The Tokyo Hot List: 20 people to watch
1. Tao Okamoto: Deluxe bowl
Tao Okamoto’s 'rice bowl' hair may be the most valuable cut in the world. After chopping off her locks in 2008, the androgynous model has walked on nearly every big brand runway. Okamoto landed the Ralph Lauren advertising campaign this year -- the first time ever for an Asian model. Phillip Lim did a fashion show with all models done up in her hairstyle, and this November’s "Vogue Nippon" was dedicated to Okamoto's destiny to be the next supermodel.
Mademoiselle Yulia2. Mademoiselle Yulia: Color wheel
Club culture princess Mademoiselle Yulia is a DJ, MC and singer who has been invited to perform with the likes of M.I.A., Steve Aoki and Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas. With her rainbow-colored Cleopatra bob and penchant for outré clothing, she’s been hailed as 'The Lady Gaga of Japan' (the 'Japan' part bespeaks a subtlety compared with Ms. Germanotta). Only 22, Yulia has already released two second remix albums and started a line of accessories called GIZA, but there’s more to come -- and more hair colors to explore.
3. Tadashi Yanai: Brand brain
Fast Retailing was once a quaint Yamaguchi prefecture-based family business that sold cheap, generic casuals to dads in backwater locales. But under the leadership of Yanai, FR's brand Uniqlo has become the best-selling fashion brand in Japan -- and with the +J Jil Sander collaboration line, one of the most trendy. Taking the number-one slot on Forbes' Japan rich list in 2009 has only flamed Yanai's ambition. He now hopes to turn his company into a ¥5 trillion revenue global powerhouse by 2020.
4. Tsubasa Masuwaka: Beloved underdog
She may not be in a powerful talent agency or star of a TV show, but 24-year-old model Tsubasa Masuwaka has used the incredible support of fans to become the 'It Girl' of the moment. The 150cm Saitama-native grew to fame through her amateur modeling in gyaru fashion magazine "Popteen." After becoming the mag's top model, she moved onto product endorsements for small brands, which apparently generated up to ¥100 million worth of economic activity. After a 2007 shotgun wedding with Men's Egg model Naoki Umeda, Masuwaka retired for a few months to become a full-time mom. Motherhood only emboldened Masuwaka -- she's back as the primary model of new Shibuya-Harajuku hybrid magazine "PopSister" and is a frequent guest on TV variety programs.
Ryo Ishikawa5. Ryo Ishikawa: Club heartthrob
At 15, Ishikawa became the youngest golfer ever to win a tournament on the Japan Golf Tour. Now at 18, he's ranked number 36 on the Official World Golf Ranking. While he has yet to win a major international tournament, he's won the hearts of Japanese women with his good looks and demure demeanor. He's not nicknamed the Hanikami Oji, or 'Bashful Prince,' for nothing. Ishikawa is also becoming the prince of promotional work, cutting ads for ANA, Toyota and Lotte.
6. Yukio and Miyuki Hatoyama: Populist pair
As part of the transfer of power from the LDP to the DPJ, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and wife Miyuki have tried to be more populist than previous politicians. Television programs show Miyuki cooking Yukio breakfast at home, and Yukio doing his part to wash the dishes. Both walked the runway in a charity fashion show for disabled children. But maybe they aren't so 'down-to-earth' after all: Yukio has a reputation for being an aloof 'alien,' while Miyuki got international press for claiming that she had 'been to Venus,' a brilliant moment for Japanese pop culture.
7. Hisako Nakajo: Hostess helper
Women's fashion magazines are one of the most important cultural forces in Japan, yet few have females at the top of the editorial chain. Nakajo of "Koakuma Ageha" has shattered the glass ceiling by stewarding her 'cabaret club hostess' fashion magazine into a popular national title, arguably the most influential magazine of the moment. The magazine's extreme sparkle-graphics spreads now inform the design of magazine "Popteen" and have even infected "Non•no" -- the ultimate 'good girl' magazine. Without Nakajo, the growing hostess sector would never have its own magazine, and we'd have no idea that hostesses were so influential on Japanese culture.
8. Meisa Kuroki: Dark star
With Japanese men increasingly infatuated with the under-15 set and Japanese women growing sympathetic toward 'regular'-looking girls, things could be tough for a dark, mysterious beauty like Kuroki. Yet the Okinawa-native has become one of the biggest faces in recent years, modeling for "JJ," singing hit songs and acting in popular drama series and films. Her biggest feat may be on the horizon. She recently snagged away the part of heroine Moriyuki in the live adaptation of "Space Battleship Yamato" from troubled actress Erika Sawajiri. Will she dye her hair blond for the role or will Moriyuki stay dark?
Exile9. Exile: Fourteen-part machismo machine
Like the mochi in your bowl sticking to everything, this macho singing group has latched onto every branch of the pop-culture tree. The seven-member bad-boy R&B dance and vocal troupe spawned 34 hit singles, seven best-of albums, a lifestyle magazine, several acting careers, and, oh yeah, they were the best-selling artists of 2008. Success, of course, means expansion, so earlier this year they upped their number of members to 14. Now even if they stop producing hit records, fans will still spend years trying to remember them all.
10. Shogen: Smoking hottie
Shogen is a 31-year-old upcoming actor who silently permeated every street corner on the Seven Stars cigarette vending machine poster. His cool stare and come-hither smile elevated his street presence, but the Okinawan has moved on from mere modeling. He now has 10 feature-length films to his credit, including the "Seven Samurai" remake. His rugged looks, coupled with nice-guy demeanor, have earned him enough popularity to spur a meme called 'Shogenism.'
11. Makoto Azuma: Petal to the max
'Flower arrangement' has a staid reputation, but the 33-year-old Azuma is working to change that. Originally a guitarist in a grunge rock band, Azuma quit music to work on his emotive flower and plant-based art. Although his overseas exhibitions have highlighted the artist's neo-Japonesque side, Azuma's recent exhibition at GYRE, Distortion x Flowers, perfectly melded rock aesthetics with the natural world by arranging BOSS distortion pedals in a bed of flowers. If you want Azuma to work your wedding or create a bouquet for a special someone, visit his flower shop Jardins des Fleurs in Ginza.
12. Kayo Ume: Silly shooter
In her pursuit of immediacy and intimacy, the 28-year-old photographer has become the inheritor of the '90s 'girl's photography' boom in Japan. She adds to the genre, however, a devilish sense of humor and eerie ability to catch the world's silly foibles at the perfect instant. Ume's work travels around the world in gallery shows, but performs just as well as stand-alone photographs sent around as Internet gags. There may be more arty, serious young photographers out there, but let's face it, Japanese culture has ceased to be arty and serious. Ume is not a photographer chronicling the zeitgeist -- she is the zeitgeist.
Shizuka Kamei13. Shizuka Kamei: Stellar sideshow
While the DPJ is trying to re-write the rules of Japanese politics, Shizuka Kamei of the People's New Party is on a one-man mission to turn back the clock. Yet as the Banking and Postal Services minister, Kamei gets to further his anti-globalization agenda ... as an official part of the DPJ coalition government. Everything coming out of Kamei's mouth tends to scare international bankers, but maybe they just need to take the time to listen to the amazing songs he sings on his website. The Hatoyamas may be an interesting collision of politics and culture, but Kamei is a circus sideshow unto himself.
14. Yuya Nara: Do righter
As director and creative stylist of SHIMA in Harajuku -- one of the city’s most popular hair salons -- Nara is as much a celebrity as his star clients. Long the 'charismatic' pin-up idol for the young men who adhere to his salon-kei fashion style -- a mix of dressy high fashion and punk casual -- Nara recently moved to the grown-up world by working with "Vogue Hommes Japan" and styling Hollywood celebrities such as Lady Gaga and the Olsen Twins.
15. Mao Asada: Snark-proof sister
Ranked third in the world, 19-year-old Asada is Japan's top ice skater. Japan generally loves its ice skaters, but Asada has become even dearer to the nation's heart thanks to her 'little sister' good looks and cheery attitude. These combine to make her a perfect spokeswoman for commercial interests such as Olympus and Nestlé. There's really nothing to be snarky about here. When Asada wins, we all win.
Yu Darvish16. Yu Darvish: Perfect pitchman
Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui are baseball heroes, but sometimes they seem like superhuman demi-gods living on a higher plane. Twenty-three-year-old half-Iranian, half-Japanese Nippon Ham Fighters pitcher Darvish, however, is hot, hot, hot -- a perfect combination of physical prowess and movie star good looks. He posed shirtless on the cover of "An•An"'s Sex issue in 2007, but before girls could go too crazy, Darvish announced his shotgun marriage to actress Saeko. Despite the heavy drooling of American scouts, Darvish has no plans to relocate anytime soon to the Major Leagues. He's got a family here in Japan.
17. Maki Nishiyama: Ebi-chan 2.0
When model Yuri 'Ebi-chan' Ebihara 'graduated' from ultra-popular fashion magazine "CanCam" in 2008, few thought that her replacement, Maki Nishiyama, would be able to keep together the Oneekei coalition of well-primped girls. But Nishiyama has topped expectations and become the latest heroine for Japan's young OL population. Ebi-chan had her 'Ebi' shrimp burger at McDonalds, but Nishiyama landed the spokeswoman role for McDonald's and Docomo's ID x M collaboration. Sure, Nishiyama is clearly living under Ebi's shadow, but it's good to see brown hair, bright makeup and pink clothes continue to march into a new decade.
18. Yoshikazu Tanaka: Seasons GREEter
Mixi is still the number-one social networking service in Japan, but Tanaka's GREE is hot on its tail. The 32-year-old IT entrepreneur took the risk earlier this year on a heavy promotional campaign for his Internet service, which emphasized the site's multitude of games rather than traditional networking functions. The risk paid off -- GREE recently replaced Mobage Town as number-two in the market. Tanaka hit number 24 on the "Forbes" Japan's richest list this year, with an estimated $850 million in value. With Mixi growth hitting a plateau, Tanaka will have the next year to go head-to-head against his rival and prove that GREE has the better formula for Japan.
Ayaka19. Ayaka: Brave balladeer
For the last decade, the Japanese music scene has been inundated with 'barefoot singing princesses' -- feel-good young women who sing sappy and honest songs of life and love. Partly due to some heavy personal drama, Ayaka has broken out of the pack of generic vocalists. She announced this year that she has Grave's disease and will give up singing at the end of the year. This took the edge off her surprise marriage to beloved hunk Hiro Mizushima. Her recent greatest hits album "Ayaka's History" has been a best-seller, and she will hold an MTV Unplugged session on November 18.
20. Noriko Sakai: Trouble magnet
We know we're supposed to chastise Sakai for her recent drug arrest, but we can't think of a celebrity who has had a greater impact on 2009. In spite of her record label pulling all previous releases off the shelves, she still had the star power to hit number one on iTunes in August. The one-time chaste idol fell on some hard times, what with her pharmaceutical problems and druggie husband and all, but perhaps Sakai's fall has been a visceral metaphor for our own battered recessionary lives. Sakai may do some jail time or she may quietly disappear to study nursing. Either way, we'll be following her every move.
