Drawing-your-face Business in Japan

Nigaoe Business

Not long ago, in this column we noted the popularity of portrait artists. More recently this phenomenon seems to have set off a boom among children. Satoshi, who's in the 4th grade of primary school, will sketch your portrait for just 100 yen. In Japanese, it is called, "nigaoe". Perhaps because of the affordable price, or maybe the novelty, his customers wait their turn in a long queue. We didn't ask him whether he keeps the money he earns for himself, or is obliged to hand it over to his mother for safekeeping.