Christmas is not a family celebration in Japan. Even if the streets and windows are adorned with illuminated trees and the famous melody Jingle bells echoes in the four corners of the shopping districts, the evenings of this non-holiday, far removed from all the Christian religious symbolism, above all flower love and romanticism.
Young couples dressed to the nines flock to the most chic restaurants for dinners with candles and small gifts. A tradition which can despair the single people and against which the Revolutionary Alliance of men unpopular with women, the Kakumeiteki Himote Domei (or Kakuhidou) continues to campaign. The organization demonstrated on Sunday, December 19 in the streets of Shibuya, a lively district of Tokyo, also a major meeting place for young lovers.
The twenty activists, flanked by a few police officers, called for “Destroy Christmas” and all other romantic events. All claimed the “Freedom not to love” and that “Not to marry”. “Don’t be seduced by the love market! “, was it inscribed on a banner, while men proclaimed the uselessness of sexual relations and chanted, not without humor, “Couples, repent! “.
“Overthrowing the capitalism of love”
The alliance has been organizing such gatherings for fifteen years. At the origin of this initiative, Katsuhiro Furusawa created the Kakuhidou in 2006, after two major events in his life: his girlfriend left him and he discovered The Communist Party Manifesto. Reading the book by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels made her realize that popularity with women was linked to the class struggle and could be a factor of discrimination.
Since then, the alliance, with a philosophy tinged with Marxism, has organized demonstrations “In solidarity with the unloved comrades” approaching each event with a romantic connotation: Christmas, therefore, but also Valentine’s Day, February 14, and White Day, celebrated on March 14, two days which see couples exchanging chocolates and gifts. For the revolutionaries of the alliance, these festivals are akin to “A bloody conspiracy, led by the capitalist chocolate oppressors”.
In addition to its gatherings, the Kakuhidou also very seriously wants to provide “Psychological support to all the people all over the world who are not popular” and “Overthrow the capitalism of love”. All for “Building a bright future for the unpopular”.