used for men). Originally describing 'hot' kabuki actors in the Edo period, it evokes the image of youthful and dewy-skinned beauty. Today, it's used more broadly to describe fresh-faced heartthrobs, but the water imagery lingers. Water and toumeikan are aesthetic ideals in Japan, not only for the way you look but also for art and its philosophy. This topic, after all, is as deep as the Mariana Trench. To wade into why water and toumeikan carry such weight in Japanese aesthetic ideals, we have to talk about Pocari Sweat ads, vaporwave, Shinto rituals and ukiyo-e. Toumeikan in a Bottle? The Pocari Sweat Aesthetic Cosmetic brands might tell you that toumeikan is about sheer makeup and luminous skin. Skin so dewy it could be described as mizu-moshitataru, like freshly picked fruits still beaded with moisture. Or they might claim it can be achieved by incorporating cool-toned colors like blue. But toumeikan isn't just about appearance. It's a funiki, a vibe, an aura, an atmosphere. A sense of freshness and purity, like water itself. When I try to explain the aesthetic ideal of toumeikan, I often point to an unlikely cultural symbol: Pocari Sweat. Yes, the electrolyte drink. Pocari Sweat commercials are widely recognized in Japan as embodying toumeikan, and have developed something of a cult following. Often filmed with soft, blue Fuji-film hues, they feature wind, light and lots of water, usually against a backdrop of high school students running on rooftops, drinking Pocari after practice or staring into the blue sky. It's a visual shorthand for seishun —a word that literally means 'blue spring,' but culturally refers to the period and feeling of youth. For many English speakers, the word 'sweat' on a drink label can feel off-putting. However, in this seishun imagery, they run, they sweat, but it's not sticky or gross. It is a kind of refreshing sweat that runs down your cheeks like morning dew. As the phrase mizu-mo-shitataru suggests, it's a poetic compliment. The actors in these commercials are almost always fresh-faced newcomers—so much so that landing a Pocari ad is seen as a kind of a rite of passage for rising stars, known in Japanese as touryumon, a term drawn from the Chinese legend of koi that swim upstream and leap over a waterfall to become dragons. It might seem strange for an electrolyte drink to carry this much aesthetic weight. A Western equivalent might be Fiji Water in vaporware, a retro-futurist internet aesthetic rooted in 80s and 90s remix culture, with heavy influence from Japanese media like city pop and anime. Fiji Water became an unexpected 'water' icon, appearing alongside Roman busts, Windows 95 logos and Japanese text. Vaporwave also uses water imagery for its surreal and relaxing feel: tropical pools, mall fountains, light reflecting on smooth surfaces. Interestingly, since the genre often repurposes Japanese ads and packaging, Pocari Sweat has also appeared in vaporware. Originally launched in the 1980s, Pocari Sweat struggled at first. However, the brand invested heavily in advertising, not just to promote the product name or ingredients; but to sell a sekaikan: a visual world and mood, much like a perfume ad. This aesthetic vision made waves, entering the high-speed landscape of Japan's bubble economy to become a Japanese summer staple. A distilled memory of 80s and 90s youth, summer humidity and glistening blue skies. The Pocari girl, mid-run, cheeks shimmering with sweat, settled into the collective aesthetic subconscious, just as Coca-Cola became a symbol of vintage Americana. Beyond its hydrating, watery freshness, Pocari Sweat became an icon of Japanese youth and the 'good old days,' serving as a reference point for toumeikan in both the domestic imagery of seishun and the Western internet's borrowed nostalgia. And in Japan, a drink bottle becoming a style accessory isn't as strange as it sounds. At one point, girls began repurposing Evian bottle labels as smartphone case inserts—not for hydration, but for their clear, watery funiki. Shinto Purity and the Japanese Aesthetic of Water Touimeikan, water and Japanese aesthetics go deep into history, far beyond the bubble era of the 1980s and 90s. It goes way back. In Shinto, the indigenous faith of Japan, water plays a central role. After all, Shinto is a religion of purity. It teaches that humans are born 'pure,' and that kegare (impurity) is something picked up through daily life, just like dust and dirt you collect on your body and clothes as you go about your day outside. Fortunately, impurity isn't permanent. Wash it off, and you return to your pure state. At the entrance of every shrine, visitors perform a ritual hand-washing at the chozuya, a stone basin filled with flowing water. It's a quiet, reflective act meant to cleanse the hands and mouth, washing away spiritual impurities before approaching the divine. In addition to purity, Shinto, like many animistic beliefs, emphasizes nature and living in harmony with powerful natural forces. Flowing water, rivers and waterfalls are especially sacred, believed to cleanse both body and spirit. Because purification and nature go hand in hand, some practitioners continue to perform takigyo today, standing beneath a waterfall to wash away spiritual impurities. Clear water is pure in itself, and capable of purifying other things. Of course, Gen Zs slipping Evian bottle labels into their phone cases probably aren't thinking about waterfall purification rituals. But Shinto values do seep into everyday life and what we consider 'ordinary' Japanese culture. The obsessive handwashing and gargling many Japanese kids are taught from an early age— the idea that you do this combo the moment you come home, before you touch anything or… breathe? The preference for nighttime bathing, to wash off the outside world's kegare before entering the sacred space of the home? All of it stems from, or is at least influenced by, Shinto. So it's no surprise that visual ideals would flow with the same tide. In a culture where water purifies, transparency becomes beauty. Water is a visualization of purity, and toumeikan is an articulation of its aesthetic appeal. Visualizing Water in Art Through Blue Water represents purity, but it also reflects Japan's favorite philosophy: impermanence. It's fluid, never still. And it constantly transforms: into ice, snow and vapor, surrounding our lives in countless forms, just as it does around the world. Water can also be powerful. The tsunami, a terrifying force of nature, has been etched into Japanese memory for centuries, passed down through generations as both fear and a lesson. And yet, the same combination of water and geological activity gave rise to one of Japan's greatest gifts: the onsen. Unsurprisingly, water appears again and again in Japanese art. The most internationally recognized ukiyo-e print, Hokusai's 'The Great Wave off Kanagawa' from Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, has become an icon of Japanese visual culture. This iconic work might never have existed without the then newly invented color: bero-ai (lit. Berlin Indigo), also known in English as Prussian blue. This synthetic dye, imported from Prussia via the Dutch in the 1780s, changed ukiyo-e forever. Before this, ukiyo-e artists used a cultivar of Asiatic dayflower for blue, but it faded quickly and turned yellow over time. The more stable Japanese indigo dried down muted, dark, and warm-toned—lacking clarity—and its gritty texture made it unsuitable for smooth gradients. Bero-ai, on the other hand, was cool-toned, vibrant and worked like a miracle. It was water-soluble, making it ideal for bokashi-zuri (a gradient shading technique). Even when dry, it retained luminosity and clarity. For the first time, artists could render water with brightness and depth—the toumeikan they so often pursued. The ripple effect of this blue craze created a new trend: aizuri-e, prints created entirely in shades of Prussian blue. By layering and using noutan (gradations of light and dark), artists could express depth and transparency with a single color. The same bold blue was an unusual choice for Pocari Sweat at the time, as blue wasn't considered appetizing for food or drink. Much like Hokusai choosing Prussian blue to evoke the depth of the ocean, Pocari Sweat embraced the association with water and refreshment. While transparency isn't a color, you can visualize the lack thereof. Maybe this has all been a roundabout way of saying, 'water and toumeikan are aesthetic ideals in Japan,' but still waters do run deep. From the ukiyo-e waves to the dew-like sweat in a Pocari ad, toumeikan isn't something you can bottle. But we keep finding new ways to show what it feels like.
Tokyo Weekender
10-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- Tokyo Weekender
Summer Hacks To Survive Japan's Heat
Tokyo summer is here, and one thing we can all agree on is that it's brutal. This time of year, ' atsuidesune ' (it's so hot) becomes a common greeting, and the humidity sticks to us like a second, unwanted skin. Because the heat is so intense, though, Japan — the country of convenience and innovation — has plenty of tools to keep its population cool. Here are some of our favorite ways of surviving the worst of summer in Japan. List of Contents: Get With the Sun Umbrella Program Wear Uniqlo's Airism Innerwear Keep Cooling Body Wipes on Standby Cooling Spray and a Portable Fan Try Grapefruit Ice Box With Pocari Freeze Your Drinks Make Use of Japanese Peppermint Oil Eat Cooling Foods Find Refuge Indoors Bonus: Bring a Light Layer Related Posts Get With the Sun Umbrella Program If you're one of the people who can't wrap your head around the Japanese culture of using a sun umbrella, it's time to grow up. The sun umbrella — or sumbrella , as I like to call it — acts as a portable shade, and is incredibly effective at keeping you cool, especially on days with a high UV index. Plus, it protects your hair, face and shoulders from sun damage. Wear Uniqlo's Airism Innerwear Uniqlo's Airism line is a summer staple for a reason. From underwear, loungewear, tops and even masks and bedding, Airism incorporates moisture-wicking and anti-odor technology in their fabrics to keep people comfortable in the summer months. The fabrics actually feel cool to the touch; layering in the summer might sound counterintuitive, but wearing an Airism undershirt helps keep you cooler than going without. Keep Cooling Body Wipes on Standby Another Japanese summer must-have is cooling body wipes, sold at most convenience stores and pharmacies, especially in the hotter months. The most notable brands are Gatsby, Bioré and Sea Breeze, and they're perfect for wiping away any sweat to leave your skin feeling clean and cool. Incorporating menthol into the wipes, most brands claim to cool down the body by three degrees Celsius. Cooling Spray and a Portable Fan Along the same lines of cooling body wipes, Japan also sells cooling body sprays. After spraying it on your neck and decolletage, blast yourself with a portable fan — sold in most electronic stores, pharmacies or at Don Quijote — for a super effective cooling experience. Our SNS director Lisa claims this technique makes her literally shiver. Try Grapefruit Ice Box With Pocari This trick is from Christian, our digital content manager: He fills a Morinaga Ice Box (a cup filled with grapefruit flavored ice cubes that flavor a drink as they melt) and then pours Pocari Sweat — or any drink of choice — over it for a cold, refreshing drink that is guaranteed to rehydrate. Freeze Your Drinks Japanese kids grow up taking a frozen bottle of water or barley tea on summer field trips. The frozen drink not only keeps their bento from spoiling in the summer heat, but it gradually melts, allowing kids to take cold sips of tea throughout the entire day. Just beware to not freeze any carbonated drinks, as it might cause the bottle to expand and explode. Make Use of Japanese Peppermint Oil This is a classic Japanese trick that's been used for generations. Hakka , or Japanese mint, has a uniquely high concentration of menthol, giving it its soothing and cooling properties. Throughout the summer, you can rub hakka oil into your neck or temples, or put a couple drops into your bath tub for a refreshing soak. Eat Cooling Foods Ayurveda, a 3,000-year-old medicinal system, has a lot to teach about surviving the summer, including eating water-filled fruits and vegetables to stay hydrated and cool. Try incorporating watermelon, cucumbers, aloe vera, coriander and berries into your diet to naturally cool your body down. Additionally, Japan has a lot of refreshing summer foods, like somen, cold soba, hiyayakko (cold tofu) and kakigori (shaved ice), all of which are perfect for summer days when you can't work up an appetite. The Best Cold Ramen Spots in Tokyo: Where To Eat Hiyashi Chuka Noodles Find Refuge Indoors After everything is said and done, the most sure-fire way to keep cool is staying indoors. Summer in Japan is no joke; if you don't want to be at home all day, try checking out a cute cafe , local library , museum or any indoor space, and try not to be outside for more than a couple of hours at a time. Bonus: Bring a Light Layer On the flip side, we spend so much time trying to stay cool that we forget AC is blasting in most indoor spaces throughout the summer. The combination of air conditioning and sweat can make for a drastic temperature difference that could shock your body; make a habit of carrying a cardigan or light jacket with you so you don't catch a cold. Related Posts 5 Japanese Products To Save You From The Summer Heat The 5 Best Pools in and Around Tokyo To Keep Cool This Summer The Dos and Don'ts of What to Wear in Japan in the Summer
