Happy Friday! It’s time for some inspiration, and not the fashion kind. Those that know me, know that I firmly believe that Gyaru should be more than just a fashion and makeup style. There’s SO MUCH behind the subculture that I feel many people don’t really know about, and with the surge of new generation Gyaru, just consider me your Gyaru guide and historian (got a nice ring to it, don’t it?)
The first in this series is none other than Shiho Fujita (藤田 志穂), known as Sifow throughout her musical and Gyaru career.
Sifow started her career as a musician, signing with Avex Trax back in 2006 (watch her second single LOVE & PEACE here) and within two years, made an announcement that she was retiring from music. An activist for Gyaru at the age of 19, in 2005 she formed the company Shiho Co., Ltd. G-Revo where she actively worked on dispelling the negative image that Gyaru had in Japan. Her blog and book are both named GAL REVO (Gyaru Kakumei, ギャル革命).
Sifow wrote her first blog post on her GAL REVOLUTION back in 2008. Here’s the original blog post and rough translation below:
I’ll do it even while being Gal! Nice to meet you ♪ I will continue to write a diary from today until I start a business and succeed.
Ambition → Make your dreams come true to the fullest. From now on, change the way adults see Gals. And push the back of the Gals in the world!
What I want to say to the world → Because you are young? Because you are Gal? That’s why I can’t do anything, I’m not sure though, I’m not just such a Gal! In order to clarify that, I will declare a Gal Revolution ☆
From now on, I’ll add images of activities such as photos ☆
I’ll show you the power of Ganguro Gals!
The result? Shiho went on to successfully spearheading her company up until her retirement that same year in December (almost a full year), has given lectures at different universities that have incorporated Gyaru History into their curriculum, among many other achievements. Her retirement from Shiho Co., Ltd. G-Revo led to her interest in agriculture. She’d mentioned in her blog that this next phase of her life almost felt like a Chapter 2 in her Gal Revolution.
Sifow started up a rice farm in the village of Ogata, Akita Prefecture. Sifow’s rice farming project was dubbed Nogyaru (ノギャル)— a combination of “nogyo” (農業, agriculture) and Gyaru(ギャル). Even in 2009, she made headlines with visiting the rice paddies where this project started.
Even at the age of 36, she still continues to make headlines as a bridge for youth in Japan and agriculture to coexist, serving as the president of the National Food Koshien Association.
Sifow has always been an advocate for Gyaru and has often talked about the Gal ambition. In an interview, she said the following:
Some youth are doing their best.
If you turn on the TV, the Gals are called “dirty”, and if there are Gals in the city, it is reported that “the number of runaway girls is increasing”, and they are treated as if they are shoplifting even though they are not doing anything. Of course, there are certainly such youth like that: Some don’t take baths, while others don’t go home. But that’s not all, it’s one side. As with any thing, some are bad and some are good. What I want to say is that you shouldn’t apply a part of the negative image to the all Gal.
At first I thought it was easy to dream of being a business woman until I hit my first wall: As a Gal involved in the fashion and makeup world, you can’t even land a part-time interview. After 20 tries, I finally can land a first and second interview.