Japan Day maids considered ‘too sexy’ for Auckland

Organisers of an annual festival to showcase Japanese culture in Auckland have banned cosplay maids, saying they are “too sexy” for the family event.

Maid cafes, or meido kissa, are cosplay restaurants found mainly in Japan where waitresses dress in short, frilly French maid outfits and treat patrons mistresses.

Michel.Sea, a maid cafe host from Japan, said she had proposed to make the service part of Japan Day this weekend, but had been told by organisers the activity was “too sexy for Auckland”.

Japan Day is an annual event organised by the Japanese Society of Auckland and Japanese Consulate. as masters and

Society chairwoman Naoe Hashimoto said the decision not to include maid cafes was made after “intensive discussions”.

“It’s just the nature of Japan Day being a family event and we will not emphasise the part of our culture that can be misinterpreted,” she said.

Maid cafes were originally started to cater to fantasies of male otaku — or fans of anime and manga.

To maintain this cosplay fantasy, most, like Michel.Sea, are also contractually bound to keep their real names a mystery.

Hashimoto said Japan Day on Saturday and Sunday would instead promote other aspects of Japan’s culture, from food, arts and music to J-Pop. Organisers are expecting a crowd of more than 50,000 at The Cloud and Shed 10 on Queens Wharf.