Japan and the rise of the male parasol

Oh, dear God....this article almost made me puke! What the **** is happening to this country and especially the men? They have become a society of soft, herbivore, fashion conscious ....I don't even know what to call them. I'm all for being safe and protecting your skin, but lately, it's a bit too much and overkill when it comes to skin protection, way to much. I've seen girls as young as eight wearing gloves outside to junior and high school girls glove up on their way to school and now men?? What's next, men are going to start waxing their legs and underarms?! Bunch of girlymen!

remember guys, make sure it matches your purse

Must remember to shape those eyebrows first!

What's next, men are going to start waxing their legs and underarms?

There are some who do just that.

I think the word you are looking for is "metrosexual".

What's next, men are going to start waxing their legs and underarms?!

They already do that. There are devices on the market that thin, if not completely remove, the hair. Yesterday on the train I saw a young man with naturally hairy legs, and I couldn't help staring!

function-over-form parasols that have the ability to withstand both sun and heavy rain or can open and shut automatically with the touch of a button.

Let's just call a spade a spade, it's an umbrella

Photo caption: I love my umbrella and it loves me back.

Must...buy ...more...useless...crap! Friends... marketeers may shun...me!

This was featured on the telly a few nights ago (can't remember the name of the programme). They were interviewing an elderly gentleman who pointed out that the umbrella/parasol (a rose by any other name) was cool, comfortable and didn't leave a sweaty band around the head like a hat does, a much more sensible solution to hot sunny days. The interviewer asked him if he didn't feel a bit effeminate walking around with a parasol, and the man laughed and said something to the effect of it was only girly men who worried about whether they looked like girly men.

I thought he was a very cool, sensible gentleman.

Macho man, sweating it out with cancerous burned skin, eyebrows that meet, bad fashion, pockets bulging with stuff... no thanks.

Haha the guy in the picture doesn't need a parasol he is already wearing one the poor sap!

Amazing how it's OK for men to use umbrellas to keep the rain off them, but they are laughed at when they use virtually the same thing to keep from getting sunburned or heatstroke.

Next Summer: the male bikini, cool biz miniskirt and eco high heels.... Oh j-"men".

Next Summer: the male bikini, cool biz miniskirt and eco high heels....

You forgot that bra thing that was featured recently!

This is a practical things instead of just being in fashion. Why sweat it out when I can hide under a parasol to protect myself from the heat and possible sun stroke? I see men under umbrellas during rainy seasons, why can't we have it also during summer days? I just don't understand the other comments here.

Why all the negative comments above? surely it doesn’t matter if a man or woman chooses to use a parasol. Good luck to them.goodluck

The really sad thing about this photo is the suit and tie. Is Beat Takeshi hiding behind a camera somewhere?

I'll bet dollars (or yen or whatever) to donuts that a great pick up line would NOT be:

Hey! That's a cute parasol! I've got one just like it! Where'd you get it?

glad to be back in Canada with 20c weather - June - July was crazy in Japan, but yes August with those crazy temps in Japan I'd sport that Umbrella.

The feminisation of men continues and the whole of society becomes sicker. Imagine one of these "men" working as a fire fighter or police officer, if there was an emergency they would too busy protecting their nails and adjusting their nails, it makes me sick.

@false

Exactly, I am out there everyday in the field and I play usually on the weekends a variety of sports, football, soccer and rugby. I was brought up, old school. You protect yourself, you put on sunblock, but going it with the parasol is a bit too much. Maybe, Cleo thinks its Macho, but I can assure you that the majority of men do not and while it is every man's choice to make that laughable decision (at least to me) then so be it. I surely would hope that none of my friends would go around carrying that, but then again, most of my friends are men and they don't mind to get a little dirt under the fingernails. Seriously, where is it going to stop? So if guys start holding hands because they are best friends, that's acceptable?

... and who's to blame for this worrying trend?

Yep, Johnny's Jimusho.

pockets bulging with stuff...

its not just the purse that is feminine, its the idea that you need so much stuff that a purse is necessary. wallet, phone and keys (maybe cigarettes here). hardly enough to bulge your pockets. i really dont care if a man wants to carry a parasol or a purse, or wear a dress for that matter. but to say that people shouldnt be judged by how they choose to present themselves is unrealistic. its human nature to make judgements. you can always amend those judgments with futher investigations. cleo, youre judging sweaty, unibrow having men the same way others judge effeminate men.

The parasols in my house are all feminine...no way I'm letting a male one in!!!!

This page is chock full of homophobic comments. Why am I not surprised?

This is funny stuff

absolutely weird, as usual !

Bah. I tire of this tyrannical gender conformity. More options = better. I have no intention of using a parasol but more power to dudes who want to.

I didn't to want to use parasol before as I thought old ladies use it. But, you know, it is actually much cooler under the parasol!! Maybe 3-5 degrees C cooler, or maybe more! Moreover, it is better than wearing a hat, as you would not sweat at your head or horehead. Now I cannot go out without a parasol when it is sunny during summer time.

Last week, It was burning hot in Japan, and I heard it was hotter than Egypt.

If you try once, I am sure you couldn't resist using it again under coaching sunlight like today.

Choose! Emparrasment in the crowd, or cooler day out, or even avoidance of risking your life.

Besides, men, if you are over 40, women of 20-30 years old look at you with a parasol as fashiony. I saw that questionnaire on TV some days ago. (Although they don't like their boyfriend or husband to use a parasol)

Go ahead and use a parasol, then you could enjoy cooler days!

Fact #1: It's cooler in the shade.

Fact #2: A parasol is portable shade.

Fact #3: In the summer, people generally desire to stay cool.

Everything else is cultural conditioning.

01:30 PM JST

Sorry, forehead, not horehead. It's embarrassing.

feeling self-conscious about the blemish inducing effects of sunlight

Whaat? How about the cancer inducing effects of sunlight? Dudes, that means eventually some surgeon is going to cut away parts of your face and ears while you worry about dying from the disease and wish you'd been a little less self-conscious about using a sun umbrella. Get a grip.

Get a grip and get an umbrella.

if it's practical, so what, let the guys do what they want. i think that in japanese culture more than in other cultures, males give great importance to dress and costume and are very self-conscious of what they look like to others. this is not related to softness or hardness or extent of "herbivoreness" as some homophobic people have commented here.

@philly

Whaat? How about the cancer inducing effects of sunlight? Dudes, that means eventually some surgeon is going to cut away parts of your face and ears while you worry about dying from the disease and wish you'd been a little less self-conscious about using a sun umbrella. Get a grip.

How about staying in the shade or go out later in the day or applying more sunscreen?

Also, some races are more prone to getting skin cancer or wrinkles than other races. It just depends.

My grandad, a giant Scouse docker, was called effeminate by his father for not sporting a moustache or beard. My similarly clean-shaven dad is suspicious of any man who drinks lager-type beer or puts anything other than ice in his Scotch and would probably give me a crack on the head if I ordered a cocktail. Serrano made the point about umbrellas but neither of them would be seen dead carrying umbrellas even in bucketing rain. I'd be very interested on how high I score on the modern 'real man' scale. What's on the do and don't list nowadays? Does it depend on social class? Can a man flap a folding fan on a hot day? How about a plastic one with a Pachinko parlour advert on it? I'm genuinely interested.

Who knew a simple picture of a guy holding an umbrella would send so many people into a tizzy of gender stereotyping. Even cleo, that bastion of political correctness, has resorted to using words like "macho" and "girly men". Imagine how outraged she'd be if someone made similar generalizations about women.

@bass4funk

Seriously, where is it going to stop? So if guys start holding hands because they are best friends, that's acceptable?

They have that now, and gay marriage too. Welcome to the 21st century.

@falseflagsteve

The feminisation of men continues and the whole of society becomes sicker.

I don't disagree about the path you say the make gender is on, but that umbrella is in no way feminine. If it were raining the guy would look perfectly normal. Its all just marketing to separate people from their money, nothing to do with "feminization" .

I was having a talk with a friend the other day about how "rash guards" are suddenly must have beach attire. Almost all kids are wearing them at pools and the beach and most women. My friend was just back from Guam and said that he went and bought one in the pool shop because he felt self conscious to be one of the few Japanese without one. After trying it he said that it was good because he felt cooler than he would have without it, and comfortable because it made him look slim. Personally I like to tan and I would never wear a rash guard. I see the sun umbrella (and lets not get hysterical and call it a parasol cause its not a parasol if it looks nothing like a parasol) as a similar way to hype up the threat of UV, appeal to people's wish to stay cool, and sell them something they don't really need.

Imagine one of these "men" working as a fire fighter or police officer, if there was an emergency they would too busy protecting their nails and adjusting their nails, it makes me sick.

Is that your way of saying that female firefighters and police officers are running around worrying about their nails during a crisis?

I've used umbrellas for long walks on sunny days. Why should I worry more about what strangers think than about my own health and comfort?

I can just imagine it now, Mr. Abe is trying to increase the effectiveness of the Japanese military and they are going to be armed with parasols? I`ll have mine as long as it is in cammo ...

All the power to the people I use them. I have on a few occasions this summer thought of using one, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I am not at all homophobic, but I do associate the use of parasols with women. Sorry. Not practical, perhaps not politically correct, but the honest truth.

Going for a long walk with a parasol during the heat of summer seems like a good idea. Using a parasol for a 5 minute walk to the conbini seems like a waste.

How about staying in the shade or go out later in the day or applying more sunscreen?

I can't go out because it's hot and wearing cosmetics is OK, but using a parasol to provide shade is not?

Even cleo, that bastion of political correctness (!!?), has resorted to using words like "macho" and "girly men".

Bastion must have changed its meaning since the last time I checked.....:-)

lets not get hysterical and call it a parasol cause its not a parasol if it looks nothing like a parasol

What does a parasol look like? Do we now have 'real' parasols like we have 'real' men?

parasol noun a light umbrella used to give shade from the sun.

That thing the man in the photo is holding looks to me like a light umbrella, and since it isn't raining he must be using it to keep off the sun. How is it not a parasol?

Funny how something as innocuous as a sun umbrella can get people so upset.

Typically ignorant people call people who do not like this homophobes. They are the ones with a problem as a man dressing and acting like a woman is an outdated stereotype. Feminisation is about men being conditioned to act and behave in a less masculine way, it has nothing to do with sexuality.

man parasol, man purse, man bras, man makup kits, mankinis, herbiverous men. what is happing in this country. and you wonder why the birthrate is so low. If your an alpha male you certainly dont have much to compete with nowdays.

Wow! The testosterone is running so strong in these comments, I can almost smell it. I have long walks (15-20 minutes) several times a day from the station to different offices that I visit. My manbrella is a godsend in the hot sun, just as my umbrella is an absolute necessity in the rain. For those of you so lacking in masculine self-confidence that you're afraid to be seen with what used to be a mark of royalty, I say grow a pair and grow up.

Damn good idea and I'm on the verge of starting to use one.

If I use a brolley when it rains, why not using them when it's sunny?

I lost a toe to melanoma. I'm not going to play games with potentially deadly UV rays, but listen to folks like bass4funk and you too can risk getting melanoma - wahoo! (not!)

Face a bit if stigma or reduce the risk of getting cancer?

I know which one I'm going to do.

Do what you want to do. A parasol does look gay but it's up to you.

As someone who has lost a toe, a mother and grandmother to cancer, take it from me: you do not want to play Russian Roulette with cancer.

That disease can kill within months.

It's also extremely unwise to take heed of bombastic, macho comments on this issue from clearly underinformed posters like Bass4funk for the above reason.

It's best to cover up in the sun, and if it means a tent, beach umbrella or a manbrella, don't put male pride before your life.

Who cares? As a male, I don't give a fig what passers-by think when I use my umbrella as a parasol. Call it what you like. I'm just grateful people here usually don't make stupid comments on the streets or physically bash others because they may look sissy - it happens in the west. Why am I not surprised there are so many negative comments from westerners. In the west, there seems to be a pressure to be macho, to walk like a 'dude', have short hair, to let their underwear show, etc. The hairstyles and look of a lot of the young Japanese men may not be my cuppa tea, but I just don't feel the need to get all hot and bothered about it. I'm far more concerned about real issues like racial discrimination, political problems and other things of more importance.

As a child, I suffered from severe hay-fever and eczema (still do in the summer) and have always disliked the sun. Could never understand how people could sunbathe. Where I come from, it never gets as hot as Japan, so I never really felt the need to cover myself, until I came to Japan. For short walks, I can bear it, but more than a few minutes, and the umbrella comes into use. I'm lucky in that I don't sunburn but I do tan very very quickly (even with sunblock) and I look ridiculous with dark arms and a much paler body. Those that don't want to cover themselves and just 'gaman' to prove their manhood, fine, but why bother to drink water then? I also know someone who's extremely pale and has bright white hair. He obviously needs to and does use an umbrella/parasol - will someone call him a sissy too?

Another example of the emasculating of the Japanese male.

Don't get hysterical - it's historical!

Men with umbrellas/parasols and makeup and shaved eyebrows are nothing new in Japan - those fashions started with Heian-era aristocrats.

Fot tough-guy versions, check out the Kabuki plays Sukeroku and Shiranami Gonin Otoko. Nothing wimpy about them!

Perhaps it's just that we've come to associate the term 'parasol' with frilly/lacy/feminine umbrellas. What if you just started calling them 'Sunbrellas'? I call them that all the time, anyway. (Not that I use one, but my wife sometimes does.)

I'll admit that my first reaction was an internal groan, but after thinking about it, I can appreciate the practicality. Though I really believe people need to dress appropriately. Keeping the suit jacket on; tucking the shirt in; wearing a tie... I know these are standard business practice, but isn't it time that we put function over form? A person can still be presentable in an untucked shirt, without a tie.

I lost a toe to melanoma. I'm not going to play games with potentially deadly UV rays, but listen to folks like bass4funk and you too can risk getting melanoma - wahoo! (not!)

You don't have to listen to me, I don't have to listen to you, it's your choice. Like the old saying goes, the only way you know if you will truly beat cancer is, if you die from something else.

It's also extremely unwise to take heed of bombastic, macho comments on this issue from clearly underinformed posters like Bass4funk for the above reason.

First of all, you don't know what I know, what I know about cancer or not. Just because I think as man walking around an umbrella looks extremely stupid doesn't mean that I am Ill-informed. I'm just saying my OPINION, if you wish to walk around with an umbrella, go right ahead, I could care less, that is your right, but I have the right to opine on the issue.

@cleo

I can't go out because it's hot and wearing cosmetics is OK, but using a parasol to provide shade is not?

I never said to put anything on your face.

Wasao is right it's portable shade...maybe these "macho posters" are the same men wearing speedos on the beach.

@hachikoreloaded

Yeah, macho men should be banned, or do you mean who are still men in traditional terms? This cuddly, namby pamby stuff is a load of cobblers. Bet the blokes who use these women's devices mostly only do so as it is a trend or they saw in the media. As shallow as a worms grave.

I never said to put anything on your face.

You don't put sunscreen on your face? It's a cosmetic wherever on your body you choose to put it.

You don't put sunscreen on your face? It's a cosmetic wherever on your body you choose to put it.

No, I usually don't.

And here i was anxiously awaiting the comeback of the hat again!

instead - a parasoul? see my Manly fingers cannot type it correctly

sounds like business is trying to make a new trend- note "Girlfriends and daughters have bought them as presents"

so what does a man do when presented with one? - well it does rain a bit- might get some use there.....

Actually a cosmetic is generally something that alters the appearance of the skin, to enhance attractiveness. Most sunscreens, if applied correctly, are invisible.

I wonder why some make a fuss about these parasols. There are many vain men out there who want to protect their precious skin and they got cash to burn. Give the fledgling depato a little financial boost too. These days, a trip to Matsumoto Kiyoshi reveals my husband has even more choices than me. However, they wont be taking advantage of his custom anytime soon. Unbelievably, when I went back home to visit my folks one time, I came back to find we had run out of shampoo and he was using dishwashing liquid. So I guess he won't be joining the parasol posse anytime soon. Anyways, I'll see how many I can spot on the way to the office tomorrow.

Maybe in Japan, but 200 years ago, most societies didn't use these things, perhaps the elite upperclass did, but that's a small percentage of society. The rest got along fine without it. Now all of a sudden, it's become the newest fad sensation since platform shoes and everyone has to jump on the bandwagon? No thanks!

japanese men are seriously scaring me, men bras now this? lol

Great idea for the next James Bond movie. Sporting a portable umbrella when he's running around on some rooftop or running train... Could be bulletproof too PLUS being chic in the narrow streets of some exotic place.

Great :)

I would carry one with a sword point on it and pictures of beer, wine and whiskey. To show my manliness, I would open my shirt and not put my free hand on my hip.Why would using your brains be called feminine? I read that women in China were complaining about old men going around shirtless....hooray for the guys.

"The world is a lot hotter than it was 200 years ago!"

Trivial, when you believe the world was created 3000 years ago. :D

heat stress for a jacket is 10%?? what kind of calculation is that?? I don't know what kind of jacket they are thinking about, but my summer jacket in this heat would kill me

The problem with parasols or umbrellas is, when it's windy like it was today, they are a serious pain to use.

"The world is a lot hotter than it was 200 years ago!"

Trivial, when you believe the world was created 3000 years ago. :D

Be a man and toughen up! Hot, go for a swim!

It looks just like an umbrella to me. A parasol is a frilly thing to my mind like something you'd see in the musical 'Oklahoma'.

I do get a bit of a homophobic vibe when I see men with big girly hair sides in their hair though, or little cutesie tie-offs like kindergarten girls have. What's al that about?

bass4funk and hoserfella i agree with you. japanese men need to toughen up! they are becoming WAYYYYY TOO METROSEXUAL lol

Wow, yet to see a man using a fembrella, but I will laugh long and loud when I do!

I already cringe when I see women using them and those absurd fake sleeves. When did people get so afraid of sunlight? Unless you're a farmer working in the fields all day, nobody needs to cover up to that degree.

It seems like people here would all live in germ-free, climate-controlled little bubbles if they could.

There are quite a few people in Japan, male AND female, who are allergic to the sun. At first I found the full body sun armour crazy and unnatural, but then when I became good friends with someone who can't even drive her car without gloves on because she breaks out into hives I changed my perspective. Yes, there will always be someone who will put up a parasol or wear black gloves up to their elbows for the sake of keeping pale and beautiful, but there's always someone who wears it because they really have no choice. If I were a man and had to choose between wearing a bee keeper hat or using a parasol on the walk to the office...I'd choose the parasol. Preferably in a chic navy blue or black pinstripe to blend in with my salary man suit.

What is wrong with you people getting so emotional over using something that helps us keep cooler? Most of you so-called "macho" guys here are the real wimps, so afraid of someone making fun of you, I guess you would burst into tears just thinking about it! I would tell you to grow up, but why should I help brainwashed people out? Using parasols or umbrellas during hot sunny days is an intelligent idea, but you go right ahead and keep on worrying about how you look!

This article and all of you macho types are hilariously uniformed about the culture you live in. Wagasa were a sign of the aristocracy and used primarily by men and women of the (wait for it!) ruling and samurai class, who were, (GASP) vegetarian, until the Westernization. Only a bunch of losers would insist on living in a foreign culture and then criticizing it using their own cultural mores. Wait, did I say losers? I meant ignorant arrogant foreign men. My apologies.

@bass4funk for real chillin outside the sun, playin at the field and smokin some dope, then gettin some of that tan!!

At Colleen,

Sadly it is you who don't get it. Rich folks in England wore make up in the middle ages and dressed girly, it was a trend mocked by many at the time. This hasn nothing to do with ruling and Samurai of ages past, it is a sales ploy and has zero to do with culture.Dang it , you get so many "experts" knowing little these days, i'll tell you what.

All these ppl so insecure w/ their sexuality they have to make fun of what another guy's doing to... protect himself from the sun in 35+ degree weather?? Get real.

No, doesn't appeal to me fashion-wise, so I won't get one I don't think. But I don't care about others using one. (Anyway, this is not new, parasols for men and women goes back centuries.)

Just so long as they don't hold it right in front of their faces, as they do when raining, and as the obasan do in the sun also, and ride their bicycles straight at you!!, I won't mind.

If it prevents skin-cancers and melanoma - Asians do die from them, too - fair play to them. What I DON'T understand, though, is why Japanese parents and teachers allow teenagers out in the height of summer without hats and sunscreen. This is the age when irreversible skin damage occurs most. At the moment, I see some teens here almost resembling charcoal after daily baseball training etc. Very dangerous.

@lowly

Feminine make behaviour does not equate to homosexuality, that is an outdated stereotype. This is a fad and trend for people who feed off others ideas and need to be one of the group. They are losers for that and so are those who support them.

This is a total "chick magnate!" Nothing like being caught in the rain or sun and having a confident man share his umbrella. Gene Kelly was no sissy and he had an umbrella and could dance! Oh, and I always had allergic skin reactions to the sun growing up outside of Japan... hives, rashes, the works.

A Japanese painting in the 16th century.

A Spanish Commander under a parasol offered by his slave.

http://kawa-k.vis.ne.jp/jyugyou/jipanngu/jipanngu4.htm

Fact #1: It's cooler in the shade.

Fact #2: A parasol is portable shade.

Fact #3: In the summer, people generally desire to stay cool.

Everything else is cultural conditioning.

QFT. It's practical, effective and simple, and a pleasant alternative to spending the whole day sweating under a hot sun.

All this gender policing is ridiculous, paranoid and intrusive. But actually what amuses me more is how arbitrary it is. Apparently it's unmanly to get out a handy portable shade that can fit in your pocket or your backpack and have handy shelter from the elements within 5 seconds while preserving cool clothing; but it is acceptable by macho standards to stand in front of a mirror for ten minutes pasting cream over oneself and worrying about whether everything's covered. Utterly bizarre, and one might say superstitious.

I have used an umbrella as shade in the past. It's convenient for when I don't have time to slap on sunscreen before leaving the house, and when I know I'm going to be walking for a long time without shade. Simple and effective. Why is practicality unmanly, exactly?

But for those decrying the decline of masculinity, I will make this statement. As a man with some self-esteem and confidence, I will wear or carry whatever I damn well please, and if you have some objection, I will happily tell you where to shove it. You don't get to tell me what's manly and what's not, or to pressure me to conform to your standards, because I'm not as wimpy as the dullards who worry about whether their "man card" is going to be taken away. Understood?

If not understood, just bear in mind that umbrellas are also very useful for whacking obnoxious self-appointed gender police upside the head.

@Fugacis

Not everyone has to come here threatening violence and so far nobody has mentioned gender police except yourself. The article is not about your good self or any issues you have. This is about the feminisation of men carrying on and there is a reason for that. Parasol is like sunscreen a product not needed but make a trend out of it and the sheep will consume the product and defend it and its use to the hilt.

Sadly people think that if you talk about feminisation of men you are casting aspertions about sexuality of these men, not at all. Acting feminine is what the elite want, they do not want men to ask questions and threaten their authority.

Just a few days ago it was blazing hot (102F). I had my umbrella with me because we were expecting rain later in the evening by the time I'd get off work. I was already exhausted and a bit sweaty carrying my laptop, and umbrella and my lunch for the day. The sun wasn't helping so I popped open my umbrella and got a lot cooler a lot faster and didn't feel like I was going to pass out from the heat. I didn't need it for silky pale smooth skin, but portable shade on a very hot sunny day helps avoid heatstroke and other unnecessary issues caused by too much heat.

I'm 48, and have lived in Japan most of my adult life. The other day it was HOT. Seriously hot here in Kyoto. My wife and I were going out for the day, and knew we'd be walking under the blistering sun for a while. I had left my summer hat at a theater the week before. My wife suggested I use one of her parasols. I said yes. Wow! What a difference. My own piece of moving shade! It was fantastic, and I didn't give a damn what anyone else might think. I'm not trying to protect my lovely skin from blemishes. I'm protecting myself from heat stroke, and also from the skin cancer that my father (whose fair skin I inherited, and who spent most of his youth working under the sun) developed later in life. Parasols rock. Parasols are awesome. If that makes me a soft, herbivorous sissy, fine. I will choose that over the punishment of a harsh sun any day. You manly men can just on suffering in the name of manliness.

Congratulations Matt for no longer suffering the harsh conditions of the Japanese summer, you are an inspiration to all men.

I'd prefer melanoma.

2020, and I'm still using my umbrella (which blocks UV) as a parasol!