How ‘painful bag’ becomes popular subculture, fashion trend, especially among China youth

Chinese youth are enthusiastically adopting Japan’s “ita bag” fashion accessory style to showcase their admiration for beloved anime and real-life idols, elevating the culture with their imaginative designs.On China’s popular lifestyle-sharing platform, RedNote, the hashtag #tongbao, which means “painful bag” (the Chinese translation of ita bag), boasts 2.3 billion views.Originating in Japan around the 2010s, the “ita bag” refers to bags adorned with plushies, badges, or small cards representing the owner’s favourite anime characters.The arrangement of these items, officially termed as “goods,” is often so extravagantly filled that it creates a visually overwhelming effect, hence the name “ita bag.”Fans can transform a standard bag into an ita bag by embellishing it with various decorative items known as “goods.” Photo: HandoutThe term “ita” in Japanese suggests an implication of “awkwardness,” indicating that owners might feel a sense of embarrassment while openly displaying their passion in public.