1. Alice in Japan
Literature - After 1868, breaking its 200 years of isolation, Japan absorbed western cultures
and modernized at a tremendous speed. By 1900, Japan was recreated as a modernized
country. Japanese intellectuals introduced western education, literatures, and philosophies,
changing people’s way of thinking. Modernization also resulted in changing people’s life
styles; western clothes, cafes, movie theatres, department stores, and beer halls were
appreciated by people and became part of urban society.(Dollase, 2003).
During the Meiji era a cultural exchange between Japan and Britain was beginning with both
countries appealing as the “exotic other” to the other. But what was it about this period of
British literature that became popular in japan. A number of texts being translated were
from the Victorian age as this was the period Britain was going through at the same time as
Japans Meiji restoration. Literature being translated at the time such as Girls’ stories The
Little Lord Fauntleroy (Shokoshi, 1892), Little Women (Shofujin, 1906), and A Little Princess
(Shokojo, 1910) were loved by the Japanese audience. (Dollase, 2003). What was it about
the ideals of Victorian Britain that appealed to Japan and why were they being brought over
to Japan. One such iconic text from Britain that has proven popular is Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in
Wonderland’.
Before talking about Alice in particulary I first want to talk about Japan’s relationship with
Victorian Britain and how this relationship paved the way for the popularity of Alice.
Victorian Japan - Japan has had a bit of a love affair with Victorian Britain and there has
been a lot produced that has reflected this interest. A reason for Japan’s interest in Victorian
Britain is the similarity of these two society’s structure. Both share traits such as modes of
behaviour in public and a sense of personal awareness resulting in restriction on how one
presents themselves. The Victorian age was one of great advances in many fields but also an
era of rigid social classes, repressed desires and demanded respect between the ages and
the sexes. It is not hard to see how Japan can relate to this period and the values it held. But
with Victorian repression and social consciousness there was also a hidden culture for
expression and counter culture much like Japan’s modern society. Japan has come to
romanticise this era as it allows them to explore a rigid social structure, repressed sexuality
and emotional restraint but without targeting their own social histories. It gives Japanese’s
creative a playground to explore themes found in japan but through an imagined period of
history. Japan’s representation of Victorian Britain does not always run true as it is a society
used to explore fantasy rather than realism. Japan’s Victoria is a mythic and often magical
place where characters often have hidden powers and mythic figures such as the Vampire
exist or historical figures such as Jack the Ripper are supernatural beings. So while the

2. values of these two societies see some overlap there is also a high amount of embellishing
and invention by Japanese creatives in their portrayal of Victorian Britain.
Ryosai Kenbo - It was this period that in 1875 that Masanao Nakamura wrote an essay for
the journal Meiroku Zasshi where he coined the phrase ‘Ryosai Kenbo’, ‘Good wives, Wise
mothers’. (Cherry 1987). Nakamura had travelled around Europe and thus witnessed the
model for the “ideal” woman, bringing it back to Japan where it soon became a pillar of
Japanese society. The argument he put forward was in order to have a civilised society and
healthy cultural values you needed a good mother. Good mothers meant that you would
have good children who would be raised in a way to strengthen and support Japanese
society. (Nakamura 1875). This ideal heavily influenced the identity of women in Japan and
the culture that young girls be educated in such a way that they can grow up to become
‘Good wives, Wise Mothers’. Rebecca Copeland explains that the idea of the wise mother is
inspired by Victorian notions of ‘‘true womanhood.’’ A woman expected to be ‘‘guardian of
the interior’’ and ‘‘queen of the home’’ (homu no joo)’’; ‘‘Her mission in life was to make a
nurturing shelter for her children and a blissful refuge for her husband, a sanctuary where
he might come to escape the violent challenges of the outside world’’. (Dollase, 2003).
Girls Education – This is where the true reason for the choices in novels being brought to
Japan comes from. The primary goal of translation of western works was a way to educate
young girls in Japan. By reading stories about “good” Victorian girls it was hoped that the
values of these female protagonists would be instilled in the female readership. Young girls
were finding that they were being inadvertently being taught Victorian ideals on
womanhood but also being given more attention than they had in pervious generations.
These stories for girls about girls soon became very popular. This was the beginning of
Hanamonogatari (Girls stories or Shoujo stories). Inspired by their western counterpart
Japanese authors were writing stories for young girls that reflected the iconography and
themes of the western literature that inspired them. Themes such as innocence, pure love
and breaking social stereotypes came to fruition. Hanamonogatari is a collection of stories
by author Yoshiya Nobuko that inspired the genre of Shoujo fiction and featured a fantasy
world where girls escaped their social restrictions to enjoy their youth.
Alice – Alice is the tale of a young girl who falls into a magical world where nothing is as it
seems and the dimensions that rule our “real world” do not apply in Wonderland. Japan has
produced manga and anime based on Alice such as “Fushigi no Kuni no Alice”, a 52 episode
series based on the book aired on Japanese network NHK in 1983. “Alice’s’ Adventures in
Wonderland” was first translated into Japanese in 1909 and since then has had many unique
and different reimagining’s and retellings in Japanese media. Alice in Wonderland
represents an escape from the rigid and strict Victoria society, a society where a young girl
had a strict role. A young Victorian lady must be a good girl, ready to grow up and be a good
wife and mother and therefore not concerned with fantasy and escapism. This is what Alice
represents, a girl counter to the Victorian image, one that seeks out whimsy and adventure

3. rather than pursuing interests that would better prepare herself as a wife. Alice manages to
escape into a world of adventure, into a society very much counter to Victorian beliefs. She
is not expected to fulfil a set role and much of story expresses this through its narrative. It is
no wonder why Alice has such a strong impact on the youth of Japan as she too is faced with
rigid social structure and a pre destined role but escapes to fulfil her own destiny. In true
Victorian fashion if a child does not listen to their parents or governors its corporal
punishment and they are likely to be beaten, this is emphasised by the Queens desire to cut
off the head of Alice.
Youth and Alice - This may be a reason why Alice has become so popular in Japan. Japanese
youth are finding it hard to be heard within an adult society and don’t have a voice. With
the increase pressure from parents and schools to work harder, get better results and be
ready to become part of the backbone of Japans workforce there is a lot of pressure to grow
up and youth feel that they need the escape. Authority figures in society are confronting
them and pushing them and they don’t have as much of a chance to enjoy their childhood.
What an amazing treat if they could just escape into a Wonderland and be a child and see
adults as self-important contradicting beings and how they too can be irrational.
Alice Iconography - But it’s not just Alice herself that has captured Japanese imaginations
but also much of the iconography from the story has saturated into Japan’s media and pop
culture industry. From ‘Lolita’ cosplay(the art of costume and play) or ‘maids’ at maid cafes
dressed in Alice inspired costumes to grinning cat boys and attractive mad hatters in butler
cafes the characters at the heart of the story have enjoyed much attention in Japan. Much
of the gothic Lolita fashion found in areas such as Harajuku is Victorian influenced. Alice’s
iconic dress later made even more so by the blue dress of the Disney’s animated feature is
now a staple of the Lolita style as well as of the maid uniform seen in Akihabara’s maid
cafes. Slide Specific fashion brands such as ‘Alice and the Pirates’ have been created in
Japan based on Alice in Wonderland and those that take their fashion inspiration from Lewis
Carrols book. Slide Japan also has Alice in Wonderland themed cafés and restaurants such
as ‘Alice in Labyrinth’ that allow you to escape to the magical world of the novel. The
popularity of Alice as a fashion icon in Japan has led to magazines with articles on how to achieve
the “Alice” look.
Alice’s look and image of innocence has been adopted by media personalities such as the
popular girls band AKB48 who have a song ‘Suiyobi no Alice’ (Alice on Wednesday) where
they are dressed in Alice inspired costumes and sing sweetly and innocently. Slide Even
popular vocaloids (a generated character pop idol) have released a song inspired by Alice in
wonderland that is a very distorted and inverted version of Alice. In this version the
vocaloids sing about how this is a wonderland not for the “googy, goody”. Here they invite
you into a world of torture and the characters are all horrific and disturbing. This takes the
message even further that the adult world is a place of lunacy, as well as a scary place for a
child giving a harsher wonderland for Alice to try and survive through. The vocaloids

4. released a number of ‘Dark Alice’ songs giving wonderland a grim undertone where people
went to live out their ideals and become the perfect Alice but their own greed’s and
ambitions destroyed or killed them. This set of songs serves as more of a cautional tale and
warns that even though you think you’re innocent given the opportunity to live out your
fantasies they can corrupt you.
Alice in Manga and Anime - Alice has seen herself, her story and its Iconography
represented in many Manga’s and anime over the years. Works such as Deadman
Wonderland (follow the white rabbit into a death row prison named Wonderland), Pandora
Hearts (Fight alongside the white rabbit to save humanity) and Rozen Maiden (there can
only be one Alice and it’s a fight to prove who has the characteristic to survive the alive
game) have all drawn from the various aspects that make up Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland. One particular team has a strong passion for Alice and use its iconography
more so than any other manga team. This is the studio of Clamp, an all-female company of
manga artists who produce works in the shoujo genre (girl’s comics) they write, illustrate
and produce manga as a female team. Clamps use of Alice in Wonderland as a motif has
been very visible throughout their works even as far as releasing animated shorts entitled
Clamp in Wonderland starring all the characters from their various manga’s.
Reimagining Alice - Alice herself has gone on a journey of reimagining through
reinterpretation by Japanese creatives. At first part of the collection of stories for women
that had a hegemonic purpose to educate young girls into becoming ‘good wives, wise
mother’. Alice was soon adopted by female readers as a representation of themselves
within society either as a child trying to understand and navigate the complex emotions of
adults, trying to survive in a strict and often frightening adult world while holding onto their
innocence. Wonderland has formed both a magical place to escape society and the
pressures it places on Japanese youth, it’s a place where adult problems can be laughed at
and rejected. But on the flip side it is also a dangerous place that if not navigated properly
can corrupt and deceive.