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Yamanba is one of the many sub-styles of Gyaru. It is, alongside Manba, a style that developed from the original Ganguro style of Gyaru.
Yamanba is a variation on the name of a mountain witch in Japanese folklore, an unkempt, dirty old woman with dark skin and white hair. Like Ganguro, Yamanba is a revolt against Japanese beauty standards and society, but to an extreme. Many partakers of this sub-style aim to be as deliberately unattractive as possible. Because of this, Yamanba quickly gained a reputation of being unclean delinquents.
Old school Yamanba featured dark tans and white lipstick, pastel eye make-up, tiny metallic or glittery adhesives below the eyes, brightly colored circle lenses, plastic day glow-colored clothing, and incongruous accessories, such as Hawaiian leis. Stickers on the face died out shortly after 2004; Yamanba as a style fell out of favor shortly after but eventually had a smaller resurgence during the 2010's.
Style Characteristics[]
- Heavy white makeup around eyes, on nose bridge, and on lips
- Hair is often bleached blonde, or dyed unnatural colors
- Long nails, often with heavy deco
- Bright colorful clothing
- Stickers and decorations on the face as a part of makeup
- Heavy deco on accessories such as cell phones
Modern Yamanba[]
In general, Yamanba is considered to be a dead Gyaru style, but this is not true. To date there are still many Gyaru who style themselves as Yamanba, either regularly or on occasion. Some members of the Gal-Unit Black Diamond and Gaijin Gyaru around the world still wear both Yamanba and Manba styles, showing that the style is not as dead as people generally believe it to be.
The style itself has not evolved massively, and still retains the bright hair colors, heavy makeup and bright clothes. On occasion, some Yamanba are seen with understated clothing whilst retaining a loud look with their hair and makeup.
Yamanba Vs Manba[]
Although some people say Yamanba is different to Manba, many people in Japan regard Manba as just short for Yamanba. When looking at Japanese sources, it's clear there is no clear or universally agreed to definition for the difference between Yamanba and Manba.[1][2]
