by Julia Watermouth

A professor at Kyoto University’s school of sociology has come up with a theory on why some beautiful Japanese women date unattractive men including American and European men. The answer according to professor of sociology, Hideo Tanaka, is that these women simply don’t realize these men are unattractive.

Anybody who has spent significant time in Japan has probably been surprised by this phenomenon which professor Tanaka has labeled “the appearance mismatch”. As a young reporter living in Tokyo several years ago I too was stupefied by the number of beautiful Japanese women walking hand in hand with foreign men with obviously below-average looks. I remember thinking to myself these guys might be incels (involuntarily celibate) in their home countries but now they’re dating gorgeous women. It was clear that this change of social-status was why many of these men chose to work and live in Japan.

Professor Tanaka believes this tendency of some Japanese women to be attracted to men who women of other cultures might be disgusted by has its roots in the Heian period, around 794-1185. This is a period where Japanese culture flourished in the arts but more importantly to this story, it’s when the samurai warrior class was developed.

The successful samurai, strong and handsome, lived a life of honor and risk and often were killed in battles over territory. Many of these handsome samurai would commit seppuku (honorable suicide) to demonstrate their bravery and sincerity.  The death of a samurai usually resulted in the wife or Onna Bugeisha (woman warrior)  being left behind to live out the rest of her life. 

Tanaka stated that over time women realized that the more handsome and masculine her partner was, the more likely she’d end up alone to live out her life. He equates it to natural selection, the ability of humans to adapt and change to survive. In the beginning women consciously began to choose less attractive and more frail men as they were less likely to be called into battle. 

Tanaka theorizes that over centuries this tendency became part of the genetic make-up leading up to today where women may be subconsciously seeking a partner less attractive and masculine in order not to be isolated. 

“In her eyes, he is as handsome as James Bond,” said Tanaka laughing when shown a picture of a beautiful Japanese woman and a pathetic-looking British nerd holding hands.