B.A.B. Profile: Akaneko
There are no doubt B.A.B.ies all over the world. Lovers of everything black. We recently stumbled upon someone's personal Instagram feed that was outstandingly black: black home goods, black camping gear, full meals that were all black. Needless to say, we were captivated and wanted to know more about who this person is and why black is all over her feed. She was kind enough to speak with us.
B: Hello! Thank you for giving us the time to talk with us. Please tell us who you are, where you're from and a little bit about what you do.
A: My name is Akaneko. I am from Japan. I am a woman who loves black very much. Black is meat and drink to me! I live in a black room, wear black clothes and go to a shop where I can eat black food.
B: We've been combing through your Instagram over the past few months and it's riddled with black. We love it! Why do you like black so much?
A: 黒が好きな理由は沢山あります。その一つは、私がメタルが好きだからです。メタルを聴き始めてから私は黒い服を着るようになりました。また私は暗い世界観や廃墟やミステリアスな物事が好きです。黒はそれらを連想させます。黒は無機質だけど重厚的な存在感を感じさせてくれます。私は黒に囲まれていると心地良いです。特にマットブラック！
There are a lot of reasons why I like black. One of the reasons is because I like metal music so much. I started to wear only black clothes since I started listening to metal. I also like dark worldviews and ruins and mysterious things. Black is inorganic but makes me feel a profound presence. I feel calm when surrounded by black. Especially matte black!
B: We see you post black clothing, cars, food, home items. Is everything you have black?
A: ほとんど そうです！私は黒いトイレットペーパー、黒いティッシュペーパー、黒い歯ブラシ、黒い練り歯磨き、黒体石鹸、黒い洗顔などを収集しています。私は壁に塗装出来ない賃貸に住んでいて壁が白です。今は渋々黒い画用紙を壁に貼っています。もし家を買えたら全て真っ黒にしたいです。でも私は動物や魚が好きなので動物転写プリント布や魚のクッションは黒じゃなくても持っています！
Mostly yes! I try to get black toilet paper, black tissue paper, black toothbrushes, black toothpaste, black body soap, black face wash etc...I live in a rented apartment where I can't paint the walls so they're white, so I put up black wall paper instead. If I buy a house, I want to make everything ALL black. I do have some pillow cushions with colorful animal prints on them, but I love animals so I don't mind the color on those.
B: Do you always wear black?
A: はい！もちろん。私のクローゼットは99.5％黒い服で占領されてます。靴もバッグもピアスもネックレスも全部黒です。そして私は毎日黒しかマニキュアを塗りません。私の夫も仕事の時以外はほとんど黒い服を着ます。
YES! Of course. My closet is like 99.5% black clothes; shoes, bags, earrings and necklaces are all black too. And I only paint my nails black. My husband also wears mostly black clothes except at work!
B: We noticed you post a lot about camping, using the hashtag "blackcamper". Where and how often do you go camping?
A: 私は一年間で10回位キャンプに行きます。私は良く海が見える場所にキャンプに行きます。私は海を見るのが好きで、特に夜の暗い海が好きです。夜の暗い森も好きなので森にもキャンプに行きます。
I go camping about 10 times a year. I often go camping where I can see the sea. I like to watch the ocean, especially the dark sea at night. I also camp in the forest because I like how dark it gets at night, far away from the city lights. It's calming.
B: Is it difficult to find all the black things you have?
A: 私は365日いつでも黒い物を探してます。私はほとんどインターネットで見つけて買っているので、黒い物を探すのは簡単です。あと私は塗装するのが好きなので、もし黒くない物があれば迷わずに塗ってしまいます。黒い物が手に入らない時は、黒くない物を買い、塗装します。
I look for black things 365 days a year. I mostly find them online, so it's been pretty easy to find. If I ever find something that I like and it doesn't come in black, I just paint it.
B: We do that all the time! Black spray paint and vinyl are our favs. Is your black lifestyle socially looked down upon in Japanese culture?
A: 日本でそう感じた事はありません。日本では流行を追う人が沢山います。それは大多数です。そして黒はたまに不吉に思われる事はあります。なので私のような黒のオタクは少数派で変に思われるかもしれません。でも私は黒好きなことを誇りを持っているので全く気にしていません。
I have never felt that way in Japan. There are a lot of people that wear black in Japan, it's a pretty popular trend. I know sometimes black can be looked at as evil or sinister, so black otaku may seem strange to some, but that doesn't bother me because I'm proud that I like black.
B: Why do you think black is so appealing to you? Is it because it looks good, or does it offer something else?
A: 黒に囲まれていると静寂の中にいるようでとても心地よいです。黒は自信や強さを与えてくれます。私はシンプルでミニマルな生活スタイルが好きです。私は黒はミニマルな空間が一番映えると思います。
Black is humble and is very comfortable to me. Black gives me confidence and strength, without being too showy. I prefer to live a simple and minimal lifestyle and black seems to be the best way to do that.
B: Akaneko thank you so much for speaking with us and letting us into your life a bit.
A: Thank you for giving me this opportunity, it was really nice to talk with you.
If you wanna check out more from Akaneko, the black camper, and keep up with her black stuffs life, follow her on Instagram @akaneko666m.
