Japan’s entertainment culture greatly respects old tradition yet thrives on professionals whose vision confronts convention and offers a singular perspective on performance.

Early in the Edo period (1603–1867), a woman actor named Izumo no Okuni wore masculine attire instead of the usual feminine outfit for yayako odori (girl’s dance)—complete with short and long swords—to perform a new dance in Kyoto. She was indeed what could be called “Kabukimono.” Her outstanding performance in an unusually flashy costume shocked and impressed the citizens of Kyoto and led to the renowned theater art known today as Kabuki.

Japan is a country that not only has nourished commoner culture in the Edo period and later but also welcomes a new set of values. This kind of historical background is what lies behind the continual emergence into the world spotlight of new types of Japanese pop artists.