CRUSHED BAGS

CRUSHED BAGS OF TSUPPARI

Fads and trends come and go. As society's view of certain things changes throughout time, these fads will become 'outdated' and 'outclassed.' 

The country of Japan has it's fair share of trends that have long since been forgotten, or surpassed by more newer, modern things.

The 'Tsuppari' or 'Yankii' culture is now more commonly seen on dramatic TV show dramas or emotional manga stories.. But back in the stages of Late Showa (1980-1989) rambunctious teenage youth admired becoming hard, toughened delinquents. Mangas like Be-Bop Highschool and High Teen Boogie glorified this lifestyle to a tee.

 

BE-BOP HIGHSCHOOL

HIGH TEEN BOOGIE

 

 But where do commonly-issued leather school bags of the time come into play? 

With many fads, you follow certain outlines and instructions given by other people, or follow the crowd, because it's cool! It was popular in those days to boil your leather school bag in water, crushing it from 10-15cm to a 5cm total. Students thought it was 'tacky' or 'uncool' to have a big, packed bag full of school supplies and books. If it wasn't thin, it was tacky. 

Below are pictures I have taken of a 'crushed' school bag I obtained. Stickers included.

 

When laid down flat, the 'crush' can be seen!

It's an interesting sight. If you were walking down the street with one of these, you'd be the talk of the town!

 

Standing up

 

Many students would adorn their bags with embroidery, or in this case.. stickers!

 

Yoko Minamino from the series "Sukeban Deka"

BLACK "FOR THE ROCK GENERATION"

 

Kyoko Koizumi and Yoko Minamino

Kanji

 

All and all.. For the time, this was something viewed as extraordinary, breakout! But nowadays, it's seen as 'tacky.' Just like how the students from those days would see bigger, thick bags. Yankii culture has since vanished, and more stories and books are written about them today, instead of people partaking in the culture itself. There are a few holdouts, and people still learn and reminiscence in the current age.

Thank you for reading. -J.M