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, androgynous physical beauty who’s still a tough guy when it comes to the crunch. Singer/songwriter/producer Gackt is the latest in a long line of J-pop male idols in the bishonen mold. His real name is Gakuto Kamui and he was born in Okinawa, Japan’s southernmost prefecture, and grew up in Kyoto. He claims to have been born on July 4, 1540, which would make him by far the oldest artist on the J-pop scene. But he was apparently born in 1973, which is slightly more credible. Gackt may seem like just another good-looking guy, but he’s also got a good head on his shoulders and is a very skilled musician – he writes all his own material as well as producing it. Formerly a member of successful “visual-kei” band
Malice Mizer, Gackt has succeeded in establishing himself as a solo act, scoring hits with singles such as “Vanilla” (1998) and “Oasis” (2000). Gackt’s music is a dense, almost baroque rock-techno hybrid, over which soar his highly mannered, slightly camp vocals. In keeping with the aura of slightly decadent eccentricity cultivated by visual-kei acts, Gackt says he hates electric lights – they hurt his eyes! -- so he prefers to use candles. He also prefers written mail to e-mail, and when he enters a room he goes through all the drawers and looks un...
Read More
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, androgynous physical beauty who’s still a tough guy when it comes to the crunch. Singer/songwriter/producer Gackt is the latest in a long line of J-pop male idols in the bishonen mold. His real name is Gakuto Kamui and he was born in Okinawa, Japan’s southernmost prefecture, and grew up in Kyoto. He claims to have been born on July 4, 1540, which would make him by far the oldest artist on the J-pop scene. But he was apparently born in 1973, which is slightly more credible. Gackt may seem like just another good-looking guy, but he’s also got a good head on his shoulders and is a very skilled musician – he writes all his own material as well as producing it. Formerly a member of successful “visual-kei” band
Malice Mizer, Gackt has succeeded in establishing himself as a solo act, scoring hits with singles such as “Vanilla” (1998) and “Oasis” (2000). Gackt’s music is a dense, almost baroque rock-techno hybrid, over which soar his highly mannered, slightly camp vocals. In keeping with the aura of slightly decadent eccentricity cultivated by visual-kei acts, Gackt says he hates electric lights – they hurt his eyes! -- so he prefers to use candles. He also prefers written mail to e-mail, and when he enters a room he goes through all the drawers and looks under all the furniture. And he also reads instruction manuals very thoroughly. Gackt has taken advantage of his photogenic looks to become a poster boy for various products, in much the same way another visual-kei artist, Demon Kogure, became an all-round media celebrity a few years back.
Collapse
