Black hair represents the original beauty and strength of Japanese women. Although it gives the impression of being striking and strong, it also projects an image of classic and elegant femininity.

My vote truly heads off to the black hair..It looks more elegant than any other hair's color...I do blessed with long and kinky locks..They are just gorgeous..I usually prefer to braid hair..

If you say so....

What an arbitrary observation. If that is the case then what does blonde hair represent? To be perfectly honest, what any color hair represents is the outcome of a genotypic/ phenotypic ratio.

Natural hair and skin can be very beautiful--or not. (Bad luck if you have dud genes.)

However, marketers target women's natural insecurities and desire to look attractive by convincing them that their natural look is not enough. It's a multi-billion dollar industry. Most images that women see of other women are highly photo-shopped and unrealistic. Hence hair dyes, skin whiteners, false lashes, make up, botox, surgeries and all the rest.

The other side of it is fashion as a level of cos-play. Not as extreme as the Lolitas and so on, but still a way to vary one's appearance, enjoy stylish new items, and mix up one's appearance.

As for symbols of Japanese women's strength and beauty, the massive ropes of hair at Higashi-Honganji in Kyoto attest to that truth. Check it out on Google images.

The impression black hair gives is exotic, sultry, tough, and mysterious.

Escaped from the Village of the Damned?

I think Ms. Dan is just trying to support her local National Beauty and Barber Manufacturers’ Association. As many of the other posters have already written, how many natural brunettes do you see anywhere in Japan?

While I agree natural black hair is beautiful, Japanese women can get away with dying their hair any shade and they'd still look good.

The impression black hair gives is exotic, sultry, tough, and mysterious. If a women dyes her hair black, it will show every imperfection on her face because dark black hair can be too dull, so a shine booster is essential. In other words you must have great skin. Therefore you need to play it up with highlights in a strong contrast color like red or blond. However another way to grab attention is get a blue-black or violet black shade. For au naturel, softer look, add medium brown color throughout your hair. I would recommend placing brown underneath the hair rather than on the surface because if you have dark hair and pale skin, the high contrast creates a snow white effect.

sillt statement, but i like Japanese women with the original black colour....

It's quite unfair to only have a quotation by Mitsu Dan and not a picture of Mitsu Dan. Beautiful woman.

And, I tend to agree with her on this.

I just like women with naturally black and brunette hair. Japanese women obviously aren't the only ones in the world with naturally black hair. As for dying their hair brown/red or w/e I still can't comprehend why women do it except they feel like "change".

See if you can find some natural black hair in Shibuya!

Japanese women prefer their natural black hair color

Then who is it buying all those brown hair dyes lined up on the shelves in the shops?

I think natural black hair is stunning (dyed black never really works), but playing around with hair colour is also good for ringing the changes.

What about natural white color when you get old?

Good. I have always thought Japanese women's hair looked more beautiful when it was their natural black.