Jack of Harts

The Japanese fascination with mixing animal traits with humanity goes back centuries, to when they still lived on the Japanese Home Islands. They would dress up in animal costumes called kigurumi, or wore prosthesis that gave them similar animal appearances. And they would dress up as major characters from entertainment franchises in what was called cosplay. Makeup to improve the looks became new art forms in many parts of Japanese culture. They held contests over who could do it best, and attended conventions where thousands of participants showed off their talents. Some even had cosmetic surgery to make themselves appear permanently like their chosen characters or animals. And some took even more radical gene therapies once they became available. The Fall of Japan signaled the end of that lifestyle in the Home Islands, but it lived on in New Japan.