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Not to be confused withButlers Chocolate Café.

Exterior of Chitty Mood, a butler café inTaipei City Mall

Abutler café(Japanese:Chấp sự cật trà,Hepburn:shitsuji kissa)is a subcategory ofcosplay restaurantthat originated inJapan.In these cafés, waiters dress asbutlersand serve patrons in the manner ofdomestic servantsattending toaristocracy.Butler cafés proliferated in reaction to the popularity ofmaid cafésand serve as an alternative category of cosplay restaurant intended to appeal to femaleotaku.

History

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Signage for Swallowtail, alleged first ever butler café (Ikebukuro,Tokyo)

Maid cafés,where waitresses dress asmaidsto 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 femaleotaku– devoted fans, particularly ofanime 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 ahost club,and more romantic and safe than anightclub.[3]Butlers were chosen as a male counterpart to maids, and to appeal tofairy taleprincess fantasies.[3][5]

The first butler café, Swallowtail, opened in March 2005.[6]Swallowtail is located onOtome Road,a major shopping and cultural destination for femaleotakuinIkebukuro,Tokyo,[4]and was founded bymanagement consultingfirm Oriental Corporation and the anime and manga goods chainK-Books.[4]In 2006, the café Butlers Café opened inShibuya, Tokyo.[3][6]Founded by former office worker Yuki Hirohata, Butlers Café employed a staff composed entirely ofWesternmen,[7]and allowed patrons to practiceEnglishwith the butlers.[3][8]Butlers Café closed in December 2018.[9]In 2011, the butler café Refleurir opened as the first butler café inAkihabara,Tokyo,[10]before closing in 2013.[11]Severaldansō(cross-dressing) cosplay cafés with a butler theme operate in Akihabara, in which female servers dress as male butlers.[12]

Outside of Japan, notable butler cafés include Chitty Mood, which operates out ofTaipei City MallinTaipei,Taiwan,[13]and Lan Yu Guan European Tea Restaurant (formerly named Michaelis), which opened inNorth District, Taichung,Taiwan in 2012.[14]In North America, Europe, and Oceania,pop-upbutler cafés have been hosted atanime conventions,includingAnime Expoin the United States,[15]Hücon in Turkey,[16]andSMASH!in Australia, which was the first anime convention to host a butler café.[17]

Characteristics

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Japanese butler cafés

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The central concept of a butler café is that the customer is treated as an aristocrat who has returned to their home fortea,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 asojōsama( "milady") orohimesama( "princess" )[1]and male customers asbocchan( "young lord" ) ordannasama( "master" ).[18]

High-quality food is served – the menu of Swallowtail, for example, was developed by Paul Okada, the food and beverage director at theFour Seasons Tokyo[5]– and the interior of the restaurant is typically designed to resemble anEnglish country houseormanor housewith imported and custom furniture.[4]Butlers may even take the time to inform the customer of the style of the decor and thoroughly describe the items on the menu.[18]English-styleafternoon teais the most commonly-served food at butler cafés, including cakes, scones, sandwiches, and tea served in fineporcelaincups,[1][18]which may also be the café's own custom ceramics.[18]

Men employed as butlers can be as young as 18 or as old as 80,[4][18]and receive extended training in tea preparation,etiquette,and restaurant service standards.[18][4]The training process at Swallowtail takes several months, and requires applicants to pass a test based on hotel restaurant standards.[18]Job titles for butlers correspond to those of household staff, including "house steward"for the most senior manager and"footman"for servers.[19]Butlers also occasionally appear in musicals, stage plays and concerts organized by the café, and sell souvenirs and CDs.[19]

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 acode of conductfor 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

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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 lackshonorificsthat 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 withyaoifandom

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Butler cafés are noted as having found popularity amongfujoshi– a name given to fans ofyaoi,or male–male romance fiction – particularly those aged 13 to 49.[4][8]While butler cafés in Japan are broadly considered a form ofotome muke( ất nữ hướng け,lit."for maidens", media for women) and are not specifically aimed at fans ofyaoi,they have nonetheless gained popularity through some customers who projecthomosocialandhomoeroticfantasies through their interactions with butlers.[23]Conversely, the relationship between butler cafés and theyaoifandom is more pronounced in Taiwan, where butler cafés proliferated as a direct response to the growth ofyaoi.[23]

Analysis and impact

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Tea and cake at Patisserie Swallowtail, a Swallowtail-brandedpâtisserie

Butler cafés have been cited as an example of the influence ofanimeandmangaon Japanese culture and commerce, with fictionalized depictions of butler cafés in anime and manga having popularized them as a concept and made them major destinations forotakutourists in Japan.[24]Patisserie Swallowtail, a Swallowtail-brandedpâtisserie,has produced limited-edition baked goods in collaboration with several popular franchises and outlets, including the anime seriesTokyo Ghoul,[25]Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun,[26]andHenNeko;[27]the video game seriesDanganronpa[28]andPersona 3;[29]and the department storeTokyu Hands.[30]The anime seriesBeastarslaunched apop-upbutler café in 2019.[31]Butler cafés outside of Japan serve a similar function of simulating Japanese culture for anotakuandJapanophileaudience, with butler cafés in Taiwan using Japanese words in greetings, and hosting events such asyukatafestivals andkaraokecompetitions.[32]Butler cafés are further cited as representing the widening ofcosplay,from a hobby that occurs exclusively inotakuspaces such asanime conventions,to an activity that occurs in public life.[24]

Anime and manga scholarSusan J. Napierargues that butler cafés represent a widening ofotakuculture 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 artistKeiko 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 ofSlatecites 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

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References

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  1. ^abcP, Miki."Swallowtail Butler Cafe in Tokyo – a male twist on the famous maid cafe".Tokyo Creative.Archived fromthe originalon May 18, 2021.RetrievedFebruary 23,2020.
  2. ^abcdMakino, Catherine (July 12, 2006)."Tokyo's Anime Cafes Serve Gender-Role Fantasies".Women’s eNews.RetrievedFebruary 23,2020.
  3. ^abcdef"Tokyo cafe taps into women's Prince Charming fantasies".China Daily.February 20, 2008.RetrievedFebruary 23,2020.
  4. ^abcdefghijkNakamura, Akemi (April 24, 2006)."For female 'otaku,' a coffee house all their own".The Japan Times.RetrievedFebruary 22,2020.
  5. ^abWalsh, Bryan (January 18, 2007)."Jeeves Takes Japan".Time.RetrievedFebruary 23,2020.
  6. ^ab"Chấp sự cật trà: Siêu nhân khí の bí mật は bổn cách のもてなし trì đại “スワロウテイル” thể nghiệm ".Mainichi Shimbun(in Japanese). November 2, 2007. Archived fromthe originalon November 3, 2007.RetrievedFebruary 24,2020.
  7. ^abTolentino, Melissa (July 18, 2014)."You can be a princess for a day! Try Japan's Butler Cafes".Tsunagu Japan.RetrievedFebruary 23,2020.
  8. ^abcdHughes, Felicity (January 20, 2008)."Savor the sensation of being a 'princess'".The Japan Times.RetrievedFebruary 23,2020.
  9. ^@BUTLERS_CAFE (December 29, 2018)."プリンセス, こんにちは. Tạc nhật vô sự, tối hậu のお sĩ えを chung え, đương quán は12 niên bán の trường い lịch sử に mạc を hàng ろしました. Trường い gian, trạch sơn のプリンセスに ái されて hạnh せで ngự tọa いました. Hữu nan う ngự tọa います. そして, tối hậu に hà とか gian に hợp わせて ngự đô hợp をおつけ đỉnh いた trạch sơn のプリンセス, どうしても ngự đô hợp がつかずお lệ り đỉnh くのが"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
  10. ^Balistrieri, Emily (August 9, 2011)."Akihabara Gets Its First Butler Cafe".Crunchyroll.RetrievedMay 2,2020.
  11. ^"Refleurir".Archived fromthe originalon December 29, 2013.RetrievedMay 2,2020.
  12. ^"バトラーが xuất nghênh える “Nam trang chấp sự カフェ” － thu diệp nguyên メードカフェ tỷ muội điếm ".Akiba Keizai Shinbun.April 10, 2007.RetrievedJune 17,2022.
  13. ^"CHITTY MOOD thiếu nữ tâm chấp sự cật trà".Taipei City Mall(in Chinese).RetrievedMay 2,2020.
  14. ^"Michaelis chấp sự cật trà ． đại tiểu tỷ, đại thiếu gia bàn đích hạ ngọ trà hưởng yến".NurseiLife(in Chinese). September 10, 2016.RetrievedMay 2,2020.
  15. ^"Butler Café".Anime Expo.RetrievedMay 4,2020.
  16. ^Duman, Ebru (2019)."Kawaii Culture's Influence as Part of Japanese Popular Culture Trends in Turkey"(PDF).Global Perspectives on Japan(3). Forum Tauri Press: 95.ISSN2687-6132.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on August 3, 2021.RetrievedMay 4,2020.
  17. ^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.
  18. ^abcdefgDrobig, Pamela (June 26, 2019)."Like Maid Cafes, for Ladies: Dining at Tokyo's Swallowtail Butler Café!".Yahoo News.RetrievedFebruary 23,2020.
  19. ^ab"Come home to Butler Cafe Swallowtail after a day of shopping at Otome Road".Futekiya.Dai Nippon Printing& Fantasista Inc. December 23, 2019. Archived fromthe originalon January 17, 2021.RetrievedFebruary 23,2020.
  20. ^"Butlers Cafe, Shibuya - Shibuya, Tokyo".JapanTravel.April 20, 2013.RetrievedApril 4,2020.
  21. ^abcWei-Jung 2013,p. 295.
  22. ^"Now Accepting Applications for the 2019 Maid & Butler Cafe!".Anime Expo.December 18, 2018.RetrievedMay 4,2020.
  23. ^abWei-Jung 2013,p. 294.
  24. ^abIto, Kinko; Crutcher, Paul A. (November 22, 2013). "Popular Mass Entertainment in Japan: Manga, Pachinko, and Cosplay".Society.51(1): 44–48.doi:10.1007/s12115-013-9737-y.ISSN0147-2011.S2CID143916246.
  25. ^Nishijima, Chris (September 24, 2014)."Relive Tokyo Ghoul's Gruesome Moments With Delicious Cafe Treats".Anime News Network.RetrievedMay 2,2020.
  26. ^Nishijima, Chris (September 15, 2014)."Tanuki Abound in Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun Cafe".Anime News Network.RetrievedMay 2,2020.
  27. ^Loveridge, Lynzee (May 9, 2013)."HENNEKO Limited-Edition Sweets Sold in Akihabara (Updated)".Anime News Network.RetrievedMay 2,2020.
  28. ^"Danganronpa Cakes Now Available From Patisserie Swallowtail".Siliconera.September 8, 2013.RetrievedMay 2,2020.
  29. ^Nelkin, Sarah (November 22, 2013)."Persona 3 Sweets Include Dark Hour Parfaits, Cakes".Anime News Network.RetrievedMay 2,2020.
  30. ^"Cute cakes in the shape of parakeets and owls from Patisserie Swallowtail and Tokyu Hands".Daily Onigiri.January 18, 2016. Archived fromthe originalon January 24, 2020.RetrievedMay 2,2020.
  31. ^"『BEASTARS』コラボカフェに hành ってみた! メニューを thật thực ＆ hạn định グッズもチェック!".Excite News(in Japanese). December 12, 2019.RetrievedMay 3,2020.
  32. ^Wei-Jung 2013,p. 296.
  33. ^Gordon, Claire (August 6, 2010).""Butlers Cafe" Taps Into a Common Fantasy Among Japanese Women ".Slate.RetrievedMay 1,2020.

Bibliography

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