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Light skin in Japanese culture

Bihaku (美白, 'beautifully white') is a Japanese term coined in the 1990s with the emergence of skin whitening products and cosmetics.

Summary

Although skin tone differs based on a person's racial background, those with fair skin have difficulty maintaining skin tone due to a lack of melanin production. In Japan, the preference for skin that is white and free of blemishes has been documented since at least the Heian period (794–1185), as in books like The Pillow Book and The Tale of Genji. There is an old proverb "white skin covers the seven flaws" (色の白いは七難隠す, iro no shiroi wa shichinan kakusu), which refers to a white-skinned woman being beautiful even if her features are not attractive.

Following Japanese colonial rule in Taiwan (1895–1945), Taiwanese women were consumers of Japanese skin whitening products in the 20th century. Mainland China has also become a large market for bihaku products from companies like Shiseido, Shu Uemura and SK-II in the 21st century. Further expansion into the pan-Asian markets may be represented by Girls' Generation partnership with Dior in 2011 to advertise their lightening cream, appealing to Korean Wave culture consumers.

Bihaku products are highly popular among mature women. They are also popular with teenage girls and those in their twenties who desire to look like pop singers, such as Ayumi Hamasaki, and are promoted in numerous youth fashion magazines such as Popteen and S Cawaii!. Bihaku products are also prevalent and a key item in numerous youth subcultures such as gyaru and ageha girls. An opposition to the idea of fair skin beauty grew with the gyaru subculture called ganguro in the 1990s which later died out by the end of the 2000s.

Lightening methods

The popular method of bihaku is to use cosmetics that stop the production of melanin. Traditionally, uguisu no fun was used to lighten skin tone, although today it is considered a luxury item. The most popular products often contain sake and rice bran, which contain kojic acid.

For skin whitening cosmetics for use by the public, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has recognized a combination of active ingredients. These are mainly arbutin and kojic acid. Other ingredients include vitamin C derivatives and tranexamic acid. Many of these active ingredients work through inhibiting catechol oxidase. Some types of BB cream, VIORIS products are also said to have skin whitening effects, which contributes to the popularity of the cream in Asian markets.