Butler culture in Japan is targeted towards young woman in their late teens to late 20s who are into traditionally feminine things.
Think "Princess Lifestyle."
 |
| From Deka Wanko, Chapter 44 |
Like a lot of girls who are into traditional femininity, I love the idea of being treated like a princess, which definitely adds to the Lolita aesthetic.
So why am I talking about how much I love butlers? Because Butler culture has influenced my lifestyle in a number of ways. It has influenced my lifestyle aesthetic, my interpersonal feelings, as well as my own behavior.
To show you what I mean, I will introduce you to a few things that heavily involves the Modern Maiden's idea of the perfect butler.
1. The Victorian Atmosphere
After a few years of watching Black Butler, I found out where some of the inspiration for the manga series came from: Swallowtail Butler Cafe in Ikebukuro in Tokyo, Japan. Upon seeing that such a cafe existed, I had to look into it right away. I fell in love immediately!
In case you don't know, butler cafes are cafes where you go to enjoy pastries and tea while being treated like royalty by very handsome butlers. The atmosphere of Swallowtail Butler cafe in particular makes you feel as if you were a young lady living in a Victorian mansion. On top of that, the butlers are trained professionally, almost as if they were real butlers. They do their job with the utmost dignity, and they take care of everything for you, and when most guests who have been there say everything, they mean EVERYTHING! You won't have to lift a finger!
This cafe has everything down to the decimal point as to what a maiden with refined taste desires, including the items on the menu. They have lavish afternoon tea sets, dinners, and dessert plates and some of the finest tea blends that are said to be hand-blended by the cafe's footmen! The tea is served in only the best in teacup brands and such! (I have a cup and saucer set from Paragon that is my pride and joy!)
Might I add, they also have a few Patisseries that sell the cutest cakes and sweets I have ever seen!
However, if royal etiquette does not come naturally to you, you may find that they are pretty strict about a few minor things, but this is for the sake of maintaining the theme and order of the cafe, as they do get a lot of customers, so much, you have make a reservation at least two weeks in advance!
Here are a couple of customer experiences as to what the cafe staff's etiquette is like.
"If you need to go to the bathroom, you just ring the bell and your butler comes and escorts you and waits until you've done your business to escort you back to your table." (Deerstalker Pictures)
For a lot of people, this kind of experience can be a little awkward, and sometimes rather frustrating and difficult to follow, making the experience a little bit pressuring. But this sort of experience can be a lot of good fun if you plan ahead and prepare for what's coming. If you plan on traveling to Japan and you would really like to make a visit, I highly suggest you triple check the times and dates before making a reservation! (The full details on reservations are on their website right here. They also have an English guide.)
This cafe is one of the places I would really like to visit before I die, and if I ever do live in Japan for a few years or so like I once said I would really like to do, you could guarantee that I will be a regular customer!
Deerstalker Pictures
go_slow_ly
Official Site
Now let us dive a little deeper into this topic.
2. Butlers and Escapism
Now as I have mentioned a bit earlier, Swallowtail was the source of inspiration for my favorite anime of all time: Black Butler. At the time I got into it, I absolutely loved the idea of having a loyal butler! Someone who is always on the dot and knows exactly what you need at the right time, someone you can trust who will never cross you, someone you can be weak in front of and won't call you pathetic, but instead take care of you, protect you, and help you regain your strength. Through Black Butler, I found an interest that took me away from a lot of hard experiences I had in school and in life in general. The idea of having a perfect butler became one of my personal escapes.
In Black Butler, even though both Sebastian Michaelis and Claude Faustus were under contracts, the relationship between them and their masters, Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy, just appeared so close and intimate. Now being a single person for the majority of my life (no surprise there!) watching girls get their hearts broken by questionable men, I admit, I became more attracted to the idea of having a manservant who obligates himself to take care of me and stay by my side, rather than a boyfriend who could just drop me at any time if he got tired of me. Needless to say, that idea stayed with me a for a long time.
Through Black Butler, I have become a huge butler enthusiast in general. The whole idea of having a perfect butler to keep me in order has really fueled my lifelong desire to become a traditionalist proper lady with high standards and strict personal policies in a rather careless, easygoing, repulsive, and discourteous society. It has boosted my motivation to achieve my lifestyle goal of living my life as if I was a noble lady of the Victorian Era!
But unfortunately, the closest I have gotten to the goal of actually having a butler is the next subject here.
(An Otome game is a type of visual novel that originates from Japan. It's basically what we call a dating simulation game. The object of the game is to interact with the characters and develop relationships with them as the main protagonist. These games are usually played from a first-person perspective.)
3. A Desire for the Perfectionist Treatment
This here, is my favorite Otome game, Butler Until Midnight, the game by Voltage Inc. which has just discontinued back in December 2018.(An Otome game is a type of visual novel that originates from Japan. It's basically what we call a dating simulation game. The object of the game is to interact with the characters and develop relationships with them as the main protagonist. These games are usually played from a first-person perspective.)
Since I'm into the glasses type, my immediate first choice was Tomoki Matsuba, a perfectionist butler.
As I progressed through his story, I noticed the main protagonist dreaded his strict guidelines. On the contrary, I actually really loved how much of a perfectionist he was, given that I am one myself sometimes!
He knew anything and everything that I wish I was educated more on as a child such as the piano and dinner etiquette. Needless to say, this fictional character was truly the ideal butler.
Although I had very good grades and pretty good behavior as a child, I didn't like the subjects I was being taught. I wanted to learn about things like Classical Music, how to play the Violin, the histories of the Victorian and Rococo periods, and of course, Tea Party Etiquette, all which would be considered useless in real life.
Did I care? Of course not!
By the time I was in middle school, I slumped down from a little Princess to a sloppy, overexcited, and extremely awkward preteen otaku. (Note: In case some of you are not aware, "Otaku" is not something to be proud of.....)
I'm not afraid to admit that I developed sloppy table manners, little to no common decency, and my grades ranged from average to low. It got progressively worse in high school. Now in college, I'm doing much better. Not all A's, but at least there are no D's and F's now, I actually have a self-care routine, and I now have a proud collection of tea cups as well as a decent wardrobe that isn't made up of jeans, cosplay accessories, skechers, and anime t-shirts!
He knew anything and everything that I wish I was educated more on as a child such as the piano and dinner etiquette. Needless to say, this fictional character was truly the ideal butler.
Although I had very good grades and pretty good behavior as a child, I didn't like the subjects I was being taught. I wanted to learn about things like Classical Music, how to play the Violin, the histories of the Victorian and Rococo periods, and of course, Tea Party Etiquette, all which would be considered useless in real life.
Did I care? Of course not!
By the time I was in middle school, I slumped down from a little Princess to a sloppy, overexcited, and extremely awkward preteen otaku. (Note: In case some of you are not aware, "Otaku" is not something to be proud of.....)
I'm not afraid to admit that I developed sloppy table manners, little to no common decency, and my grades ranged from average to low. It got progressively worse in high school. Now in college, I'm doing much better. Not all A's, but at least there are no D's and F's now, I actually have a self-care routine, and I now have a proud collection of tea cups as well as a decent wardrobe that isn't made up of jeans, cosplay accessories, skechers, and anime t-shirts!
Interacting with Tomoki in the game made me wish I had someone like him to straighten me out at an early age, and help me break some of the bad habits I have now. It's difficult to break some habits I have like chewing gum with your mouth open, putting your elbows on the table, laughing at inappropriate times, and the worst, procrastination!
Now I admit, the first few years of my adulthood were awfully disastrous as I was getting to know a few aspects of being an adult such as the twists and wrong turns of dating life, but nevertheless no matter how many mistakes you make, there is always time to get up, turn around, change, and improve.
Now I admit, the first few years of my adulthood were awfully disastrous as I was getting to know a few aspects of being an adult such as the twists and wrong turns of dating life, but nevertheless no matter how many mistakes you make, there is always time to get up, turn around, change, and improve.
"BUT WHY!?" One would ask.
"WHY do you actually WANT to have good manners and good behavior?"
"WHY do you actually WANT to do everything by the book?"
"WHY would you actually WANT to eat like the Duchess instead of just stuffing your face with whatever you want?"
"WHY would you actually WANT to follow rules?"
"WHY do you seriously WANT to be a proper lady?"
"Just do whatever the hell you want!"
I AM doing whatever I want. This is what I want.
I'm not living the way I want to because I'm trying to get a Prince or something dumb and cliche like that, I'm doing this for me. I'm doing it simply because I WANT to. Simply because I get a strong sense of self from it. Simply because I feel like myself in that state of being.
"But traditionalism is not even feminist! It's outdated!"
Not feminist? Think about this.
I am a 22-year-old woman who is completely by her own free will, choosing a lifestyle that involves wearing otherwise considered conservative clothes that also resemble porcelain doll clothes that are seen on little girls the majority of the time that I would be told I am "too old" to wear, learning outdated mannerisms that make most people tell you that you have a stick up your butt, refraining from debauchery as much as I humanly can (with a few slip ups here and there) in a society where men expect that sort of promiscuous behavior from women and get angry when denied the view of a woman's body while most of the male-gaze-driven media profits off of that expectation, and participating in delicate activities such as embroidery, baking, and hosting afternoon tea that are looked down upon and considered only for the weak and spineless.
If that is not a feminist thing for a woman to choose to do, at least a woman my age in this day, I don't know what is.
The Modern Maiden's image of the Butler has taken up plenty of space in the part of my brain where the inspiration goes. I find these creative and dreamy ideas and concepts of the butler to be very interesting, and very motivational.
"WHY do you actually WANT to have good manners and good behavior?"
"WHY do you actually WANT to do everything by the book?"
"WHY would you actually WANT to eat like the Duchess instead of just stuffing your face with whatever you want?"
"WHY would you actually WANT to follow rules?"
"WHY do you seriously WANT to be a proper lady?"
"Just do whatever the hell you want!"
I AM doing whatever I want. This is what I want.
I'm not living the way I want to because I'm trying to get a Prince or something dumb and cliche like that, I'm doing this for me. I'm doing it simply because I WANT to. Simply because I get a strong sense of self from it. Simply because I feel like myself in that state of being.
"But traditionalism is not even feminist! It's outdated!"
Not feminist? Think about this.
I am a 22-year-old woman who is completely by her own free will, choosing a lifestyle that involves wearing otherwise considered conservative clothes that also resemble porcelain doll clothes that are seen on little girls the majority of the time that I would be told I am "too old" to wear, learning outdated mannerisms that make most people tell you that you have a stick up your butt, refraining from debauchery as much as I humanly can (with a few slip ups here and there) in a society where men expect that sort of promiscuous behavior from women and get angry when denied the view of a woman's body while most of the male-gaze-driven media profits off of that expectation, and participating in delicate activities such as embroidery, baking, and hosting afternoon tea that are looked down upon and considered only for the weak and spineless.
If that is not a feminist thing for a woman to choose to do, at least a woman my age in this day, I don't know what is.
The Modern Maiden's image of the Butler has taken up plenty of space in the part of my brain where the inspiration goes. I find these creative and dreamy ideas and concepts of the butler to be very interesting, and very motivational.
Point being: I like Butlers. A lot.
Thank you for reading, and remember that there's no shame in having serious reasons for silly obsessions, and neither is there any shame in having otherwise considered silly inner motivators to do what you set out to!
No comments:
Post a Comment