Isn't it time we 40-somethings had our own magazine?

While there is no denying the fact that the quality of today’s local lifestyle and fashion magazines has improved a hundredfold both in visual appeal and content since the days of newsprint and smudgy ink, personally I have yet to find a magazine that speaks to me and talks about women my age. Sure, I have seen and read articles on “cougars,” infidelity, menopause, empty-nesting, midlife crisis, surgeries and youth-enhancing procedures and products, etc., but sadly, they occupy no more than a page or two (okay, maybe four) in what are 100-plus-page magazines. I will admit that we share certain issues with younger women, but given the shift in our attitudes, our desire to take more control of our bodies and our lives, our stronger commitment to make more positive and sustainable contributions to society, our roles have been redefined along with our needs. We absolutely want to look and feel younger (come on, ladies, ’fess up!), healthier and sexier, and there is no crime in that, but there is something not quite right when our so-called “role models” are celebrities, models or personalities who are mostly half our age; seriously, I cannot relate fully to them when more than a decade sets us apart! I don’t want to be a “wannabe”; I want a younger, healthier and sexier version of myself at my age! If there is fashion for plus-size women, anti-aging cosmetics and beauty products, and a television show like Cougar Town, why is no magazine specially “tailored” to us?

Magazine Envy

In a country of about 128 million people, where approximately 35 percent of the population are “senior citizens” and the remaining 65 percent are from 15 to 64 years old, there are at least a hundred local lifestyle, beauty and fashion magazines published weekly, monthly and quarterly in Japan; this number does not include the international magazine franchises and the local political, economic, entertainment, arts-and-culture type of magazines that are regularly published along with the rest. If you go to any bookstore in Japan, you could easily spend several hours just checking out the magazine section alone, immersed in their vast selection even if you don’t speak Japanese. And the best part is that at least nine of these magazines cater to women in their 40s and upwards.

The first Japanese women’s magazine was published in 1905 by novelist Doppo Kunikida; called Fujin Gaho (Illustrated Women’s Gazette), it was created as a lifestyle magazine devoted to relatively wealthy and leisured women, upper-class housewives and successful women. In 1957, a magazine entitled Shukan Josei (Weekly Women) came out in the market followed by Shukan Josei Gishin (Women’s Weekly Themselves) in 1958. The third in the series, Shukan Josei Seven (Women’s Weekly Seven), came in 1963; all these magazines were published by the same company several years after the Second World War and provided practical information, precise rules on the importance of conformity and societal expectations, including lessons in the value of frugality.

Around the ’70s and into the ’80s, lifestyle magazines evolved and became more focused in their efforts to appeal to a wide range of readers. Magazines targeted at teenagers, young women and single women starting to venture out into the real world were born. In 1970, An-An, the first ladies’ fashion magazine, was published, followed by Non-No in 1971; these magazines did not contain essays, articles, interviews and critiques but mostly entertainment guides, tips on fashion, love, school life and career choices for college students and new graduates. Several years later Hanako came on the market and became the unofficial “handbook” of women in their late 20s for “brand” products, expensive restaurants, music and theater and travel abroad. Japanese women were given step-by-step instructions on booking a hotel room overseas, coached on how to have a “correct conversation” with a hotel concierge, a restaurant manager or a shop attendant, to name a few. They were given suggestions as to what brand products to buy and where to purchase them. The ’80s ushered in brand consumerism, a direct result and effect of what became “infamously” known as the Bubble Jidai or “Bubble Period” of Japan. 

The Magic Nine

Over the years, many more magazines came into existence, both local and foreign: there’s Spur, an “intellectual fashion magazine” for teens to women in their 30s; More, 25ans, Marisol, Well & Classy — all lifestyle magazines targeted at women in their 20s and 30s, to name a few. There’s also Elle Girl, the venerable Vogue Nippon, the popular young girls’ magazine Seventeen, Harper’s Bazaar and Elle Japon from America; as well as L’Officiel and Figaro Japon, both franchises from France. And then, of course, there are the magazines for women my age.

Fujin Gaho, the first Japanese women’s magazine, is still around today and continues to command a dominant slice of the mature women’s market; it remains popular for its articles and write-ups on fashion trends, etiquette, cosmetics, travel, eating out and cultural events. Mrs. positions itself as the magazine for women between 30 to 50 years of age who represent the “synthesis of female refinement, a fashionable and cultured life”; their readership is comprised of mostly married women and full-time housewives. Precious is “for the cultured women” while Grazia is the magazine for “real adult women” and best known for its write-ups on travel, food and interiors. Utsukushi Kimono (Beautiful Kimono) and Kimono Salon offer the latest trends in fabric colors and prints and kimono accessories; they also provide practical and fashionable tips on wearing the kimono. Story dishes out casual, stylish fashion features for women in their 40s and Vogue Nippon blends articles on beauty and fashion for women in their 30s and 40s. Katei Gaho (Illustrated Home Gazette) is known for promoting a “quality lifestyle” for women between the ages of 30 to 50 years old and has “Enjoy beauty” as its motto. The magazine is best known for publishing exquisite photos of ryokans (Japanese-style inns) and onsens (natural hot springs) and little-known but breathtaking places in Japan. It has the reputation of being the magazine for the affluent Japanese woman; about 60 percent of their subscribers earn about 15 million yen a year (about US$13,000 a month) and six percent make as much as 30 million yen per annum (about $25,000 a month).

Of all these magazines, I particularly enjoy reading Precious and Fujin Gaho because they tell wonderful stories of ordinary and extraordinary Japanese women and their unassuming, down-to-earth ways; their stories tell readers how fun and beautiful life can be professionally and personally in a manner others can relate to. These magazines don’t use foreign models in any of their fashion spreads so Japanese women can identify with the models and see themselves wearing the same clothes. Not only that, their fashion spreads are not highly stylized, so the makeup is natural, the models are photographed in very casual poses and everyday settings, looking relaxed and comfortable. They also do a fantastic job of mixing together local and international fashion brands to give polished and tasteful style options to their readers. Their cultural guides express tremendous pride for their country; the high-caliber photos of carefully and artfully prepared food make you want to eat them right off the page! Their well-researched features, from the obscure and quaint to the modern and luxurious ryokans, onsens and hotels, make me realize how many more places I haven’t explored even after 12 years of living in Tokyo. If you plan to travel and really get to know the “real” Japan, don’t buy a commercial travel book; get one of their local magazines instead to have an authentic Japanese experience.

Despite the increasing popularity of online publications and the undeniable, indispensable use of the Internet — from research to social networking to keeping abreast of world news and current affairs or simply being entertained — Japanese publishers are keeping mainstream print publications alive. Even though subscriptions have diminished, driving some to close up shop or discontinue magazines, new ones are created just as fast as others announce their demise. In a first-world country known for its technological innovations, where Internet access is available even inside a moving underground train, online publication still hasn’t quite caught on and I think that is a good thing.    

Online Just Doesn’t Do It For Me

One of the things I look forward to when going to any mall, whether here or overseas, is a trip to the bookstore. I love walking along the aisles looking at book and magazine covers, being able to reach for them and hold them in my hands. I get genuinely excited flipping through the crisp pages of a book or a magazine, smelling their newness and feeling the smoothness of each page as my hand touches them. Call me old-fashioned but there is something comforting — almost therapeutic — about actually holding a book or magazine in my hand and knowing that it is just within arm’s length if I want to read it. I don’t know how many women my age have become slaves to the computer but speaking for myself, reading for enjoyment isn’t one of the things I do on the computer; scrolling the mouse up and down, round and round, pressing the keyboard and waiting for a story to load just takes the fun out of reading. Kindle, the e-book, is surely practical and convenient, perhaps even fascinating, but for me, it is just impersonal; in my opinion, nothing will ever replace the good old, reliable book or magazine for pure and simple reading pleasure. So to all the publishers out there, keep on churning out those fabulous magazines, but please in the near future, could you make one especially for women like me? Just a thought.