Cry Me a River: Who are Japan’s ‘handsome weeping boys’, hired to brush off tears at workplace?

Crying can be therapeutic. With people under work-related stress for most part of their day, a good cry could be just what they need. And if you want someone to wipe away your tears, a Japanese company is offering “handsome weeping boys” to do the job. A company in the Asian country employs young men who brush away employees’ tears at their offices. No, we are not kidding. This service is available at 7,900 yen (over Rs 4,000). And if someone is unable to tap into their emotions, these handsome weeping boys are also equipped to bring out those waterworks. Let’s take a closer look. Japan’s ‘handsome weeping boys’ A Tokyo-based company run by Hiroki Terai rents good-looking men, known as Ikemeso Danshi. Customers can seek them online and hire their tear-wiping services. Companies can choose from a wide variety, ranging from a ‘Showa face adult Ikemeso boy’ wearing a checked shirt to a ‘healing mista-tokyo’ ikemeso boy’ in a button-down shirt and informal blazer, noted Independent. As per BBC, others play the part of a gymnast, a funeral director or shoe shiner. These men use sad films, emotional songs and videos to spark tears in their clients, as per Stuff website. The idea behind this is to show one’s vulnerable self in front of others which will supposedly bring people together and make them a better team, reported BBC. [caption id=“attachment_13419102” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Crying can help in relieving stress. Pixabay (Representational Image)[/caption] According to Stuff, these ‘handsome weeping boys’ are qualified “Crying Therapists”. Ryusei, who is a handsome weeping boy, told BBC in 2016, “Japanese are not used to crying in front of people. But once you cry in front of others, the environment will change, particularly in a business." How the idea came to be As per the BBC report, Hiroki Terai decided to organise “crying workshops” as he wants Japanese people to express their emotions. His first project involved holding official ceremonies for couples to celebrate the end of their marriage. In 2013, he made a business out of crying and started arranging workshops for everyone in Tokyo. “People would come and cry together. When they cried they said they felt really good afterwards,” he told BBC. “The only problem was the perception of crying men. People thought they were weepy or wimps.” And that is how the concept of crying sessions led by handsome men emerged. Terai told the British broadcaster that he wants “Japanese people to cry” and “not only at home but in the office.” [caption id=“attachment_13419122” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Hiroki Terai’s company offers tear-seeking services. Pixabay (Representational Image)[/caption] This service provided by his company is known as rui-katsu or ’tear-seeking’ where men with model-like looks screen short films to induce people to cry as well as connect with the other attendees while doing so, as per Independent. Not just Ikemeso Danshi, services like non-sexual cuddling sessions and rent-a-friend services have also come up in Tokyo in recent years. Need for such services in Japan Around one-third of Japanese households have only one person. People living alone will account for 40 per cent of all homes in Japan by 2035, The Quartz reported citing national population estimates. Japan’s dwindling population is already a cause of concern. The country has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. Its current populace of 126 million is likely to fall by one-third by 2060, as per The Guardian. While the divorce rate has risen in Japan, the marriage rate has plunged. A survey by Japan Family Planning Association has found that 45 per cent of women in the 16-24 age group “were not interested in or despised sexual contact”. More than a quarter of men had similar thoughts. Filmmaker Darryl Thoms, who explored Terai’s business concept in his short film Crying with the Handsome Man, told National Geographic in 2018, “In Japanese society where most people – especially women who have managed to navigate and smash through the glass ceiling into high-pressure jobs – don’t have a supporting partner to come home to and unload the stresses of the day, there is a need left unfulfilled". “Terai’s Ikemeso Takyyubin (Tear Couriers) fulfills this need for many.” With inputs from agencies