Seedy Shibuya spawns new breed of dirty little schoolgirl

By Ryann Connell
January 21, 2005

Pagyaru derive their name from chuto hanpa, the Japanese word for "half measures," and gyaru, the local rendition of the English "girl."

"Pagyaru are those girls who hang out in Shibuya. They get around in stuffed toy suits and dress up a little bit like the old yamanba, but haven't quite got it right, which is why they're chuto hanpa," Weekly Playboy hears from Takuya, an 18-year-old guy who spends his spare time knocking around in Shibuya's Center Gai district, the womb of most Japanese teen trends. "There're younger pagyaru, too. They're like junior high school girls who dress up in these really gaudy outfits."

Acting as the magnet for the pagyaru are the huge schoolgirl party clubs that are most active in Shibuya and make money putting on tacky variety performances. Pagyaru apparently head into Shibuya from the sticks, then walk up and down along the few hundred meters of sidewalk between Center Gai and 109 department store, the area's other main symbol of youth fashion. They're hoping that one of the many street side touts active there will try and pick them up and pave their way for membership into one of the clubs.

Nanpashi, the Japanese word for the touts, are delighted with the pagyaru's appearance.

"They're the easiest targets out there. We belong to a club that's pretty well known, so as soon as we tell them the name, they just melt. We take 'em out drinking after big shows and then have our way with them after they get drunk. If they resist, we just do it anyway," gushes Takashi, a 17-year-old pick-up professional, unashamed that his group is effectively mimicking Waseda University's vile Super Free gang rapists club. "We don't do anything to ruin the good name of our club, though. We give the pagyaru one of our guy's phone numbers and make him work on her until she falls in love with him. The pagyaru bring in new friends and the more people that take part in our shows, the more money we make. Pagyaru have packed the audiences at most of our recent shows."

Poor pagyaru appear to have no regrets about being used and abused.

"Everybody in the clubs looks like they're having a really, really good time and they know what they're doing. We're only doing the same thing as those bored housewives who go to host clubs -- looking for a little bit of excitement," 15-year-old pagyaru Emi says. "Clubs buy us food and drinks a lot, so I reckon it's fine that they're letting us tag along."

Other pagyaru are prepared to pay their own way, even when they're still too young to be allowed to work part-time.

"I get most of my money from enjo kosai," 14-year-old Megumi tells Weekly Playboy, referring to the euphemism meaning "compensated dating" that refers to schoolgirl prostitution. "I don't go all the way, though. That's a bit risky. But I'll take some old guy out the back of a building and let him put his hand up my skirt or smell my undies if he gives me some money."

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