Welcome to the hugely inappropriate world of Nazi Cosplay, or Costume Play. While most travelers in this world of make-believe choose to wear Renaissance clothes, zombie makeup and Star Wars costumes, a small contingent pick stormtroopers of a different ilk. Google "Nazi Cosplay" and you'll be presented with pages of mostly Asian costumers wearing pointy ears and a variety of Nazi costumes, often with an erotic twist.Observers excuse China and South Korea (Nazi Cosplay epicenters) by pointing to their cultural isolation from Nazi atrocities. But when I see attractive girls wearing nazi uniforms and pointy mouse ears, I get confused. Do I laugh, get weirdly excited, or repulsed? Like a car accident or freak of nature, it's just hard to look away. . . Much of this may be inspired by the short-lived Japanese anime, URDA, in which the Nazis capture a time-traveler and use his future-tech to win the war (the source of the mouse ears in the average Nazi Cosplay uniform).
Surfing the internet, I found a wedding blog online where the groom opted to wear a black SS Officer's uniform. In South Korea, there's even a bar called "The Fifth Reich" (I guess I missed the 4th Reich), where customers say they just like the fashion. From a Western perspective, we respond, "Yeah, but uh, what about the swastikas?" There's a lot I won't ever understand about what makes parts of Asian culture tick (having lived in Japan myself). I think these guys are evidence that the cultural disconnect goes both ways.
As a military history buff AND a (very amateur) student of Japanese culture myself, I have always heard their educational system refuses to educate their children about anything regarding the Japanese role in WWII. (Sort of like our own educational institution's current attitude towards the American Civil War). Especially taboo is the mere mention of any reference (positive or negative) to the sometimes less-than-Genevia-Convention way the Japanese Forces treated captured non-combatiants; like Medics, Nurses (as after the capture of Singapore),civilians, Chaplains, and POWs. And, I understand any sort of references to violence in their society is likewise forbidden, except that presented as fantasy in some of the peculiar "entertainment" like some you mentioned. I wonder if growing up in that sort of isolation from the reality of war and politically-sanctioned hate has led to confusion by their youth with the real world of war and the same depicted in animated and graphic media? Korea? I don't know...they should know better. I wonder how the same "theme bar" would go over if it featured murals of the aftermath of what many times happened in a Korean village after invading Reds got through with the village officials.... or anyone else silly or unfortunate enough to have not fled the approaching troops. ? But then, how many times in our own culture have you heard someone under 40 roll their eyes and say, "WWII? Yeah........Wasn't that a long, long time ago/.....'Way before my time!!" then immediately change the subject.
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