JapanSugoi

Kumiko Takeda 武田 久美子 is a 40 year old actress, singer and gravure idol from Aichi prefecture.  Kumiko-chan  started her showbiz career back in primary school when she appeared in a TV commercial with her brother for children’s clothes. She began being an idol in high school and also had a Jpop singing career from 1983-1985.

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Funky Japanese techno house dance label LBT (Love Beer Trax) is a music label that was founded by three producers: DJ io, Paricco (Yuta Suzuki) and Petank. The label started as a source for releasing funky music to be enjoyed alongside drinking and hot springs in Japan. The label also creates remixes and plays live gigs (the label itself holds a monthly party).

LBT released a 2006 compilation album called Drinkers High featuring on its album cover, a busty Japanese gravure idol in bikini drinking beer (and enjoying techno music).

One of the best Japanese rock bands today is the three piece band GO!GO!7188 (Gogo) which has a range of diverse styles spanning from rock, punk, ska, 60s and enka. The band was formed in summer 1998 by Shoyo High School friends Yumi Nakashima 中島 優美 (nicknamed Yuu ユウ) and Akiko Noma 野間 亜紀子 (nicknamed Akko アッコ) in Kagoshima, with the band’s drummer, Turkey, joining in 1999.

The band has released 15 singles since 2000 and 8 albums including last year’s Go!!GO!GO!Go!! (June 2, 2010) and one thing listeners immediately recognize is Yuma  Nakashima’s breathtaking voice.  Read more...

British pop group Bananara’s songs are quite popular in Japan.  Here is the Japanese version of Love in the first degree (Koi no Guilty) performed by kids on a Japanese kids show on NHK.  The singers are  Jasmine Allen, Nobuko Sakuma & Monique Rose.  Kawaii

The C.C. girls (Cool and Classy) C.C.ガールズ were an idol unit from that first formed in the early 1990s as a pop group.  They were also known as the D.D.GAPS.  In the mid 90s they became more of a gravure idol group and went through 2 line up changes.

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Back in 1965, this rock and roll song  IKAN NI ZONJIMASU (I feel so regrettable) was a big hit in Japan.  It was sung by Japan’s top comedian at the time Hitoshi Ueki of  Hajime Hana & Crazy Cats. The backing band are Takeshi “Terry” Terauchi & Blue Jeans.   This single parodies of The Beatles’  “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and The Ventures’ “Diamond Head”.

Popular Japanese av idol Akiho Yoshizawa 吉沢明歩 appeared in the the music video Kamitsu from Japanese rock band Rushmore ラッシュモア from their first album Reason of Four Season in December 2009.

The pre-released music video was watched 200,000 times before the single was officially released creating alot of buzz for the band.   Bet most of the viewers were Akiho Yoshizawa fan club members.

Akiho Yoshizawa appears in Rushmore music video

Trailer

Rushmore Kamitsu PV

RUSHMORE interview

Don’t you wish you had a Japanese girlfriend who looks like Akiho?

Samurai Attack エスエー or (SA) are a legendary Japanese punk band from Gifu prefecture that originally was formed in 1984 by vocalist Taisei Mabuchi and gained an enormous following in Japan before breaking up in 1987 when they moved to Tokyo.

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Jero ジェロ  (aka Jerome Charles White, Jr) is a 29 year old enka singer and the first black enka singer ever. Jero first began pursuing his dream to become an Enka artist because of the influence of his Japanese grandmother Takiko who was from Yokohama, Japan.  He began singing Enka actively at the age of six and continued to study the Japanese language all throughout high school and university.Jero majored in information science at University of Pittsburgh and graduated in 2003, and moved to Japan in the same year.

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We’ve featured enough gyaru or gal fashion posts before but did you know there is a men’s equivalent called gyaruo ギャル男?  Tokyo hip hop artists Policeman pay an irreverent tribute to the men’s gyaruo ギャル男  subculture in a funky animated video for “GAL-O Sengen,” a track from their first mini album “Keisatsu” released earlier this year.

Policeman GAL-O Sengen video