Light skin in Japanese culture

Bihaku (美白^?) is a Japanese marketing term meaning "beautifully white" which was coined in the 1990s with the emergence of skin whitening products and cosmetics. The products are mostly aimed as a facial treatment rather than the whole body.

Although skin tone differs based on a person's racial background, those with fair skin have difficulty maintaining skin tone due to melanin production. Bihaku products aim to prevent or reverse skin imperfection and provide a clean and fair complexion.

In Japan the preference for skin that is white and free of blemishes has been around for centuries, long before European and American media were widely known. There is an old proverb "white skin covers the seven flaws" (色の白いは七難隠す, iro no shiroi wa shichinan kakusu^?) which refers to a fair-skinned woman being beautiful even if her features are not attractive.

Bihaku products are highly popular among mature women. They are also popular with teenage girls and those in their twenties who desire to look like pop singers, such as Ayumi Hamasaki, and are promoted in numerous youth fashion magazines such as "Popteen" and "S Cawaii!". Bihaku products are also prevalent and a key item in numerous youth subcultures such as gyaru and ageha girls. An opposition to the idea of fair skin beauty grew with the gyaru subculture called "ganguro" in the 1990s although died out by the end of the 2000s.

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