Ideal Girlfriend Material

Seeing as much of the Western press seems obsessed with Japan's obsession with cuteness, I thought this poll I just happened upon might prove interesting. Essentially, the survey asked males between the ages of 18 and 30 throughout Japan which famous person they'd most like to have as a girlfriend, and the celebrities chosen were then ranked in order of popularity. Following are the top 12 names listed:

1. 上戸彩 - Aya Ueto. I've already said my piece about what I think of her in that regard.
2. 仲間由紀恵 - Yukie Nakama. Very, very pretty woman.
3. 蛯原友里 - Yuri Ebihara. Ubiquitous model type, but more "burikko" than truly child-like.
4. 相武紗季 - Saki Aibu. Teenage actress: nuff said.
5. 加藤あい - Ai Kato. Pretty young woman.
6. 伊東美咲 - Misaki Itou. A gorgeous woman rather than a "cute" girl.
7. 大塚愛 - Ai Otsuka. Both "cute" looking and "burikko"; so saccharine she'll make your fillings ache
8. 眞鍋かをり - Kaori Manabe. "Kawaii" twenty-something year old "A list" blogger / TV personality.
9. 長谷川京子 - Kyouko Hasegawa. Not my type, but definitely a woman, not a "chick".
10. 長澤まさみ - Masami Nagasawa. Actually pretty in a womanish sort of way, despite being just 19. Can also actually act!
11. ほしのあき - Aki Hoshino. Ubiquitous "talent" best known for her cosmetically inflated ... ahem. "Ero-kawaii"*, as they say.
12. 矢田亜希子 - Akiko Yada. Pretty 28-year old woman and decent actress.

Some additional curiousities I noticed:

• 20. 倖田來未 - Kumi Kouda. Not my cup of tea, but definitely not "kawaii".
• 22. 堀北真希 - Maki Horikita. 17 year old actress who looks even younger than her age.
• 23. 浜崎あゆみ - Ayumi Hamasaki. She looks like a space alien to me - "cute" is out of the question.
• 24. 松嶋菜々子 - Nanako Matsushima. Accomplished, beautiful actress in her 30s, i.e. not the "cute" type.
• 28. 菅野美穂 - Miho Kanno. Arguably the best actress on the whole list, even if at 30 she still does look (but not act) cute.
• 32. 石原さとみ - Satomi Ishihara. Competing with Aya Ueto for No. 1 in the cuteness stakes.
• 33. 柴咲コウ - Kou Shibasaki. Another super-talented, beautiful actress, and the very opposite of cute.

Finally, one really low listing I don't understand at all.

• 142. 米倉涼子 - Ryoko Yonekura. This 32 year old actress is simply gorgeous. Are her looks intimidating or something? Was she involved in some scandal I never heard about?

I'm too lazy to link to pictures, but the Kanji names and English transliterations should suffice to get the sufficiently curious going. In any case, what conclusions can one draw from this list? I think it's clear that there is substance to the claim that Japan - and in, this case, Japanese men - have a strong attraction to "cuteness" as opposed to a more mature looking and acting type of feminine beauty which is more to the Western taste (and mine). The only caveat I'd add is that even so, it's also clear from looking at this list that "cute" isn't necessarily the only thing all Japanese men are drawn to in the opposite sex, otherwise the likes of Yukie Nakama, Misaki Itou and Kyouko Hasegawa wouldn't fare so well on it. That said, what the hell are Aya Ueto and (especially) Maki Horikita** doing so high on the damn thing? They're cheek-pinchingly cute, but one might as well see a teddy bear in a sexual light as far as I'm concerned.

*As in, the type for men who like girlish faces on full-grown women's bodies.

**Think I'm exaggerating? See for yourself. If you're sexually attracted to her ...

EYE CANDY ALERT: Japan Probe has provided pictures and videos for not just all of the women listed here, but for each and every one of the top 25, so now you don't just have to take my word for it. Those of you with high-bandwidth connections can get your fill of Ryoko Yonekura courtesy of her universe of admirers.

Comments

[Factory]

"Kaori Manabe"
Hmm a blogger who lists her three measurements on her front page, that's a class act that is.. :)

[James]

Hey, that trackback url didn't work for me, so I just linked to http://foreigndispatches.typepad.com/dispatches/2006/06/ideal_girlfrien.html on my site. This is an awesome update, by the way.

[James]

geez, I agree with the Ayumi Hamasaki = ugly space alien, and my site gets bombarded by loser Ayu fans.

[Abiola]

I wouldn't bother myself if I were you: we're talking about teenagers so caught up in their star-worship they probably think her sh*t doesn't stink in the toilet bowl.