Have you ever looked at the current crop of Johnny’s and female idol groups streaming out of Japan and thought that their high energy hair styles and in-your-face costumes were a little genki for your tastes? Have you ever wondered, “what would they look like as samurai or geisha?” Look no further than this video showcasing the style and class of the 19th century!
Take a look at the video after the jump and see what the rest of the world thinks of Japan’s stoic idols.
Recently on RocketNews24 we’ve shown you the “idols”, both male and female, of the Bakamatsu (1853-1867) and Meiji period (1868-1912). With a top 10 samurai list here, and a geisha retrospective here. While both lists provide a thorough look at each group, there hasn’t been a compilation that was as easy as playing “hot or not” until this one.
Featuring samurai such as Isamu Kondo, Toshizo Hijikata, Kaishu Katsu, Ryoma Sakamoto, Toshimichi Okubo, Shinsaku Takasugi, and other heroic representatives of the Bakumatsu and feudal warriors of Satsuma and Choshu, the pictures capture the rugged handsomeness of the samurai.
Enter the ladies! Iconic beauties of the time included Oryo, Umeko Ito, Ryoko Mutsu as well as other geisha, maiko and wives of famous politicians.
Of course, as with anything on the internet, the world gets to comment on the idols of old, and the responses have been overwhelmingly positive.
“Here are the beauties of 100 years ago. Even looking at them now, they are too beautiful.” – Taiwan
“They are all wonderful pictures.” – Germany
“Great men. Therefore a great country. They didn’t realize what kind of heritage Japan had until they lost it in WW2.” – United States
“Being able to see the beauty of the past is truly a wonderful thing.” – Saudi Arabia
“The last picture is especially wonderful!” – Liechtenstein
“The Japanese women shouldn’t wear (Western) clothes. The women in kimono look much nicer and especially feminine. They are so beautiful :)” – Germany
“Japan is a great country like no other. I respect Japan from the bottom of my heart.” – United States
“Shibusawa Heikuro was really handsome!” – Chile
“Photos taken of old Japan. Everyone should take a look!” – Holland
“Super cool! I’m really interested in this now :)” – Egypt
“Very nice, great to get an idea of what people in Japan looked like over 100 years ago. Some of the samurai looked really dangerous, although in reality they all were ><” – United States
Many of the commenters were intrigued by the musical pieces chosen for the video, saying “it’s a complete match to the samurai image.” I also can’t seem to identify the source of the songs, so if you know be sure to comment and let us know what you think of Japan’s Bakumatsu beauties!
Source: Kaigai no Hano
Images: YouTube