Ever since the word “idol” (aidoru) entered the language in 1971, Japan has had a weakness for kawaii female idols. There are several categories of idols to be found in Japan, including JPOP idols whose music reflects the era they live in as well as more specific types, such as “sports idols” (cute female athletes like the female soccer team Nadeshiko Japan), “Akiba-kei idols” (who appeal to otaku through cosplay or knowledge of anime and manga), the AV variety, and so on. A major segment of the Japanese idol universe is made up of “gravure” idols, from the French word photogravure, which refers to an old printing process for photographs, though the word essentially means “sexy bikini idol” today. Over the years one of our favorite cute idols has been the ultra-kawaii Yuko Ogura, who has brought us many warm smiles. This month Yukorin (her nickname) announced that she’d gotten married to her hairstylist in a private ceremony in Hawaii, and is subsequently retiring from the idol world. We wish her lots of happiness! (J-List has many awesome gravure idol photobooks and 2012 calendars on the site by the way, including Yuko Ogura’s “sayonara” photobook.)
“Happy Wedding” to gravure idol Yuko Ogura!
