Burusera

Burusera is a Japanese market for used school uniforms and underwear, associated with fetish shops and the buying and selling of these items.

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Japan in the 1980s: A period of rapid economic change and shifting youth and consumer cultures in Japan. Burusera emerged amid changing youth culture and consumer markets in late twentieth-century Japan.
Secondhand clothing: Clothing that has been previously owned and is offered for reuse or resale. Burusera applies resale practices to garments whose value is tied to prior wear and association.
Schoolgirl imagery in Japanese popular culture: The recurring depiction of school-age girls and school uniforms in Japanese media and popular culture. Such imagery helps explain the cultural associations attached to uniforms in burusera.
Child sexual exploitation: The abuse or exploitation of a person under 18 for sexual purposes or benefit. The prospect of minors’ garments being traded for sexual interest raises safeguarding concerns.
Japanese school uniform: A standardized style of clothing worn by many students in Japanese schools. School uniforms became the most recognizable goods associated with burusera.
Fetish fashion: Clothing and accessories used to express or evoke sexual interests through their materials, styles, or associations. The market’s appeal has been linked to fetish interest in garments and their perceived histories.
Lolicon: A Japanese media and fan-cultural term associated with attraction to fictional young-looking characters. Its contested overlap with sexualized youth imagery forms part of wider debates surrounding burusera.
Age of consent in Japan: The legal rules in Japan governing the minimum age at which a person can consent to sexual activity. Burusera debates intersect with questions about minors, adult demand, and legal protection.
Kogal: A Japanese youth subculture associated with school-age girls, distinctive fashion, and consumer culture in the 1990s. Media accounts often connected kogal fashion and youth identity with burusera’s market.
Used underwear: Underwear sold or exchanged after having been worn by another person. It is a prominent product category in accounts of burusera shops.