Purikura
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Purikura is a term of Japanese origin meaning either a type of photo booth or the product (a decorated photograph commonly measuring 1 inch by 1/2 inch) of such a photo booth. The name (written プリクラ in Japanese) is a shortened form of purinto kurabu (プリント倶楽部, a registered trademark): the quasi-English term is "print club" in Japanese pronunciation. In Japanese, the plural of purikura is the same as purikura.
Jointly developed by Atlus and Sega, the first purikura were sold in July 1995. They were extremely popular in Japan in the 21st century where many arcades had entire floors dedicated to them. The craze has since declined due to the ubiquity of camera phones and the ease of transmitting the photos they take, although a typical Japanese game arcade today still has one or two purikura machines.
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[edit] How it works
A purikura photobooth is large enough to hold up a crew consisting of five people standing close to each other. Wigs and other cosplay props are available for use inside the purikura photobooths. When the money is inserted, between two and ten different exposures can be taken. A common gesture used in purikura booths is the "V-sign" (common in any Japanese snapshot).
Once the picture is taken, the occupants select the pictures that they wish to keep and customize them using a touch screen or pen-sensitive screen. The touch screen then displays a vast array of options such as virtual stamps, colourful backdrops, borders, text or a trademarked image such as Hello Kitty or a photo of an Aidoru that can be superimposed on the photographs. A typical purikura session costs between 300-600 Japanese yen and thus, Purikura is very popular among young girls who often carry around books containing purikura to show and swap with their friends.
Inside the purikura photobooths, J-Pop music is usually played and a high-pitched female voice harangues the customers with instructions such as "Uan, tsū, surii, pōzu" (borrowed from the English "One, two, three, pose".) Finally, the number and size of the pictures to be printed is chosen, and the pictures print out in glossy full-color sheets to be cut up and divided among the group. The reverse can usually be peeled off, hence the photos serve as stickers as well.
[edit] Purikura in other countries
Purikura is also popular in China where the stickers are usually made with older Japanese machines. Whereas Japanese purikura booths are found in game arcades or purikura-only shops, in China they are found in nearly any popular market that attracts teenagers. Several purikura booths can also be found in the West, mostly in game arcades.
[edit] Development of Purikura
Although not available as of yet, Videkura may be the next step in this market by taking the basic idea of purikura, and adding modern technologies to create videos that can be distributed on mobile phones as well as the web.
[edit] See Also
[edit] Further reading
- Miller, Laura. "Graffiti photos: Expressive art in Japanese girls' culture." Harvard Asia Quarterly, Vol. 7 no. 3, pp. 31-42, 2003. (Also at asiaquarterly.com.)
- Miller, Laura. “Bad Girl Photography.” In Bad Girls of Japan, Palgrave, 2005.
