WUNRN
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MAID CAFES - JAPAN +
Maid cafés Meido
kissa / Meido kafe?)
are a subcategory of cosplay restaurants found predominantly in
Japan. In these cafés, waitresses dressed in maid costumes act as servants, and
treat customers as masters (and mistresses) in a private home, rather than as
café patrons. The first permanent[1]
maid café, Cure Maid Café, was established in Akihabara,
Tokyo, Japan in March 2001,[2]
but maid cafés are becoming increasingly popular. As they have done so, the
increased competition has made some use unusual tactics in order to attract
customers.[3]
They have also expanded overseas to countries like China,[4]
South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, France, Mexico,
Canada and the United States.[5]
Costume and Appearance
The maid costume varies from café
to café but most are based upon the costume of French
maids, often composed of a dress, a petticoat, a pinafore, a
matching hair accessory (such as a frill or a bow), and stockings.
Sometimes, employees wear animal ears with their outfits to add more appeal.
Waitresses in maid cafés are
often chosen on the basis of their appearance; most are young, attractive and
innocent-looking women.
Some maid cafés also have
crossdressing males as maids.
Clientele
Maid cafés were originally
designed primarily to cater to the fantasies of male otaku, fans of anime, manga, and video
games. The image of the maid is one that has been popularized and fetishized in
many manga and anime series, as well as in gal games.
Important to the otaku attraction to maid cafés is the Japanese concept of moe,
which generally describes a love for anime, manga or video game characters.
More specifically, moe refers to adoration for young or innocent-looking female
characters. People who have moe (especially a specific subcategory known as
maid moe) are therefore attracted to an establishment in which they can
interact with real-life manifestations (both physically and in demeanor) of the
fictional maid characters that they have fetishized.
Today, the maid café phenomenon
attracts more than just male otaku, but also couples, tourists, and women.
Rituals, Etiquette and Additional Services
There are many rituals and
additional services offered at many maid cafés. Maids greet customers with
"Welcome home, Master (Mistress)" Okaerinasaimase,
goshujinsama?)
and offer them wipe towels and menus. Maids will also kneel by the table to
stir cream and sugar into a customer's coffee, and some cafés even offer
spoon-feeding services to customers. Increasingly, maid cafés offer grooming
services, such as ear cleanings and leg, arm, and back massages (provided the
customer remains fully clothed), for an additional fee.[7]
Customers can also sometimes pay to play card or video games with maids.
Customers are also expected to
follow basic rules when patronizing a maid café. One Tokyo maid café recently
published a list of ten rules that customers should follow in a maid café.[8]
For example, customers should not touch a maid's body, ask for a maid's
personal contact information, or otherwise invade her personal privacy (by stalking). One
common rule in a maid café is that photographs of maids or the café interior
are forbidden. However, customers usually have the option of paying an extra
fee in order to get his or her photograph taken with a maid. The maid will then
hand-decorate the photograph for the customer.