Tag Archives: TV

Famous Japanese cross-dresser

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Cross-dressing (the act of wearing clothes commonly associated with the opposite sex) is not something European people usually associate with Japanese culture. Imagine my surprise when I saw a huge guy in women’s clothing on Japanese television for the first time.

And it’s no exception, I often see this guy and other guys dressed like women on Japanese tv. Having mistaken a Japanese lady for a man in the past (see post about Japanese New Year’s Eve show), I first confirmed that this is in fact a guy dressed as a woman, before blogging about it. Can someone tell me his/ her name?

cross-dressing Japan

Japanese cross-dresser on TV

Japanese cross-dresser on tv

This guy/ lady is very popular because apparently he/ she is very funny and witty

Japanese New Year’s Eve TV show ‘Kōhaku Uta Gassen’

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It was quite exciting to spend New Year in Japan. I was very curious about Japanese New Year rituals and we tried participating in as many as possible.

Our Japanese New Year experience began on New Year’s Eve with a popular TV show called ‘Kōhaku Uta Gassen’ (on the channel NHK). It features spectacular performances by Japan’s most famous music artists, as well as some guest appearances by foreign celebrities. It is a legendary tv show and last year was the 62nd edition.

NHK Kohaku presenters

NHK Kōhaku presenters

Jackie Chan on NHK Kohaku

Jackie Chan on NHK Kōhaku

Lady Gaga on NHK Kohaku

Lady Gaga on NHK Kōhaku (live from New York)

There were more traditional performances: (unfortunately blocked by YouTube I think)

Spectacular performances by J-Pop bands:

And even a male singer (at least I hope he/she is male) in a big golden dress:

I found out later that this singer is female (see comments). My apologies, whoever you are!

Even later I found out she is called Akiko Wada.

(Thank you for the infomation Yuko and Ayako.)

The rest of our Japanese New Year adventure is for another post!

Happy Tree Friends

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When I was in the 100yen shop the other day, I saw a woman wearing a ‘Happy Tree Friends’ T-shirt.

Happy Tree Friends T-shirt

Happy Tree Friends T-shirt

I wonder if she actually knows what ‘Happy Tree Friends’ is. For those of you who don’t know either: it’s a cartoon about cuddly little animals who die gruesome deaths. It started as an internet phenomenon but is now widely succesful and even appears on tv in some countries.

Happy Tree Friends

The Happy Tree Friends

This lady probably just thought ‘Aw, what a nice T-shirt. It has a picture of cute animals on it and the words ‘happy’ and ‘friends’.’ But actually the show is extremely violent (a bit too much for me) and definitely not suited for children. If you want to see one of the cartoons, click here.