Ever wondered why some girls can stop a guy at 10 paces and others make him run for cover? Do you know how to tell a gold-digger from your perfect wife? Join me in on another trip into the bizarre world of Japanese television and discover ‘Ageman’ – girls who bring good fortune!
The Japanese television show is called ‘Ariehen Sekai’ – Unbelievable World – and showcases all sorts of strange and funny things. In this particular episode, we see a rapping glasses salesman and the girls of good fortune. How can a guy called Hidenori Sakurai make the outrageous claim that, simply by looking at three features on a woman’s face: her ears, nose and mouth, a person can tell how much luck she will bring to a guy? Alrighty then, first things first – what exactly is an ‘Ageman’ (あげまん)?
An Ageman is a girl who can bring a man good fortune, basically in the form of love, money and success in life. The Japanese word, pronounced ‘Ah-gay-man’, can be broken down into two parts, literally meaning ‘Up’ (Age) and ‘Vagina’ (Man – a shortened version of the Japanese slang word for vagina). The opposite of an Ageman is a Sageman – ‘Down’ ‘Vagina’. So effectively, girls who raise a man’s fortune and girls who drag him down.
Above: The three things an Ageman can bring a man: love, money and success. What are the traits of an Ageman?
#1 – Someone who raises a man’s fortune
#2 – Motherly and somebody a man can feel safe with
#3 – Someone with energy that can help a man to grow and be successful
The man behind this theory? Hidenori Sakurai! Here he is below:
He says there are three things to look for in picking out your dream girl from the crowd: The height of her ears, the shape of her nose and the tightness of her mouth. Just why? And how?! Read on!
How to pick out an Ageman
1) Tell an Ageman by looking at the height of her ears.
A woman with tall ears is a Sageman (not good!) and a woman with low ears is an Ageman (good!). Why is this!? According to Sakurai-sensei, it’s all to do with evolution:
Animals tend to have their ears on the top of their heads – taller – whereas Chimpanzees and human beings tend to have much lower ears, showing their ability to think and reason. A woman with taller ears – the traits of a Sageman – is likely to suck a guy of all his vigor, in a sexual, financial and business sense!
2) Tell an Ageman by looking at the shape of her nose
A woman with a rounder nose is said to have more ‘mothering’ qualities, because the shape of the nose represents the breasts. The nostrils represent the nipples, so larger nostrils means larger nipples. According to Sakurai-sensei, anyway.
A woman with a more pointed, thinner nose, by contrast, is said to have a man’s nose. Since the nose represents the breasts, a pointed nose indicates more pointed breasts, which would be difficult for a baby to feed by. A more pointed nose also indicates that the woman’s eyes wander – that she is ‘easy’, and thus causes men to be more wary of her. It is as if, as Sakurai-sensei puts it, it is a chest ‘easily felt by anyone’. As the guest on the program, Nishikawa, notes, ‘as a woman I would find that a good thing!’ ^^;
3) Tell an Ageman by looking at the tightness of her mouth
A woman with a mouth that is tighter and more often than not ‘closed’, is said to be three things: the female genitalia, a wallet and how much she talks.
So basically, a woman with a more closed and sealed mouth is also more likely to be a) well behaved and not sexually loose, b) be careful and prudent with money (i.e. have a tight wallet) and c) not talk a lot. In contrast, a girl with a more open mouth is said to be ‘inviting’ men to her and is more likely to have affairs and waste money (etc). Hmm.
With that, we take to the streets of Tokyo and look for examples of Ageman. The 77-year old Sakurai-sensei hunts down 5 girls!
Hunting down Ageman
Sakurai-sensei takes us on a hunt for the ‘perfect Ageman’, looking at 5 girls of varying degrees of ‘fortune’ along the way.
#5) First up, Sayaka, 22 years old.
Sakurai-sensei gives her 60/100, marking her down because of her very tall ears and the tendency for her mouth to be open – ‘inviting men’ as he says. She’s very ‘animalistic’. I don’t know abut you, but that could be darn good in some men’s books!
#4) Next up, Saki, 24 years old.
Here, Sakurai-sensei compliments her on her pretty nose and ears reeking of rationality, but scolds her for having a mouth too big. He points out that she’s been glancing around at all the men in the coffee shop ever since he arrived! She gets a more modest ranking of 78.
#3) Third, we have the 21 year old Natsuko.
Natsuko apparently has a nose made for giving birth. With a beautiful roundness to it and wide nostrils representing the good tools to feed a baby, she scores points in Sakurai-sensei’s good books for motherliness. She scrapes in at the 80 mark!
#2) The penultimate girl, 21 year old Miu working at a Cabaret Club. (At 21??)
Here we see Sakurai-sensei’s infatuation with the lips and mouth. As he noted earlier the mouth represents ‘that place down there’, to which he points, over and over again. He tells Miu that she has many vertical lines on her lips and that these lines will also exist for her ‘down there’. She replies saying that men often tell her she has a special ‘something’. Sakurai-sensei looks pleased with himself and awards her a bouncy 83 points.
#1) Number 1! Sakurai-sensei picks out the 24 year old Minako.
Hopping along with a gleam in his eye and a sparkle in his smile, he indicates to us that perhaps, just maybe, we find find that elusive ‘perfect Ageman’ right here in this teashop. A nice lady with low ears, a taut mouth and an unusual nose is presented to us. Sakurai-sensei seems blown away – her nose is a mixture of a man’s and a woman’s, a little tall and thin with wider nostrils and a gentle roundness. He seems so taken he awards her 97 points!
It looks like we didn’t find a perfect Ageman in the end, but what a search it was! Don’t just take my word for it, join Sakurai-sensei and watch the clips for yourself. I spent the time to subtitle the lot for you – click the button in the bottom right-hand of the Youtube window to select them if they don’t show automatically.
So, what are your thoughts? Aside from the fact Sakurai-sensei didn’t really give any real evidence for his theories (however convincing they sounded), I thought it was an interesting look the young girls in Japan today, and a pretty funny Japanese television show! Certainly, if you’re ever in need of a chat-up line, you might try your hand at psycho-analysis. I hear it can be pretty popular with the ladies! ^^
Have you ever found a girl attractive by her having certain features? What drew your attention to her and what did her personality prove to be like after you got to know her? For the ladies reading – what about for men?
I remember that ancient Arabic talk about this they know from the mouth and lips the shape of her vagina and they know how much her desire toward love, motherhood, money and power.
What Mr. Sakurai shows is ancient culture that was a wide knowledge in many nations and races in old civilization.
Interesting. Maybe I’ll embark on my own ageman hunt next week. vimax
Wow! The last girl really looks pretty and well behave! I think this guy is pretty accurate with his assumptions!
Women are so da#n,sensitive.No wonder more of us American men are marrying japanese,russian,and thaiwanese women.Feminism screwed ALL you up.None of this was sexist,and for those who think they are,you'll be even more pissed tofind that more and more women of this generation (of no less than 56 countries)are trying to return to the good ol' days.You know before the women of yesteryear screwed marraige up for them.American woman are most likely the same idiots who commented on the being sexist.Even my wife (japanese) is laughing at this over my shoulder at this comments.I think i;ll leave this off with her comment “this is why so many of then will die alone,with a loving husband,or chidren with them.”now she's saying that or they'll end up one of the 50 yr. old women who “chose” to be totally alone.How right she is!!!HA
Not once reading this,did it scream sexism.Must be alot of men hating,baby killing,(oh i mean terminating a parasitic fetus)and think that women who don't go against nature,just to fit in with the boy's be nuts.Then again if few of you can't be happy none of us women can.
Through his narratives, audiences gain both insight into the social phenomenon focused on and a means of diffusing the issue through the subtle humor employed. Ageman deals with the uniquely Japanese geisha culture, the rules and nuances of which may be rather difficult for Western audiences to pick up on. marire sani
Through his narratives, audiences gain both insight into the social phenomenon focused on and a means of diffusing the issue through the subtle humor employed. Ageman deals with the uniquely Japanese geisha culture, the rules and nuances of which may be rather difficult for Western audiences to pick up on. marire sani
THIS old FART is A COMPLETE idiot !!
A nose must be pointy. Just look at all the anime girls!
They’re gorgeous. Round noses are ugly. PPPeriod.
How can one be so old and so dumb?!
THIS old FART is A COMPLETE idiot !!
A nose must be pointy. Just look at all the anime girls!
They’re gorgeous. Round noses are ugly. PPPeriod.
How can one be so old and so dumb?!
I’m kind of worried about how many people seem to be taking this seriously…Other than that, though, I think walking down the hall between classes will be *much* more interesting now!
I’m kind of worried about how many people seem to be taking this seriously…Other than that, though, I think walking down the hall between classes will be *much* more interesting now!
This is exactly like medieval Phrenology.
In medieval times, they used to think that the size and shape of your head, face and skull decided things like how smart they are and what personality they have.
This is blasphemy against science and should be long gone by now.
To think that someone would ever believe such things.
How could say this is convincing?
How uninformed are you?
There is neither evidence nor any convincing statement made here and I’m actually quite outraged that the author of this article could ever say that this “sounded” convincing.
This provides no information and promotes long abolished pseudoscience going directly against the progress of humanity.
In the same way that astrology, fortune telling and God are ‘convincing’. Lots of supposed ‘evidence’ to support them, but very little of it scientifically backed up.
Clearly this sort of material is aimed as entertainment and tongue in cheek entertainment, at that.
This is exactly like medieval Phrenology.
In medieval times, they used to think that the size and shape of your head, face and skull decided things like how smart they are and what personality they have.
This is blasphemy against science and should be long gone by now.
To think that someone would ever believe such things.
How could say this is convincing?
How uninformed are you?
There is neither evidence nor any convincing statement made here and I’m actually quite outraged that the author of this article could ever say that this “sounded” convincing.
This provides no information and promotes long abolished pseudoscience going directly against the progress of humanity.
In the same way that astrology, fortune telling and God are ‘convincing’. Lots of supposed ‘evidence’ to support them, but very little of it scientifically backed up.
Clearly this sort of material is aimed as entertainment and tongue in cheek entertainment, at that.
Interesting. Maybe I’ll embark on my own ageman hunt next week.
Interesting. Maybe I’ll embark on my own ageman hunt next week.
These are all baseless theories, good for some shallow magazines or TV shows, but it sounds so silly, it can’t ever be true (or scientifically proven).
These are all baseless theories, good for some shallow magazines or TV shows, but it sounds so silly, it can’t ever be true (or scientifically proven).
LOOOOL!!!
It just makes me realize that western-looking women are NOT attractive to Japanese men, in this case (and I know it’s pretty true!).
My nose is a lot more pointed than a Japanese one, so I’m not in the game, even if it’s rather small for a “Caucasian” one. My mouth could fit in, and my ears also. So, in short: my nose in manly, bouhouuuu! (*cry*) I don’t bring enough luck ?!?
Now seriously, if it’s humor, it IS funny, but as a real statement, it’s utterly racist AND sexist. Why are there so many couples in Japan where the girl is the prettiest little thing and the guy a surrealistic Picasso painting? Not fair.
Emily, have you seen anime?
All the girls, look like western women: pointy nose, big eyes, tall. Japanese don’t draw themselves in anime. No.
And you know why. Cuz western people are it.
LOOOOL!!!
It just makes me realize that western-looking women are NOT attractive to Japanese men, in this case (and I know it’s pretty true!).
My nose is a lot more pointed than a Japanese one, so I’m not in the game, even if it’s rather small for a “Caucasian” one. My mouth could fit in, and my ears also. So, in short: my nose in manly, bouhouuuu! (*cry*) I don’t bring enough luck ?!?
Now seriously, if it’s humor, it IS funny, but as a real statement, it’s utterly racist AND sexist. Why are there so many couples in Japan where the girl is the prettiest little thing and the guy a surrealistic Picasso painting? Not fair.
Emily, have you seen anime?
All the girls, look like western women: pointy nose, big eyes, tall. Japanese don’t draw themselves in anime. No.
And you know why. Cuz western people are it.
Bery bery intorestingu.
Bery bery intorestingu.
Good article Mike! I agree with Steve, it’s little more than superstition really. Just because something meets the required standards (in this case the ear height, nose shape, etc) doesn’t mean its going to be right for you.
I suppose the formula is, in essence, true. I mean, if you had the chance to design your perfect girl, then 99% of the time they would be better than someone who doesn’t live up to those qualities. Unfortunately for this Ageman concept (which seems to be pretty sexist in the first place), the set of parameters are too broad to make that girl ‘good’ for you. As スティーブ says, there’s more to a person than just their physical appearance.
Cosmetics do change the the attraction factor, but as we all know beauty doesn’t equal happiness. The whole thing about bringing the man good fortune is just tosh IMO.
I’m not sure ‘superstition’ is the right word. He does give some plausible explanations that have the potential to be backed up, and as Lee says above, there are other theories that talk about there being an ‘optimal’ ratio for human features that we are attracted to.
Again, as to the sexist comment, it’s a comedy t.v show. It’s making these sort of far-fetched claims exactly because they are taboo. Good to know people are serious about sexism though ^^
Good article Mike! I agree with Steve, it’s little more than superstition really. Just because something meets the required standards (in this case the ear height, nose shape, etc) doesn’t mean its going to be right for you.
I suppose the formula is, in essence, true. I mean, if you had the chance to design your perfect girl, then 99% of the time they would be better than someone who doesn’t live up to those qualities. Unfortunately for this Ageman concept (which seems to be pretty sexist in the first place), the set of parameters are too broad to make that girl ‘good’ for you. As スティーブ says, there’s more to a person than just their physical appearance.
Cosmetics do change the the attraction factor, but as we all know beauty doesn’t equal happiness. The whole thing about bringing the man good fortune is just tosh IMO.
I’m not sure ‘superstition’ is the right word. He does give some plausible explanations that have the potential to be backed up, and as Lee says above, there are other theories that talk about there being an ‘optimal’ ratio for human features that we are attracted to.
Again, as to the sexist comment, it’s a comedy t.v show. It’s making these sort of far-fetched claims exactly because they are taboo. Good to know people are serious about sexism though ^^
I just read this and I felt that I had to comment. I live in Japan and I’ve seen plenty of these so called “ageman” girls around. In my experiance, they’re just like normal girls.
It seems that it is another way of objectifying women. What about the other girls who aren’t labelled as “ageman”? They could be just as good girlfriends, or even better. It’s not what they look like. It’s what’s on the inside that counts. Well, at least to me anyways…
スティーブ
Definitely. This reeks so much of objectification that it’s funny. I don’t think it was intended to be taken seriously. The ‘professor’ on it was claimed to have written around 150 books, but without reading them I have no real idea of how he justifies these outraegous theories seriously. Best not to read too much into it ^^
I just read this and I felt that I had to comment. I live in Japan and I’ve seen plenty of these so called “ageman” girls around. In my experiance, they’re just like normal girls.
It seems that it is another way of objectifying women. What about the other girls who aren’t labelled as “ageman”? They could be just as good girlfriends, or even better. It’s not what they look like. It’s what’s on the inside that counts. Well, at least to me anyways…
スティーブ
Definitely. This reeks so much of objectification that it’s funny. I don’t think it was intended to be taken seriously. The ‘professor’ on it was claimed to have written around 150 books, but without reading them I have no real idea of how he justifies these outraegous theories seriously. Best not to read too much into it ^^
Very amusing read Michael …. well done. I wished i`d seen it, i like Nishikawa-sans humour.
Yea, it was a funny show! Those crude comments she comes out with… ‘I hate poor people’ ‘As a woman, I’d say that sounds better (having a chest that is touched a lot) XD
Very amusing read Michael …. well done. I wished i`d seen it, i like Nishikawa-sans humour.
Yea, it was a funny show! Those crude comments she comes out with… ‘I hate poor people’ ‘As a woman, I’d say that sounds better (having a chest that is touched a lot) XD
Not content to merely objectify women, the media now endorses carving them up into parts and judging them by arbitrary attributes.
I’ll be waiting for the follow-up theory that judges men’s ability to earn money, faithfulness, and virility based on their various body parts.
Good point. I wonder how men would be objectified? Perhaps I should look around and try and find a follow-up program ^^
Not content to merely objectify women, the media now endorses carving them up into parts and judging them by arbitrary attributes.
I’ll be waiting for the follow-up theory that judges men’s ability to earn money, faithfulness, and virility based on their various body parts.
Good point. I wonder how men would be objectified? Perhaps I should look around and try and find a follow-up program ^^
Sheesh! I’m going to have to measure the ear-to-eye ratio on my wife tonight when she goes to sleep.
Cool article! Sort of reminds me of ϕ (phi) – the Golden Ratio. Where the most aesthetically appealing items known to mankind are supposedly proportioned to this ratio.
Haha. What did she say Lee? Or did you really do it while she was sleeping and not tell her? :p
She got a bit suspicious when I brought the tape measure, level and protractor to bed. :-)
Sheesh! I’m going to have to measure the ear-to-eye ratio on my wife tonight when she goes to sleep.
Cool article! Sort of reminds me of ϕ (phi) – the Golden Ratio. Where the most aesthetically appealing items known to mankind are supposedly proportioned to this ratio.
Haha. What did she say Lee? Or did you really do it while she was sleeping and not tell her? :p
She got a bit suspicious when I brought the tape measure, level and protractor to bed. :-)