Japanese Music. Part 1.

This is one of my favorite topics with Japan, only because I love Japanese music, beats, lyrics, EVERYTHING! Really this part of the blog will just be me ranting on about some of my favorite songs and singers. 

First, I'll cover Vocaloid.

Now there are many singers, but I will only list a few and add one of their songs to save space. First is Miku Hatsune, the most popular and the first model of the series to be born. Her voice is soprano, so high notes are easily hit by her. She is more frequently heard performing pop songs, but being that she is part of Vocaloid she is only a program, and if you can work her properly she will sound good in whatever type of song you want. Like the other Vocaloids, Miku has a character item (leek) and is appearing about 16 years of age. She has long greenish colored hair, sometimes said to be a cyan/teal color. Her male counter part is Mikuo, who just has a bit of a lower tone to his voice.

One of my favorite songs by Miku is one called BPM.

The song is cutesy and includes two other Vocaloids for a short period of time. The beat is, oddly enough, 123 beats per second (last time I checked) and so it is a toe-tapper even if you aren't a fan of pop music. The artwork of the video is also very cutesy and bright, fitting to Miku's normally joyous personality. As stated, Miku's only limitations are what her owner can produce with her voice program.

Next we'll cover the twins, Rin and Len Kagamine. Now, their names in Japanese mean: Rin = Right, Len = Left, Kagamine = Blending Melody. The translation is rough, feel free to correct. Their character items are orange, banana, and my personal favorite, RODA ROLLA. :D Rin and Len's songs tend to hold a darker, more sinister side to them, but there are a few that are pop and cutesy for personal fans of Miku. A personal favorite of mine includes them both as a duet, and it is a song called Trick and Treat.

The video, again, has wonderful art and is based off a popular anime called Reborn!, or so I am told as I have never watched said anime per say. ^^;

Last Vocaloid I will cover is going to be my favorite of them all, Luka Megurine! She is the pink haired singer of the Vocaloids, and her character item is a tuna. She is more often than not used for ballad songs, or rock as her voice is very powerful. And not only that, but she is also one of the few Vocaloids who can speak not only Japanese, but English. Now my most favorite song of all by her is Just Be Friends.

The beat is absolutely amazing and the English translation of the Japanese lyrics are somewhat heartbreaking. This is a song that most miss, simply because Luka is not all that popular, though she is a major Vocaloid she is more often than not overlooked. Her voice, and the lyrics often combined with her songs make me love her the most out of all Vocaloids.

Right, I'll do a few normal bands now, and perhaps continue onward, nee?

Now, Japanese music is so much better to me than American, simply because of lyrics, sound, and of course ACTUAL TALENT. But, some people dislike it simply because they cannot understand what is being said, and they don't want to bother reading a translation. So, they are missing out on a fantastic musical culture and that's their loss.

A band I just recently saw live, and adore, is called Lix. They are awesome, they have a fashion sense of a pop band, but most of their songs is heavy metal or screamo and it's just hard to resist the beauty of it all.~ Now, my FAVORITE song by them (and it was hard to pick) is one called Devil's Heaven.

Of course, you just have to love the sound of the lead singer, and then there is always the actual band~ I just adore them, they are so absolutely lovely. <3

Another one is Hyde, and I learned of them from an anime called 'Blood+' and I'll cover that later on in my blog. But none the less, they are not as heavy as Lix but they are rock and the lead singer just has the smoothest voice ever, I just adore the drawl of his Japanese accent as well whenever he speaks English. So, I'll include the song that introduced me to them, and that would be Season's Call.

Watching the video adds appeal, so may I suggest taking five minutes or so aside to admire the beauty that is the band Hyde? Because they are one sexy group, if I may say so myself~ ;) Just gotta love that voice, nee?

Anyway, I don't wanna overload this post with music, I'll start part two at another time, later on in the blog. x)

また来て、読んでくれてありがとう友人

(thank you for reading, come again, my friend)

Japanese Clothing.

Now everyone who loves Japan knows how the clothing is and such. Surely some of the greatest fans are cosplayers, not everyone may find it impressive or awesome to dress up like characters and get some of the coolest looking outfits ever, but that's fine because there are a bunch of other ways to show your love for Japan. Ways I'll cover later on, for now let's stick to our topic of cosplay and just roll with it. :D

When you cosplay, you have to be prepared to not be shy about it! If you look great in your cosplay, you'll be stopped countless times to get a photograph, might even make a few fans and forever love cosplaying as that character. But the key is DON'T BE OVER CONFIDENT! You have to be in character when cosplaying, this is very important! Sure, you can break your character when you want, but it ruins the purpose if you act normal and not like a diva if you're dressed as Sheryl Norm from Macross Frontier, or if you're dressed as 'female' Ciel Phantomhive and you're not acting bashful about having to wear a dress~ I have to say, I have met a girl who looked perfect dressed as Enma Ai from Hell Girl, but she was so shy and sweet, I just felt disappointed! Cosplaying is about being something or someone else, so have fun and don't be afraid to practice a new accent or two, nee? ;D

But, of course cosplay is not the only thing Japanese culture is known for producing.  School uniforms have been made extremely popular by how the Japanese make them so adorable. Sweater vests and plaid skirts are just too much to ignore! In a good way, duh. As much as the school uniform has been made popular, a type of fashion called Lolita has made it's way to America and though most might not know they are wearing something considered 'Loli' it is easy how to identify if you are and if you are a particular style. Gothic Lolita is known for having dark colors but something that looks very sweet and cute. Such as puffed skirts with white lace on them, or shirts/pants with belts holding it together here and there. Even the colorful tutus one might find in Hot Topic are inspired from Lolita fashion! My favorite part to Loli though is the shoes, as typical as it may sound of a girl, the shoes are awesomely... well, awesome! Knee high leather boots covered in belts and straps are very usual to see in Japan, along with brown leather boots and things of that nature. Heels that are five inches tall and platform boots that are nine inches tall sometimes! Tiny hats that look like they belong to itty bitty teddy bears, that's how cute they are. Bunny ears, cat ears, maid suits, everything you could think of that looks cutesy and out of place is probably Japanese!

Now with all the girly stuff out of the way...
> u >
< u <

Kimonos are something still traditionally worn in Japan, and they get more and more beautiful. Though Geisha's and their disciples, Maiko, are not frequently seen any longer, their beauty remains imprinted on the many kimonos that can be located in Japan and sometimes imported to America. (would one be interested, Kimono in Japanese translates literally to ki 'wear' and mono 'thing') Now a Kimono has a way to wear and many parts you must put on correctly. Such as, a Kimono must always be worn with the left side over the right, and are often wore with traditional shoes called a geta or a zori, and of course split-toed socks called tabi. Now, there are different types of kimono. Such as an unmarried woman wears a furisode where the sleeves nearly reach the floor. And in spring, normally during firework festivals, etc. girls wear a thin Kimono called a yukata with often bright colors and designs upon it. Now, there are many parts to a Kimono, but I will list them from the top of the Kimono to the Bottom, first in Japanese then in English. 
Doura, Eri, Fuki, Furi, Maemigoro, Miyatsukuchi, Okumi, Sode, Sodeguchi, Sodetsuke, Susomawashi, Tamoto, Tomoeri, Uraeri, Ushiromigoro.
(upper lining on kimono, collar, hem guard, sleeve below armhole, main front panel, opening under sleeve,  front inside panel, sleeve, sleeve opening, armhole, lower lining, sleeve pouch, collar protector, inner collar, main back panel.)

Kimono's have a long history and a lot more parts and instructions to them, and I can go on all day about them, really. But if you honestly have more interest in learning about the history of the Kimono go ahead and google it or put it in on wikipedia. I'm sure you'll find something. :)

So I shall leave this topic at that for now, perhaps I will do a single post strictly about the Kimono and more of it's history, but for now I must start working on the next post which will most likely be about Japanese musical styles and instruments. So I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope it helped you a little bit to learn more about Japan and it's clothing styles. 

また来て、読んでくれてありがとう友人

(thank you for reading, come again, my friend)