Ganguro, Yamanba and Manba

Ganguro (Kanji：顔黒 Hiragana: がんぐろ Katakana: ガングロ; literally, "Black Face") is an alternative fashion trend of blonde, pink or silver hair and tanned skin among young Japanese women that peaked in popularity around the year 2000.

The Shibuya and Ikebukuro districts of Tokyo were the centers of ganguro fashion. In contradiction to the traditional Japanese concept of beauty by having pale skin, dark hair, and neutral makeup tones, rebellious youth tanned their skin, bleached their hair, and used colourful makeup.^[1]

There is a connection to Japanese folklore of ghosts and demons, who are depicted with a similar appearance and often displayed in kabuki and noh costumes. This connection to folklore is further noted in the ganguro offshoot style called yamanba, named after a famous story about a mountain witch.^[2] The term ganguro is a portmanteau of the Japanese word gangankuro "ガンガン黒", meaning extremely dark, and guro "グロ", meaning grotesque, and the word ganguro translates to "blackface" or "charbroiled face", meaning heavily sunburned face.^[3] 
   

Ganguro appeared as a new fashion style in Japan in the early 1990s and to date is prevalent mostly among young women.

Yamanba (ヤマンバ^?) and manba (マンバ^?) are styles which developed from Ganguro.
The term yamanba derives from Yama-uba, the name of a mountain hag in Japanese folklore whom the fashion is thought to resemble.