[P R E V I O U S P A G E]
Four middle-aged men in their 40s and 50s were getting drunk at the table next to me at a local izakaya. Weather, politics, and business covered, it did not take long for their talk to turn to the subject of women, and, subsequently, kogal. Three of the men had daughters in high school at the time. None would admit to paying for enjo kosai, although the question was met with silence. One man did mention, however, that he had paid for sex at an "Image Club," and requested that his partner be dressed up in a girl's uniform. "Tamaranai," they echoed, when asked what they thought of the kogal. (Tamaranai describes an uncontrollable attraction one feels.) No matter how they were asked, any description that they could offer of the kogal was completely physical. The conversation moved from their phones, to their skirts to their socks, and then thighs. All of these were "tamaranai." All of these men felt unable to quell their inexplicable attraction for young women.
Walking across from Hachiko Square and up Dogenzaka towards Mela, the kogal I see are a diverse group. Some innocent girls lick ice cream. To a pedophile, they must look nice. Some hardcore kogal negotiate on their cell phones. Others sit in the window of Dunkin' Donuts, studying. More are taking Print Clubs at the game center. A couple are being accosted by a good-looking surfer-type on the street, for possible recruitment to work at either a bar or brothel. More often than not, they are in groups of their own, mixed with other high schoolers.
It seems that a line has been drawn. What remains of the kogal phenomenon is difficult to grasp and define in easy terms. While the media was more than willing to exploit the boom for increased viewership, as usual, the follow-up has been lacking. The media consumer is still left with sensationalized images. High-schoolers continue to marginalize themselves from society, while defying definition in nearly every other sense. Surveys of kogal reveal a declining trend in participation in enjo kosai, although statistics regarding lack of respect for authority and loss of virginity seem to be holding steady. Drug use seems to be on an even line.
But despite efforts to catalog, track, or understand them, kogal aren't that simple. Said one 16-year-old girl in Shibuya, "I just want to be as I want to be, as an individual. I want to escape the stereotypes people have of me from my uniform, and from how they see it on TV. I think everyone should do what they want, and allow others to do the same. I don't want to be a kogal, I want to be me."
