Ask John: What’s the Fascination with the Old West in Anime?

Question:
What is it that the Japanese like about cowboys and the old American west? From children’s anime to teen and adult ones, every now and then there are cowboys and sometimes even Native Americans in some anime episodes or the show itself. Cowboy Bebop and Outlaw star are two names off the top of my head.

Answer:
The Japanese fascination with the American Old West has, I suspect, a dual origin. The iconography of the American western is unique in the world, and the classic American western is the epitome of the spirit of rugged individuality and adventurous spirit. In the same way that Japan is not predominantly a Christian country but recognizes Christian weddings and Christian holidays like Christmas, out of a fondness for the regalia and pageantry of these events, Japanese culture is fascinated with the visual dynamic of cowboys and Indians. Six-shooters and cowboy hats and leather chaps and spurs for cowboys, and Indian war paint and head dresses and stone axes and peace pipes are unique visual cues of the American west. Considering Japan’s contemporary attire of business suits and the traditional design kimono, yukata and hakama, the look of the American west is as fascinating to Japanese natives as traditional Japanese clothing is to Americans. The only difference in degree lies in the fact that Americans are traditionally very ethnocentric and don’t tend to look outside their own culture as much as many European and Asian cultures do. So the visual aesthetic of American cowboys and Indians appears in anime for the dual purpose of making a fashion statement and evoking the cultural associations connected to both anthropological families.

On a sub-surface level, the American west represents the spirit of rustic individuality and self-sufficiency. This is the epitome of the American spirit, and absolutely opposite of the traditional Japanese nationalistic ideal of self sacrifice for the benefit of the community. The samurai is the Japanese equivalent of the American cowboy, but the samurai is honor bound to devote his life to his lord and land. The cowboy owes allegiance to no one but himself. The freedom of the cowboy’s self determination is quite appealing to those whose culture emphasizes the subjugation of individual expression outside of preordained avenues of martial training or social climbing. Andy the cowboy in Cowboy Bebop, as well as the Bebop crew itself, represents this spirit of exploration and frontiersmanship. Likewise, Rio in the classic Pop Chaser episode of Cream Lemon is a lone cowgirl, prepared to take on overwhelming odds just because she wants to. American girls appearing in Labyrinth of Flame and Arcade Gamer Fubuki dress as cowgirls just to make a fashion statement- their attire immediately distinguishing them as unquestionably American.

The American Indian appears in anime a bit less frequently, possibly because the American Indian isn’t a representation of the archetypical American culture that America itself emblematizes to the rest of the world. But especially as seen in Cowboy Bebop and Wolf’s Rain, the American Indian is still respected in anime as a unique character type totally unlike anything in Japanese culture. While Japanese films like Hayao Miyazaki’s Totoro of the Neighborhood and Princess Mononoke stress the connection of characters with the spirits of nature, American Indians in anime are often elevated to a shamanistic affinity with the spiritual world of nature, living beings including animals, the universe, and the strings of fate. While Japan does have its masters of onmiyoji, Japanese culture doesn’t really have anything that matches the sort of informal spiritual affinity that American Indians in anime seem to have. Therefore, especially for Japanese viewers, such characters are unusual and add a degree of variety and depth to the familiar.