Otome Juku / Studio Satsukipon Representative Satsuki Nishihara (Part 1)
Official Website: https://satsukipon.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/satsuki_nishihara?igsh=MXVzdG8zcnM3bzR0NQ==
Supervision/Photography: Shun Ryusei
Interview/Text: Yuki Tateno
Satsuki Nishihara is the representative of "Otome Juku," which provides support for people who have the desire to "become a girl" or "become cute."
The philosophy of Otome Juku is to value "being yourself" rather than "being girlish"!!
While words like diversity and individuality are flying around when thinking about "being yourself," and various ways of being an "individual" are being questioned, what does "being yourself" mean to Satsukipon??
Q: What kind of people visit "Otome Juku," and what do you do there?
A: MtF (Male to Female) individuals are the main visitors. There are also cross-dressers and women who lack self-confidence, as well as people who are struggling with their gender or their sense of self.
As for the content of their concerns, it is often, "I don't look like a girl... what can I do to become more girlish?"
During the transition phase, it's difficult to find makeup or fashion that suits you, and it tends to look unnatural. I feel that at such times, it's easy for society to view you with a sense of discomfort... and that is often the cause of their distress.
At Otome Juku, we provide makeup, voice lessons, hair styling, talk classes, and breast enhancement/slimming massages for such people, helping to guide them toward a look that suits them and is uniquely their own.
What we value at Otome Juku is "that person's individuality"... We operate with the wish that it can be a place where people can be free from everything—without worrying about their birth gender, their body, or the eyes of those around them—and be themselves to the fullest.
Otome Juku opened in 2016, and while we actively pursued "becoming girlish" when we first started, we now provide help to cherish "that person's individuality."
Q: Could you tell us about what "that person's individuality" means to you, Satsuki-san?
A: I believe it means continuing to do what you love as your true self, without being swayed by the values of society or others.
We transgender people undergo gender transition, but that doesn't necessarily overlap with what society calls a feminine appearance.
Despite that, transgender individuals often feel they must blend into society. They likely assume that if they don't, they will be looked at with curiosity or talked about behind their backs.
At that point, they are already worrying about the eyes of society and others, but it is natural for them to feel that way because they have often been hurt by being unable to disclose that their gender identity differs from their birth gender, or by being subjected to bias. That is precisely why I want them to value "being themselves."
Everyone surely wants to wear the clothes and hairstyles they truly like, so if they can wear them in a way that is cute and satisfying to themselves, I think they might be able to love themselves.
Q: What does it feel like to "blend into society" specifically? Also, does that sometimes contrast with valuing oneself?
A: We use the term "passing degree," which means "is my appearance passing without discomfort from society or others?" Even though one should be pursuing their own individuality, they unconsciously become aware of how they are seen by society. Therefore, transgender people often live their lives while worrying about their degree of passing.
Depending on the person, it might be necessary to be aware of the passing degree to lead a social life, but I think that if you are overly conscious of it, you may end up far from the person you originally wanted to be.
People tend to get caught up in such thoughts, but regardless of what society thinks, isn't wearing fashion and makeup that suits the individual the most natural state for them?
In modern Japan, the gender binary is strong, so society tends to use expressions like "masculinity" or "femininity," but I think it's fine to have categories for transgender men and women. Rather than being obsessed with completely dividing into one of the two genders or erasing the remnants from before the gender transition, it would be ideal to be accepted as transgender.
Q: I think awareness of LGBTQ has been increasing in recent years (according to an SDGs CONNECT survey, the penetration rate of the term LGBTQ was 80.1% as of 2020). Along with such social progress, are the ways of being for the people involved also changing?
In the social climate when Otome Juku first opened, transgender women were seeking "femininity," but with the improvement of social awareness, have they come to prioritize "being themselves"?
A: That may be one way of looking at it, but I think there are also differences in thinking among individuals.
There are people who pursue their own individuality, but there are also people who want to blend into society as women. Also, I think there are people who try to find a balance between themselves and society. No matter how society changes, each transgender person has their own values and ways of thinking, so it would be good if the individual within the attribute could also be respected.
Q: How do you yourself value being yourself, Satsuki-san?
A: In my case, I express myself while valuing "being myself" by wearing things I like while also incorporating colors and designs that are easy for people around me to understand.
For example, pink, light blue, and yellow are my favorite colors. However, I intentionally choose to focus on pink, taking into account the colors that stereotypical people imagine for us (transgender people) in order to find the greatest common denominator. I think that making it easier for the other person to understand increases the opportunities for them to understand my existence.
Continued in Part 2