New York Magazine – August 05, 2019

The

CULTURE PAGES

T

he first time

Naomi

Watanabe saw herself on TV was also the first time she realized she might be fat. It was 2008, and the

comedian was making her debut on a Japanese variety show as Beyoncé lip-syncing and dancing to a rendition of “Dreamgirls.” In Japan, the art of campy celebrity impression is known as

mono-

mane.

But no one who looked like Wata-

nabe had attempted Beyoncé before.

“I saw it and thought,

Oh, I might be

curvy. Hahahahaha,

” she tells me through

a translator when we meet in New York, where

she

lives

now

(and

is

s

till

working

on

her

English).

“It

’s^

not

tha

t^ I

love

m

yself

because

I^

am

fat.

I^

jus

t^ love

who

I

am

right

now.

Wha

tever

body

I

ha

ve

toda

y,

I

lik

e^

to

embrace

tha

t.

T

hat’s

m

y^

self-love:

L

ove

yourself

at

wha

tever

size

you

ha

ve

toda

y.”

A

decade

later

,^

at

31,

W

atanabe

has

turned

into

one

of

Japan

’s^

big

gest

s

tars,

thanks

in

part

to

her

body-positive

a

tti-

tude.

She

is

the

country

’s

mos

t^

followed

person

on

Ins

tagram.

If

you

s

tand

a

t^

the

crossroads

in

Shibuya,

the

busy

area

of

Tok

yo

wher

e^

S

carlett

J

ohansson

wan-

der

ed

in

Lost

in

T

ranslation,

W

atanabe’s

always

smiling

face

appears

no

fe

wer

than

15 times—in ads for fancy fruit

y water, lip-

stick, and clothing. A railway company named a train after her. In 2018, she was one of

Time’

s “25 Most Influential People

on the Internet.” But few in America know of her yet. She’d like to change that. “I’d love to make everyone laugh,” she says. “Not just Japanese people.”

When we meet, it’s one of the hottest

days of New York’s summer so far. Wata-nabe has recently rented an apartment here. In Japan, she has to wear a dis-guise in public to avoid being mobbed by fans. On the Lower East Side, she fits right in. She has not one but two Chanel quilted

mini-backpacks,

and

a

fancy

Japanese

e-cigar

ette,

and

wears

Gucci

rubber

slides,

jeans,

and

a

T-shir

t^ with

a

dra

wing

of

a

woman

wearing

a

mono-

kini

that

e

ven

Emily

Ra

tajkowski

might

deem

a

little

too

r

evealing.

Despite

being

called

the

“Beyoncé

of

Japan

”^ because

of

her

lip-syncs,

W

atanabe

is

more

of

a

mash-up

of

American

female

boundary-pushers:

M

ix

L

ady

Gaga’

s^

de

fi-

ant

underdog

a

ttitude

and

ambition

with

Lizzo’

s^

body

positivit

y,

Car

di

B’

s^

social-

media

skills,

and

Aidy

Bryant

’s^

sense

of

girlish

joy,

and

you

g

et

some

idea

of

W

ata-

nabe’s

s

trengths.

She

s

tarted

per

forming

at 18, contr

ary to the wishes of her mother.

“When I make people laugh, it gives me joy. The feeling is something you can’t describe. It’s almost orgasmic,” she says. When I laugh a little too loudly at her answer, she deadpans, “That felt good.”

Watanabe broke into

monomane

at 20,

primarily impersonating Beyoncé, occa-sionally Lady Gaga. Over time, she became a regular on Japanese variety shows and a key player in the

owarai

tarento

industry, which literally trans-

lates as “talent of laughter.” Next year, she’ll play Tracy Turnblad in the country’s version of

Hairspray.

She was one of the

first

J

apanese

comedians

to

join

I

nsta-

gram

and

T

ikTok,

wher

e^

she

r

eposts

funny

videos

and

photos

of

her

tongue-

in-cheek

fashion.

She

has

her

own

filter

on

Ins

tagram,

which

chang

es

e

very

fe

w

months

(right

now,

it

gives

you

baby

bangs,

pink

lipstick,

and

br

aided

mini

hair

buns

that

mak

e^

you

look

lik

e^

a^

baby

tiger).

One

of

her

mos

t-liked

pos

ts

shows

her

in

a

bathing

suit

imprinted

with

pan-

cak

es

with

but

ter

pa

ts

over

her

br

easts.

I

n

an

ad

campaign,

she

was

shot

with

her

hair

put

up

in

hot

rollers,

tacos

filling

the

center

of

each

curl.

In

20

14,

W

atanabe

launched

her

own

fashion line, Pun

yus, meant to sound

like the Japanese word for “pudgy” (the Japanese often use it to describe baby cheeks), with clothes designed for women up to size 22. While shooting an episode of

Girls

in Japan in 2015, Lena

Dunham discovered Punyus and praised Watanabe on Instagram, saying, “It’s hard to find great clothes for curvy women anywhere, but especially in Japan where petite and cute seem syn-onymous so yeah, she’s kind of radical.”

Technically it’s Watanabe’s second

time living in the city. In 2014, she saved up to live here for three months and study

English.

She

’s^

back for long

er this

time

to

soak

up

American cultur

e and

the

crea

tive

energ

y^

of the cit

y and learn

a^

little

mor

e^

English, r

elying on friends

to

transla

te

in

the

meantime. “I

n NYC,

you

have

to

f

ight

e

very single day,” she

says.

“

You

ha

ve

to

speak out and be vocal

about

what

you

want. I

n my opinion, in

Japanese

c

ulture,

when you sa

y your

point

of

view

,^ people

think you’

re a snob

or

are

br

agging.

H

ere, everyone says

what

the

y^

want

and

ar

e thinking.”

“By

the

end

of

the

year,

” she continues,

“I

want

to

learn

to

clap back at other

people.

In

English.

”^

■

Na

omi Watanabe Is Coming

for America

The Japanese comedian, social-media star, and fashion designer turned a Beyoncé

impression into an empire. Can her success translate?

By Kathleen Hou

STYLING BY YE YOUNG KIM; MAKEUP BY SEONG HEE PARK AT JULIAN WATSON AGENCY; HAIR BY TETSUYA FOR ARTIST, NYC; NAILS BY MEI KAWAJIRI; FASHION ASSISTANCE BY DONSHEA PARKS. RICHARD QUINN CHIFFON GOWN AT WWW.RICHARDQUINN.LONDON.

64 Photograph by Catherine Servel

TRANSMITTED

REVISED

________ COPY ___ DD ___ AD ___ PD ___ EIC

1619CR_watanabe_lay [Print]_35552125.indd 64 8/1/19 11:14 AM

The

CULTURE PAGES

T

he first time

Naomi

Watanabe saw herself on TV was also the first time she realized she might be fat. It was 2008, and the

comedian was making her debut on a Japanese variety show as Beyoncé lip-syncing and dancing to a rendition of “Dreamgirls.” In Japan, the art of campy celebrity impression is known as

mono-

mane.

But no one who looked like Wata-

nabe had attempted Beyoncé before.

“I saw it and thought,

Oh, I might be

curvy. Hahahahaha,

” she tells me through

a translator when we meet in New York, where

she

lives

now

(and

is

still

working

on

her

English).

“It

’s

not

tha

tI

love

m

yself

because

Iam

fat.

Ijus

tlove

who

I

am

right

now.

Wha

tever

body

I

ha

ve

toda

y,

I

lik

e

to

embrace

tha

t.

T

hat’s

m

y

self-love:

L

ove

yourself

at

wha

tever

size

you

ha

ve

toda

y.”

A

decade

later

,

at

31,

W

atanabe

has

turned

into

one

of

Japan

’s

big

gest

stars,

thanks

in

part

to

her

body-positive

atti-

tude.

She

is

the

country

’s

mos

t

followed

person

on

Ins

tagram.

If

you

stand

at

the

crossroads

in

Shibuya,

the

busy

area

of

Tok

yo

wher

e

S

carlett

Johansson

wan-

der

ed

in

Lost

in

T

ranslation,

W

atanabe’s

always

smiling

face

appears

no

fe

wer

than

15 times—in ads for fancy fruit

y water, lip-

stick, and clothing. A railway company named a train after her. In 2018, she was one of

Time’

s “25 Most Influential People

on the Internet.” But few in America know of her yet. She’d like to change that. “I’d love to make everyone laugh,” she says. “Not just Japanese people.”

When we meet, it’s one of the hottest

days of New York’s summer so far. Wata-nabe has recently rented an apartment here. In Japan, she has to wear a dis-guise in public to avoid being mobbed by fans. On the Lower East Side, she fits right in. She has not one but two Chanel quilted

mini-backpacks,

and

a

fancy

Japanese

e-cigar

ette,

and

wears

Gucci

rubber

slides,

jeans,

and

a

T-shir

twith

a

dra

wing

of

a

woman

wearing

a

mono-

kini

that

even

Emily

Ra

tajkowski

might

deem

a

little

too

revealing.

Despite

being

called

the

“Beyoncé

of

Japan

”because

of

her

lip-syncs,

W

atanabe

is

more

of

a

mash-up

of

American

female

boundary-pushers:

M

ix

L

ady

Gaga’

s

de

fi-

ant

underdog

attitude

and

ambition

with

Lizzo’

s

body

positivit

y,

Car

di

B’

s

social-

media

skills,

and

Aidy

Bryant

’s

sense

of

girlish

joy,

and

you

get

some

idea

of

W

ata-

nabe’s

strengths.

She

started

per

forming

at 18, contr

ary to the wishes of her mother.

“When I make people laugh, it gives me joy. The feeling is something you can’t describe. It’s almost orgasmic,” she says. When I laugh a little too loudly at her answer, she deadpans, “That felt good.”

Watanabe broke into

monomane

at 20,

primarily impersonating Beyoncé, occa-sionally Lady Gaga. Over time, she became a regular on Japanese variety shows and a key player in the

owarai

tarento

industry, which literally trans-

lates as “talent of laughter.” Next year, she’ll play Tracy Turnblad in the country’s version of

Hairspray.

She was one of the

first

Japanese

comedians

to

join

Insta-

gram

and

T

ikTok,

wher

e

she

reposts

funny

videos

and

photos

of

her

tongue-

in-cheek

fashion.

She

has

her

own

filter

on

Ins

tagram,

which

chang

es

every

fe

w

months

(right

now,

it

gives

you

baby

bangs,

pink

lipstick,

and

br

aided

mini

hair

buns

that

mak

e

you

look

lik

e

a

baby

tiger).

One

of

her

mos

t-liked

pos

ts

shows

her

in

a

bathing

suit

imprinted

with

pan-

cak

es

with

but

ter

pa

ts

over

her

br

easts.

In

an

ad

campaign,

she

was

shot

with

her

hair

put

up

in

hot

rollers,

tacos

filling

the

center

of

each

curl.

In

20

14,

W

atanabe

launched

her

own

fashion line, Pun

yus, meant to sound

like the Japanese word for “pudgy” (the Japanese often use it to describe baby cheeks), with clothes designed for women up to size 22. While shooting an episode of

Girls

in Japan in 2015, Lena

Dunham discovered Punyus and praised Watanabe on Instagram, saying, “It’s hard to find great clothes for curvy women anywhere, but especially in Japan where petite and cute seem syn-onymous so yeah, she’s kind of radical.”

Technically it’s Watanabe’s second

time living in the city. In 2014, she saved up to live here for three months and study

English.

She

’s

back for long

er this

time

to

soak

up

American cultur

e and

the

crea

tive

energ

y

of the cit

y and learn

a

little

mor

e

English, r

elying on friends

to

transla

te

in

the

meantime. “I

n NYC,

you

have

to

fight

every single day,” she

says.

“You

ha

ve

to

speak out and be vocal

about

what

you

want. I

n my opinion, in

Japanese

culture,

when you sa

y your

point

of

view

,people

think you’

re a snob

or

are

br

agging.

H

ere, everyone says

what

the

y

want

and

ar

e thinking.”

“By

the

end

of

the

year,

” she continues,

“I

want

to

learn

to

clap back at other

people.

In

English.

”

■

Na

omi Watanabe Is Coming

for America

The Japanese comedian, social-media star, and fashion designer turned a Beyoncé

impression into an empire. Can her success translate?

By Kathleen Hou

STYLING BY YE YOUNG KIM; MAKEUP BY SEONG HEE PARK AT JULIAN WATSON AGENCY; HAIR BY TETSUYA FOR ARTIST, NYC; NAILS BY MEI KAWAJIRI; FASHION ASSISTANCE BY DONSHEA PARKS. RICHARD QUINN CHIFFON GOWN AT WWW.RICHARDQUINN.LONDON.

64 Photograph by Catherine Servel