Ero kawaii (エロかわいい^?, literally "erotic cute"), or "erokawa", is a Japanese subculture that draws on Western notions of sexiness, in contrast to the popular cuteness (kawaii) trend. The term, coined in 2005, is a fusion of ero (shortened from the English word 'erotic', which has negative connotations in Japanese culture) and the lighter 'kawaii', meaning something like 'cute'.^[1][2]

Ero kawaii started with singer Kumi Koda using the term to describe her own style. Recently, fashion magazines have taken to using the term "erokawa" in captions. There have been accusations of poor taste directed at such fashions as onēkei which are very conscious of erokawa. There are also similar terms "ero kakkoii" (エロかっこいい, lit. erotic cool^?), "ero kakko kawaii" (エロかっこかわいい, erotic cool-cute^?), and "ero kakko warui" (エロかっこわるい, erotic uncool^?).

Ero kawaii also refers to that subculture's fashion, which makes use of camisoles, especially in a combination of pink and black.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Cuteness in Japanese culture
• Enjo kōsai
• Lolita fashion
• Lolicon

v • d • e Japanese subcultures Subcultures Bōsōzoku · Cosplay · Erokawa · Ganguro · Gyaru / Gyaruo · Kogal · Lolita fashion · Sukeban Cultural phenomena Gyaru-moji · Visual kei

This fashion-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e

This article related to the culture of Japan is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e