Nippon.com on a surprising trend:

Half of the people who made their “parasol debut” were men, with those in their thirties making up the largest segment.

Long ago when I first came to Japan, one thing that surprised me was how nearly all women used parasols throughout the summer. Coming from the U.S., my image of parasols was limited to Victorian ladies — an affectation long gone, or so I thought. I didn’t realize the practice was alive and well in the land of the rising sun.

But alive it was, and is. Women in Japan typically avoid the sun, keeping their skin as pale as possible, which is a long-held beauty ideal here. It may seem odd at first, but you get used to it. After all, considering pale skin beautiful in Japan is no stranger than considering tanned skin beautiful in the States. Just a cultural difference.

What I almost never saw, however, was men using parasols. While Japanese men usually don’t chase a tan, neither did they go out of their way to avoid one. About the only men I’d ever see carrying a parasol were really old guys.

But with the brutal heat of the past few years, that might be changing.

Some interesting stats given at the site. I can attest that I’ve been seeing more and more men with parasols these days.

LINK: More Men in Japan Opening Up to Parasols Amid Heatstroke Concerns