Burusera or the sale of underwear in Japan

El fetichismo por la ropa interior femenina es un fenómeno relativamente común en todo el mundo. Pero en Japón siempre ha sido relativamente popular, hasta el punto de acaparar titulares en prensa local e internacional. Este negocio de compra/venta de ropa interior se conoce en japonés como burusera (ブルセラ).

The Burusera Japanese word comes from combining the word Burumā and sērā-fuku.The first comes from the English Bloomer and is the name that receives the shorts used in physical education classes.The second means sailor suit and refers to the typical uniforms of Japanese schoolgirls.

Obsession with underwear in Japan

In Japan there is a powerful attraction for uniforms in any of its types, whether school, nurses, etc..This can also be checked by taking into account the existence and success of image clubs or imekura (イメクラ).In them, employees wear all kinds of uniforms to satisfy male fantasies.

In addition, the attitude towards these uniforms is very fetishist, especially if we talk about women's school uniforms or shorts used in physical education class.This is not surprising if we consider that the type of innocent and youthful Japanese girl has great success among Japanese men.That is why there are young girls who are no longer at school but who continue to use this aesthetic to take advantage of this male interest.

And the manga and anime could not stop collecting this, of course.If we remember the Japanese animation series Dash!Kappei, issued in Spain years ago with the title Chicho Terremoto, the protagonist was obsessed with female underwear.Another particularly notorious case is that of the character of Master Chen de Ranma ½, who went crazy about female underwear.

In fact, it is such an obsession with underwear, that in some train stations we find posters next to the mechanical stairs that ask for caution when using them with people who use mobile phones to take pictures of the underwear.Or directly make it clear that it is forbidden to take photos of women in skirt.

And certain female musical groups of rabid news always go on stage with impossible miniskirts that leave little to the imagination, but of course, their fans are delighted.

It is not uncommon, therefore, that one of the recommendations given to the Japanese girls living in low floors is that they do not leave their underwear lying.Because it is not uncommon that you can disappear in a moment of disgust.In fact, sometimes these thieves even steal in the laundries.

This phenomenon is known as shitagi dorobo (下着 ドロボ), which means "underwear".And in this case, we speak with knowledge of cause because this happened to the feminine part of Japanese while living in Osaka.

The men who steal, buy, or even wear female underwear use these garments as fetishes, obtaining sexual pleasure of their contemplation.And as with any type of fetishism, men who suffer from them usually collect the objects that excite them.

What exactly is the Burusera?

With all this background, it is not uncommon for some hot businessman from the Japanese underworld.All this was sold to stores that are known by the name of Bloomer Shops or Burusera Shops.The most curious thing, and what makes these garments yet much more, is that in many cases they are used.

This business jumped to the media over 1992, although at that time some stores had been merchant with used underwear for a decade.In addition to the stores, at that time you could also buy the underwear used in some street sales machines, although they had a fleeting life, since they were illegalized in 1993.

Then you could also find magazines that based all their content on the poaching of some panties, under the excuse of talking about female singers.These magazines contained ads of these businesses for purchase/sale of used underwear, so there were schoolgirls who saw a business opportunity.

In any case, it is clear that if this business existed it is because there is a demand, which we have already talked about, but there was also an offer.What led a schoolgirl to sell their panties to these stores?The main motivation of her used to be an "extra pay" that complements the money she usually gets from her parents.In this way the schoolgirl could cover the expensive fashion accessories that they like so much and that in Japan are, clearly, a symbol of social status.

Although we will talk later, today these businesses have fallen into disuse.Partly for the emergence of new technologies and partly due to legislative pressure to prevent this from happening.

How the underwear sales works

Although we might think that a girl who wanted to get extra money would use all the content of her underwear, the reality was something different.

The most normal thing is that girls buy some cheaper panties they could find to maximize the benefit.Then, the girls would use those panties for several days in a row to have more organic remains.After these days, the girls only had to approach one of these stores to deliver used underwear.

In some cases the girls removed their panties right there, which was called Namasra (生セラ).Nama, in this context, means "without treating, in raw".This was a plus when selling those panties because it was very clear that it was "quality material", used by its owner.

In general, the amount of money that these girls received used to be about 10 times higher than the cost of the panties.Subsequently, the panties were placed on the shelves, carefully wrapped in plastic.As for the other garments that could also be found in these stores, we can mention the complete collegial uniforms, sport shorts, etc..In these cases, when the girls wanted to sell this other types of garments, it is normal for them to take them in their backpacks.

And as you can imagine, it was paid more the more used the panties were.And then the amount of vaginal flow was larger and the strongest and most intense smell.This was more interested in potential buyers, so it was a premium.If the panties, in addition, they had special spots and smells, like those of menstrual blood, the girls could get even more money.

To complete the package, the seller used to include a photo of the girl next to the panties, to further excite the imagination of her future buyers.Then, both the photo and the panties were saved in transparent plastic wrappers placing the panties carefully.The idea was that the part of the crotch, which generally has spots of the daily use of the garment, remains in view of the buyers.Sometimes, even the schoolgirls could sell to jars with samples of their urine, which were stored in refrigerated transparent containers.

As for the uniforms and sport shorts, which marked their greatest or lesser price is the school to which they belong.This is because some schools have great prestige and garments with their shields are practically pieces of collector.They could be paid from 40,000 to 200,000 yen for one of these uniforms years ago.And in fact, online they can still find themselves.

We might think that it is the girls of middle or medium-low-class families who sold their underwear more.Because by belonging to families with less money, all their whims could not be paid.To the surprise of many, the vast majority of girls who sold their underwear used to be of well -off families.And, not having to strive to get almost nothing, they preferred to resort to this type of business to obtain money rather than resort to, for example, part -time work.

And as with other sexual cutting services, it was normal to see information about these stores in electricity posts or in telephone booths.Or, of course, in the spaces of "information without obligation" found in certain neighborhoods of Japan, such as Shibuya or Kabukicho.

Boys also sell underwear

These types of stores were gradually accommodated to male underwear, socks, uniforms, etc..And it is that women also began looking for this type of objects since fetishism for this type of articles is not something exclusive to male sex.

This is nothing more than a natural evolution in Japanese society.And like male hostess they are increasing.

Interestingly, a few years ago there was a certain controversy when several housewives confessed that they disgusted their husbands' underpants.So much so that they were held with sticks to take them to the washing machine and not touch them with their hands.Surely their husband's male underwear continues to cause the same reactions, but not that of young students.

Women who buy these garments are usually single women, who use these fetishes for solo sex.But we must not think that this is a recent appearance phenomenon, because there are stores of this type that recognize that some years ago they have women among their customers.

And exactly the same as female underwear, is paid more for underwear that have been taken for more days, and even if they contain sperm remains.

THE URBAN LEGEND OF USED PRAGAS SALE MACHINES

As we have said before, it is true that for a short time you could get panties used in the typical Japanese machines.Anyone who has gone to Japan will have seen the typical machines or jidohanbaiki, with drinks and snacks.The fact that they can be found almost in each corner throughout the country is one of the curiosities of Japan we have talked about.

These machines were perfect because the purchase of these used panties was something totally anonymous.The machines began to appear in 1993 in Chiba City, the capital of the prefecture of Chiba.In this city there was an area specially known to its adult entertainment industry, so these machines fit perfectly.

Complaints arrived immediately but, with the law in hand, it was difficult to find a way to avoid it.For any other type of object, the seller needs a license to distribute them.But no one had thought that the day would come when the used panties could be purchased in this way.So there was no commercial law that allowed you to withdraw these machines.

The solution was creative, since a law on antiques was used.The law specified that the distributor, both antiquities and second -hand objects, had to obtain permission from local authorities to proceed with sale.And the panties used were clearly second -hand objects.

Thus, in September 1993, three entrepreneurs were denounced for the sale of panties used in machines without permission according to this law.This ended the presence of this type of machines, but the collective imagination, especially international, made the rest.And, as we say, in Japan this type of machines are present throughout the country and they can buy everything.

In fact, there are machines that sell new panties.These panties are packed with the smiling image of a model.Model that has never brought those panties, obviously.But finding machines like that, with a photo of a Japanese woman, if it is also not known Japanese, it has been more than enough.Therefore, it is not uncommon for many tourists who find these machines to continue believing that there are used panties machines.

The reality is that yes, they existed, but few and for a very short period of time.Everyone who says that they continue to exist and that he has achieved them is perpetuating an urban legend.

The Burusera today

In current times, youth want easy money, not only girls, so there are also boys who steal underwear to girls to sell them.In this way you do not get so much money since when they steal it, it is usually because it has just been washed and is, therefore, clean.In any case it is a very simple means of obtaining extra money.

The authorities, finally, have echoed the problem but does not seem that they had much success.In 2004 a municipal ordinance was promulgated in Tokyo that illegalized the sale of used underwear, urine, feces and other similar things of minors, as well as that the minors themselves sell it to stores.

This ordinance also illegalized all the activities that would promote this type of business, under penalty of a fine of up to 500,000 yen.One of the problems is that it is only illegal if the girl is a minor, so that the stores that are dedicated to this business now what they have is material of girls of legal age.

In fact, this law has not eradicated the practice of Burusera in Tokyo, but has made it even more underground.As you could imagine, this further encouraged the proliferation of web pages in which girls directly contact the buyer, thus avoiding intermediaries and the prowl of the authorities.

The standard way to function, in these cases, is to quote the buyer in places with some privacy, such as a room of a karaoke store, for example.Then, the girl takes off her underwear in front of the buyer who, in return, will deliver an amount of money previously agreed.

But what has proliferated are web pages in which the vendors show the underwear they sell and in which buyers request material that fit their tastes.All payment is made electronically and without physical contact.The material we find here is relatively "cheap", no one endangers their physical integrity and the entire transaction is performed in the most aseptic way possible.

But, obviously, in many cases there were suspicions that "traditional" stores for sale of used underwear sold false material.More reason to suspect the authenticity of underwear that is sold in these forums.It is a perfect business for cubby entrepreneurs who want to take advantage of the paraphilias of a few.

There are other websites where underwear is auctioned, as if it were an eBay of used panties.Buyers bid for these used underwear, starting from a base price, and the best bidder takes the garment.A simple search shows us many sites in which to get this material.

Another place that in recent years, according to Mainichi, was used for this exchange of panties for money were the bathrooms for reduced mobility people of certain stations, especially that of Tokyo.In them there is enough space to make the transaction with comfort, there is privacy and, above all, a continuous coming and going of people who make it easy to get lost between the crowd.

Interestingly, thanks to this new law and to the underground of this current of illegal sales of underwear, the girls who do sell their underwear can collect between 5000 and 10,000 yen.Much more money than was paid for the same article in used underwear stores.Maybe because the interaction is more direct and the buyer is even more excited to see the girl by his side stripping his underwear.

Another way that these girls have found to get extra money, without violating the law, is to sell photos in which they appear with their school uniforms.These photos can have prices about 5000 yen and have a panties used as if it were a magazine's gift..Something similar to when pens are sold for stratospheric prices because, curiously, they wear a ticket for the most anticipated football match of the year.

And as if that were not enough, the business is extended and new business areas are being created in which it had not been thought before.In fact, these girls sometimes do not even need to sell their underwear.It is enough for them to keep a client, accompany one of the rooms of any karaoke store, and let him put his head between his legs.In this way the client can aspire to his intimate odors, until he is satiated.This practice is called Kagaseya (嗅が せ や), and men pay up to 10,000 yen by appointment.

The reality is that these practices continue to be carried out especially because the Japanese girls who get involved in them do not consider that they are doing anything wrong.However, the biggest problem is that this can lead to the compensated appointments business or Kōsai, with which more money is obtained.But this already touches the prostitution of minors, which is a real problem for society.

While business possibilities are greater today, risks are also.In the past there were intermediaries between girls and buyers, in the shape of used underwear stores.Now, however, many of these transactions are carried out directly between girls and buyers and in dark and private places.

Of course, despite everything we have told, we must not think that the practice of the Burusera is common in all Japanese girls.The reality is that it is still a minority behavior.And, in addition, in a large number of cases the clothes sold are not really from schoolgirls.In fact, according to 2014 reports, the number of stores that sell used panties is testimonial.

But in the world collective imaginary this practice has already been recorded.There has been talk of her until satiety, even with incomplete data, in order to tell a story of perversions and extravagant Japanese behaviors.Therefore, it could be thought that the Burusera is frequent, when it is not.

Note: This article was originally published in 2006, in the previous version of Japonism, and unfortunately it was copied in many places without mentioning the source.This version is an important update with many more data.