Butler café
A butler café (
History
Maid cafés, where waitresses dress as maids to serve a primarily male clientele,[1] achieved widespread popularity in Japan in the early 2000s.[2] Butler cafés were conceived in response to their popularity, after entrepreneurs noted a rise in Internet message board postings from female otaku – devoted fans, particularly of anime and manga – who had a negative perception of maid cafés, and who sought a "role-reversing alternative" to them.[2][3][4] Women expressed their desire for an establishment where they could seek male companionship in an environment that was less costly than a host club, and more romantic and safe than a nightclub.[3] Butlers were chosen as a male counterpart to maids, and to appeal to fairy tale princess fantasies.[3][5]
The first butler café, Swallowtail, opened in March 2005.
Outside of Japan, notable butler cafés include Chitty Mood, which operates out of
Characteristics
Japanese butler cafés
The central concept of a butler café is that the customer is treated as an aristocrat who has returned to their home for tea, where they are waited on by a personal butler.[7] While maid cafés typically promote the physical attractiveness of the servers as their major selling point, butler cafés devote significant resources to environment, ambiance, and high quality service.[4] Customers are "welcomed home" upon entering and referred to with honorary titles, with female customers referred to as ojōsama ("milady") or ohimesama ("princess")[1] and male customers as bocchan ("young lord") or dannasama ("master").[18]
High-quality food is served – the menu of Swallowtail, for example, was developed by Paul Okada, the food and beverage director at the
Men employed as butlers can be as young as 18 or as old as 80,
Photography is typically not permitted in butler cafés, though Butlers Café offered it as an additional service: services offered included the "Lift Me Up Photo", where a photo is taken of the butler physically lifting the customer; "Cinderella Time," where the customer receives bubbles, a tiara, and a silver bell on a platter; and "Study English," where customers receive a notebook to exchange notes in English with their butler during each visit.[8] Butler cafés typically enforce a code of conduct for employees and customers that forbids certain activity, such as the exchange of personal information or meetings outside of the café space.[8][20]
Non-Japanese butler cafés
Though Japanese and non-Japanese butler cafés are broadly similar in terms of reservation methods, service flow, general image, and emphasis on interaction between butlers and customers, there are several noteworthy differences across countries and regions.[21] Taiwanese butler cafés are reported as having less rigorous preparatory training and a greater focus on on-the-job training, and use less luxurious European-style furniture as a result of limited investor funding.[21] Further, as Chinese lacks honorifics that clearly distinguish between upper and lower social positions, the positional relationship between the butler and customer is established through the "performance" of the butler at Taiwanese butler cafés.[21] Butler cafés at Western anime conventions are typically run by volunteers and enthusiasts, rather than by rigorously-trained service professionals.[22]
Association with yaoi fandom
Butler cafés are noted as having found popularity among
Analysis and impact
Butler cafés have been cited as an example of the influence of
Anime and manga scholar Susan J. Napier argues that butler cafés represent a widening of otaku culture to be inclusive of girls and women, but notes that the popularity of butler cafés does not necessarily represent a loosening of the culture's gender roles and expectations, stating that "maid and butler cafés, if anything, are reinforcing gender distinctions."[2] Manga artist Keiko Takemiya "does not place great cultural significance" on butler cafés, but argues that they "allow Japanese women a chance to be served and escape their traditional role of serving men."[2] Claire Gordon of Slate cites the all-Western staff of Butlers Café as functioning as a form of fantasy fulfillment, allowing its largely Japanese clientele to interact with a "hyperbolic, hypermannered extreme" of a stereotypical alluring Western male.[33]
In 2006, Swallowtail reported serving more than 1,000 customers per month.[4] Butlers Café reported having 2,000 regular customers at its peak,[3] and 3,000 customers in its first month of operation.[4] Swallowtail reports that 80 percent of their customers are female, with women in their 20s and 30s forming the majority of their clientele.[4]
See also
- Theme restaurant
- Happy Boys, a comedy series about workers at a butler café
References
- ^ a b c P, Miki. "Swallowtail Butler Cafe in Tokyo – a male twist on the famous maid cafe". Tokyo Creative. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- ^ Women’s eNews. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f "Tokyo cafe taps into women's Prince Charming fantasies". China Daily. February 20, 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Nakamura, Akemi (April 24, 2006). "For female 'otaku,' a coffee house all their own". The Japan Times. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
- ^ a b Walsh, Bryan (January 18, 2007). "Jeeves Takes Japan". Time. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- ^ a b "執事喫茶:超人気の秘密は本格のもてなし 池袋「スワロウテイル」体験". Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). November 2, 2007. Archived from the original on November 3, 2007. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
- ^ a b Tolentino, Melissa (July 18, 2014). "You can be a princess for a day! Try Japan's Butler Cafes". Tsunagu Japan. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Hughes, Felicity (January 20, 2008). "Savor the sensation of being a 'princess'". The Japan Times. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- ^ @BUTLERS_CAFE (December 30, 2018). "プリンセス、こんにちは。昨日無事、最後のお仕えを終え、当館は12年半の長い歴史に幕を降ろしました。長い間、沢山のプリンセスに愛されて幸せで御座いました。有難う御座います。そして、最後に何とか間に合わせて御都合をおつけ頂いた沢山のプリンセス、どうしても御都合がつかずお戻り頂くのが" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Balistrieri, Emily (August 9, 2011). "Akihabara Gets Its First Butler Cafe". Crunchyroll. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
- ^ "Refleurir". Archived from the original on December 29, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
- ^ "バトラーが出迎える「男装執事カフェ」-秋葉原メードカフェ姉妹店". Akiba Keizai Shinbun. April 10, 2007. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
- ^ "CHITTY MOOD少女心執事喫茶". Taipei City Mall (in Chinese). Retrieved May 2, 2020.
- ^ "Michaelis執事喫茶.大小姐、大少爺般的下午茶饗宴". NurseiLife (in Chinese). September 10, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
- ^ "Butler Café". Anime Expo. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ISSN 2687-6132.
- ^ King, Emerald (October 2019). Lam, Celia; Raphael, Jackie (eds.). "A Brief History of Cosplay in Australian Popular Culture Conventions". Aussie Fans: Uniquely Placed in Global Popular Culture: 195.
- ^ Yahoo News. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- ^ a b "Come home to Butler Cafe Swallowtail after a day of shopping at Otome Road". Futekiya. Dai Nippon Printing & Fantasista Inc. December 23, 2019. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- ^ "Butlers Cafe, Shibuya - Shibuya, Tokyo". JapanTravel. April 20, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
- ^ a b c Wei-Jung 2013, p. 295.
- ^ "Now Accepting Applications for the 2019 Maid & Butler Cafe!". Anime Expo. December 18, 2018. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ a b Wei-Jung 2013, p. 294.
- ^ S2CID 143916246.
- ^ Nishijima, Chris (September 24, 2014). "Relive Tokyo Ghoul's Gruesome Moments With Delicious Cafe Treats". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
- ^ Nishijima, Chris (September 15, 2014). "Tanuki Abound in Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun Cafe". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
- ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (May 9, 2013). "HENNEKO Limited-Edition Sweets Sold in Akihabara (Updated)". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
- ^ "Danganronpa Cakes Now Available From Patisserie Swallowtail". Siliconera. September 8, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
- ^ Nelkin, Sarah (November 22, 2013). "Persona 3 Sweets Include Dark Hour Parfaits, Cakes". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
- ^ "Cute cakes in the shape of parakeets and owls from Patisserie Swallowtail and Tokyu Hands". Daily Onigiri. January 18, 2016. Archived from the original on January 24, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
- ^ "『BEASTARS』コラボカフェに行ってみた! メニューを実食&限定グッズもチェック!". Excite News (in Japanese). December 12, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- ^ Wei-Jung 2013, p. 296.
- ^ Gordon, Claire (August 6, 2010). ""Butlers Cafe" Taps Into a Common Fantasy Among Japanese Women". Slate. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
Bibliography
- Wei-Jung, Chang (2013). "The Sexuality of "BL Fantasy" in Taiwan : A case study of Taiwanese Fujoshi's fantasy practice". Human Culture and Sciences (in Japanese). 15 (15): 291–299. ISSN 1344-8013.
External links
- Swallowtail Butler Café official website (in Japanese)
- Butlers Café official website (defunct; link via Internet Archive)
- "Swallowtail Butler Cafe", Japan Food TV, May 2015.
- Drobig, Pamela. "Dine Like a Lady: Dining at the Swallowtail Butler Café", Yahoo News, August 2016.
- Lah, Kyung. "Japan's controversial 'white man' café", CNN, July 2008.