Ero-Kakkoi
The Ero-Kakkoi/Ero-Kawaii movement was inspired by popstar Koda Kumi, and it’s basically been her trademark ever since her LOVE & HONEY single.
Kumi is one of the few J-Pop female artists who uses sex appeal as her main weapon through her music and performances, and it’s really bold of her to go out there and do her thing with such confidence and making something so simple as dressing sexy into her own thing. Ero-Kakkoi is a mixture of sexy (ero, as in erotic), and cool, while Ero-Kawaii is sexy and cute, and Kumi’s been constantly reformulating these concepts according to each of her eras ever since she began the concept.
Lately, Kumi has backed off a bit from her suggestive imagery, but before, her concerts and music videos were far beyond suggestive, but she always seems to be in her element, and even though it’ll make you blush, she’ll be having fun and workin’ it fierce! Until some time ago, she backed off a bit from her (bi)sexual tendencies, but then she began the TRICK tour, and the suggestive Kumi we all knew and loved was back for SHAKE IT and an interlude interruption that proved just how cute and sexy she can be at once.
As noted during that same performance of SHAKE IT (or possibly even through its PV), Kumi does have her bisexual tendencies (even though she’s not bisexual), and that’s just one more reason to consider her the fierce diva she is. It’s not easy to make sexuality a trademark and still be respected for it. In America, for instance, Tila Tequila got very bad press and unnecessary disrespect once she made her bisexuality public through her bisexual dating show. Both these cases are very different from each other, but both of them demonstrate how much sexuality can be embodied into one’s work before it’s considered vulgar. Sometimes the public isn’t ready for that, and it’s hard to gain respect for something the public isn’t mature enough to absorb, but Kumi still manages it without being offensive to the sexual orientation of her fans and respects their diversity.
By bringing together the eroticism of western entertainment with the cuteness of eastern, Kumi was able to bring about a movement that not only made her into the artist she is today, but also served as inspiration to many others, most lately, Maki Goto, who’s leaving her idol past behind to adopt a more mature, sexual look (and sound, as well), and Meisa Kuroki. Maki isn’t as in-your-face about it as label-mate Koda Kumi, but she does make a statement that’s slightly more feminist and empowering, possibly meaning Maki’s own interpretation of the movement begun by Kumi. Meisa, on the other hand, follows an ero-kakkoi career path on the dot, with the full dosage of sexual lyrics and taunting choreographies. She’s yet another artist who made her name as an ero-kakkoi ambassador, and she takes her cool look a lot heavier than Kumi (who happens to portray ero-kawaii a lot more than ero-kakkoi), and still manages to convey it with sex appeal. This movement is gaining more attention now, between rising artists, probably because it’s very much connected with youth.
Admiring ero-kakkoi can either sound very interesting or very vulgar, but it should be looked at as a means of expression, since it’s still a an adaptation of music and style, and it’s very admiring to see artists like Kumi go up on stage and feel comfortable and confident enough to pull off something so difficult as to experiment with your public image.
The ero-kakkoi movement is certainly a favorite of mine because of its impact on music and style, and especially because its creator is one of Japan’s biggest popstars (which I happen to be a big fan of), and I hope this movement continues strong to prove that today’s J-Pop divas aren’t here to be messed around with. ♥
