With a string of successive hits, live and television appearances, model and spokesperson gigs, and interviews, Ayumi Hamasaki has reigned as Japan's undisputed queen of pop since before the turn of...

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Dir en grey are one of the newer generation of "visual-kei" bands, and a leading contender to be the first to break internationally in a major way. The band formed in February 1997 from the...

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Versailles is a visual-kei band noted for their quick rise to international notoriety. The group was formed in March 2007 by singer KAMIJO and guitarist HIZAKI. Bassist Jasmine You, who had previously...

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One of the best-known figures in Japanese history is Minamoto no Yoshitsune, the brave but doomed 12th-century warrior who exemplifies the archetype of the bishonen - a young man of extraordinary,...

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South Korean female vocalist BoA, who made her Japanese debut in May 2001 with the single "ID; Peace, is unusual in that she's a star both in her home country and in Japan. BoA was born on Nov....

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The GazettE is a Japanese visual kei[1] alternative metal band formed in early 2002, currently signed to PS Company, King Records and CLJ Records. In March 2002, Ruki, Uruha, and Reita (all former band...

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Camisama are a band born out of teenage rebellion, and a deep feeling that the world is damaged and needs to heal.  As a teen, founding member Elly found parental control and school stifling, often...

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L'Arc-en-Ciel is not a "visual-kei" band. Repeat - not a "visual-kei" band. Not at all. Just a straightahead rock band. That message bears repeating because the band vehemently...

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Rize were formed in June of 1997 with Jesse, son of Japan's super guitarist Char, on vocals and guitar, Nobuaki Kaneko on drums and Tokie on bass. Jesse and Nobuaki had grown up as childhood friends....

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Morning Musume, literally "morning daughter", is a pop culture phenomena that launched in 1997. While in some ways reminiscent of Onyanko Club (or in American terms something like a cross...

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Namie Amuro, born September 20, 1977, (real name Namie Maruyama, said to be one quarter Italian), was a huge sensation in the 90's and has gone on to be one of the most successful Japanese pop artists...

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A tried-and-true J-pop promotional tactic is to get some overseas exposure for an artist and then tell the often credulous Japanese media that he or she has really made a splash in the U.S., Britain,...

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Like many gifted musicians, the music of DJ Krush defies simple classification. To call him a hip-hop artist, for example, would be to focus on only one aspect of his complex musical personality. Club...

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Chage and Aska were THE J-pop success story in the late '80s and early '90s. The two natives of Fukuoka Prefecture first came to the public's attention by winning the 1979 Yamaha Popular Song Festival,...

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 Anna Tsuchiya (土屋 アンナ) is a Japanese singer, lyricist, actress, and semi-retired model. Anna was born to a Japanese mother and aRussian-American father....

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In Japan's "chew 'm up and spit 'm out" idol culture, Aya Ueto has had a run longer than most. The Tokyo native, born in 1985, has been a force on the radio and television, and in theaters...

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Crystal Kay was born Crystal Kay Williams on February 26, 1986 in Yokohama, the daughter of a bass playing African American father and a singing Korean mother. She began singing at a very young age,...

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Hikaru Utada holds the distinction of having Japan's all-time top-selling album: her 1999 debut set, First Love has sold about 10 million copies. Including First Love, Utada has so far...

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Yuki Isoya, commonly known simply as Yuki, is one of Japan's more notable female vocalists. Best known as the front-woman and lead vocals of the former rock band Judy and Mary, she has also been part...

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m-flo are one of the biggest names in Japanese hip-hop, and became such by bringing together foreign influences and Japanese sensibilities. The group's nucleus of composer/ trackmaker/producer Taku...

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Yasutaka Nakata is a Japanese music producer and DJ. He formed Capsule in 1997 with vocalist Toshiko Koshijima, acting as both composer and producer for the group, which debuted in 2001.  In addition...

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After a performance as Tommy february6 in 2003, Kawase took off her glasses and donned a much more alternative look to create Tommy heavenly6, a brand new character with a modern rock sound....

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Buffalo Daughter is a three member group consisting of Sugar Yoshinaga, Yumiko Ohno and MoOoG Yamamoto, often augmented by a drummer and other guests, playing synthesizer and sample driven music influenced...

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The 5.6.7.8's formed in Tokyo in 1986. Since then the line-up has changed many times, with the constants being singer/ guitarist Ronnie "Yoshiko" Fujiyama, and drummer Sachiko. The band embraces...

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Depending on your point of view, Malice Mizer were either one of the most ridiculous or most brilliant of Japan's "visual-kei" bands. The group, whose name is said to be based on the notion...

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EZO started out with the heavy metal group Flatbacker, formed in Sapporo in 1984. The band's line-up was Masaki Yamada on vocals, Hiro Honma on drums, Shoyo Iida on guitar and Taro Takahashi on bass....

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Seiko Matsuda, the most super of all super idols, and is still going strong in the entertainment business even though she is now in her 40's. Of course many American and European rock bands carry on...

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Nishino Kana emerged as the winner from among 40,000 participants of the Miss Phoenix Audition held by Sony in 2005. She then signed with Sony Music Entertainment and started vocal...

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Ken Hirai stands out from the rest of the J-pop pack - literally, since he's 183 cm tall. He stands out in a musical sense, too, since talented male vocalists like Hirai are almost an endangered species...

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With her straight bangs, sixties style minidresses, and a repertoire loaded with French pop, bossa nova, and adventurous sampling, Karia Nomoto bears more than a passing resemblance to Maki Nomiya....

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Keiji Haino is an unconventional guitarist with a noisy, intense, squalling, feedback drenched sound that has made him a cult artist in Japan and an underground favorite around the world. He describes...

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Two famous Japanese died in 1989. One was Emperor Hirohito, now known posthumously as Emperor Showa. The other was enka singer Hibari Misora (which translates as "beautiful skylark" - the...

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Angela Aki is a singer-songwriter and pianist from Tokushima, Japan.  Her father is Japanese and her mother is Italian-American.  Her father, Kiyoshi Aki, is the owner and co-founder of AEON...

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Dué le quartz (デュールクォーツ) was a Japanese visual kei rock band that formed in December 1998 and signed to PS Company, a sub-division of Free-Will. The band opened a fanclub on August...

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Luna Sea was one of the biggest ever "visual kei" bands, active between 1989 and 2000. The band first formed in May 1989 as Lunacy but changed their name to Luna Sea in November 1990. The band played...

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Tommy february6 is one of several side projects (including the similarly named Tommy heavenly6) by The Brilliant Green vocalist Tomoko Kawase, with the curious name being a reference to the date of...

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 Hideto Matsumoto was born in St Joseph's Hospital, Midorigaoka, Yokosuka, on December 13, 1964. He entered kindergarten in 1968, studying English for three years, followed by...

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The Brilliant Green is one of Japan's premier power pop bands. The band was formed in 1995 by guitarist Ryo Matsui and bassist Shunsaku Oda, who brought in singer Tomoko Kawase (Tommy) after seeing...

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Formed in 2003 in Chiba, Shuu and Nii had been friends since elementary school, the earliest incarnation of the band made its first performance while the members were still in high school....

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Yoko Kanno was born March 18, 1964 in Miyagi Prefecture. She began playing piano at an early age, and in 1974 won a Yamaha sponsored piano competition, becoming the youngest person ever to do so. After...

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 Aqua Timez formed in 2000 after two of the original members, the vocalist and bass met on the internet and discovered that they attended the same university. At their formation with all their...

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Ritsuko Abe hails from the tail end of the female Hitori GS boom of the late 1960's. Not only was Ritsuko known for her great vocals and records but her shapely legs and suggestive record picture sleeves...

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Ever since her debut in December 1999 with the million-selling single "Love, Day After Tomorrow", female vocalist Mai Kuraki has been one of J-pop's most popular artists. Inspired by singers...

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Delivering a brutalizing mixture of punked out, dirty garage rock and dominatrix theatrics, 54 Nude Honeys was one of the underground scene's most beloved bands, in Japan as well as the US and Europe. ...

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Formed by vocalist Kumi and guitarist Naoki Sato in 1997, Love Psychedelico remains a unique voice in the world of J-Pop. Drawing heavily on music from the 60s and 70s, Kumi's nuanced mix of Japanese...

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Kiyoharu Mori (森 清治, born 30 October 1968), better known by his given and stage name, Kiyoharu (清春) is a Japanese singer, songwriter,...

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X first started in 1982, when childhood friend Yoshiki (drums, piano) and Toshi (vocals) formed the band while still in high school. Their first singles "I'll Kill You" and "Orgasm",...

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No Christmas in Japan would be complete without Tatsuro Yamashita's "Christmas Eve". That song is the J-pop Christmas standard - although Mariya Takeuchi's cover of "The Christmas Song"...

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DOES (ドーズ) is a three-piece rock band. DOES was formed in Fukuoka prefecture in 2000, and did musical activities such as composition and performing there. Until 2005, some members were changed...

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