Crying with the Handsome Man

January 25, 2018 4:40 PM

Even though numerous animal species shed tears, emotional crying is a uniquely human activity. Regardless of the reason behind it, many people believe that expressing one’s emotions in this way can be both cathartic and healthy. In Japan, entrepreneur Hiroki Terai has even adopted this belief as a business strategy. He is the founder of a group crying service that encourages people to cry together while a “handsome weeping boy” wipes their tears away.

Part of National Geographic's Short Film Showcase.

posted by Johnny Wallflower (20 comments total)

Emo made flesh.
posted by benzenedream at 4:44 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]

if I wanted to pay to have a handsome man bring me to tears, I'd start dating again
posted by Countess Elena at 4:54 PM on January 25, 2018 [57 favorites]

Raindrops from your eyes
Washing all the mad out of you
Raindrops from your eyes
It's gonna make you feel better

Free To Be.... You And Me - Rosey Grier Performs 'It's Alright To Cry'
posted by ActingTheGoat at 5:06 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]

Japan both enthralls and frightens me.
posted by Annika Cicada at 5:28 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]

I wanna cry there! but OMG that means CRYING THERE.
posted by Annika Cicada at 5:29 PM on January 25, 2018

And here in the States, they have a reoccurring group crying at which they offer no hankie and no sympathy. That's what that they call payday for 71% of the population.

*The national annual group whinge is April 15.
posted by BlueHorse at 5:33 PM on January 25, 2018 [3 favorites]

ought to partner up with the Family Romance company (previously), they're probably sharing employees as it is
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:46 PM on January 25, 2018

The article is interesting and I agree that people in Japan can tend to be stoic and cry less, which is hard to work with in certain situations (sorry Japanese friends family and coworkers, when I need to cry I will cry, it will be more than average and that's never changing).
At the same time: like other unusual things that someone in Japan is doing that gets coverage abroad, this is not something that's happening throughout the whole country.
posted by sacchan at 7:38 PM on January 25, 2018 [4 favorites]

Sacchan mostly beat me to it, but as usual remember this is literally one person with a wacky business, like the guy in LA who had a business where people paid to go on walks with him. This is by no means a Japanese culture thing or something that would be familiar in Japan. (Which is to say, it's interesting to look at --- but essentially its a PR piece for the guy who is running this business)

But yeah, it's generally true that displays of emotion (even inside a family) are less common than in, say, the US.
posted by thefoxgod at 8:07 PM on January 25, 2018 [5 favorites]

Why is handsome always put in quotation marks in the article?
posted by overglow at 9:53 PM on January 25, 2018

Why is handsome always put in quotation marks in the article?

Because we all know the truth but we're too polite to say it.
posted by 1adam12 at 10:41 PM on January 25, 2018 [2 favorites]

An interesting and cleverly designed study out of Israel a few years back showed a dampening effect from the smell of women's tears on sexual arousal in men.
posted by jamjam at 11:31 PM on January 25, 2018

Slightly tangentially, I have a friend whose improv group call themselves The Handsome Weeping Boys.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:24 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

Japan both enthralls and frightens me.

I'd say that's a fairly accurate assessment of a not-uncommon Japanese take on the US as well.
posted by ryanshepard at 5:58 AM on January 26, 2018 [4 favorites]

"Handsome Weeping Boy" sounds like some kind of yokai, like his lower body is a walking sake barrel, or a cart-wheel, or made of weasels, or something.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:59 AM on January 26, 2018 [2 favorites]

The only time I ever saw unashamed public crying was the high school baseball tournament.
posted by betweenthebars at 7:13 AM on January 26, 2018

He is the founder of a group crying service that encourages people to cry together while a “handsome weeping boy” wipes their tears away.

Weird Twitter didn't die-- it was actually loosed upon the real world by savvy entrepreneurs
posted by mcmile at 8:43 AM on January 26, 2018

> Because we all know the truth but we're too polite to say it.

Ouch. I must confess I came into this comment thread with rather impolite intentions.
posted by MiraK at 12:45 PM on January 26, 2018

The video gave me a great idea: Carrying around a subtitle that says "Handsome man" that I can produce whenever I speak, like at meetings or at the grocery store. If anyone disputes my handsomeness, I can shoot down their complaints by saying "but look, I have this subtitle."
posted by Kafkaesque at 4:51 PM on January 26, 2018 [2 favorites]

They all train at Handsome Boy Modelling School
posted by benzenedream at 8:44 PM on January 26, 2018