Look at these photos below. People are wearing something strange on their chins (@_@)!
Are they cosplayers copying some kind of manga characters? No, actually those beard-ish things are made with red azuki beans (very popular in Japan), and the reason why they are wearing the azuki beards is quite serious. These people are participating in the NO DV (domestic violence) campaign at a charity event, Earth Day Tokyo 2011.
Artist Takao Sakai is an originator of this unique “azurer” fashion statement in which people sport azuki beards. Also, there is a unique and creative group called Purple Eyes, working for DV prevention. Purple is the symbolic color of the anti-DV campaign. And the color of azuki beans is a rather purplish shade of red. What’s more, it has been said since ancient times that azuki has a special power to dispel evil.
For these reasons, the azurer phenomenon and the anti-DV movement joined together.
The couples in these photos above are holding their statements for NO DV. Around eighty couples swore “NO DV!” at the Earth Day event in Tokyo. It may be difficult to integrate the azurer look into our daily lives, but still we can have the “azurer spirit” in our minds 😉
Source: Purple Eyes Website, Excite News and Here.
This is JAPAN Style!
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