An open letter to Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

Dear Madam,

It’s difficult for me to quantify Japanese culture. Being American, the history, vales, even metaphysics of that are generally understood in Japan are essentially alien to me. I’ve never even set foot in your lovely country. To that end, I find it easy to imagine that when I enjoy a piece of Japanese culture, whether it be tempura rolls from the local grocery store, or a Akira Kurosawa movie, there’s always an element of cultural divide.
Regardless, I feel like your music, and music videos, hold a beautiful, sincere, and unmistakably human element, that no amount of cultural barrier could ever stop me from adoring it. I speak primarily of your song Tsukematsukeru, which I heard for the first time about a week ago. While I don’t understand a word of the song (I read somewhere it’s about fake eyelashes) it makes me happy the same way a surprise visit from an old friend would. The tone of the song is so simply, unquestioningly joyous, that it brings the listener back to a more innocent time, when the unspoiled beauty of childhood was so strong that it made perfect sense to be emotionally direct the way your music is. It’s a level of depth few artists are ever able to achieve (Charles Schulz comes to mind).
To that end, I have to wonder how your music is taken in Japan. Do your Japanese listeners enjoy the same magic that I do? Is your extravagance as lovable in its home? Do the pretentious snobs of Japan look at you with the same disdain I give for most American pop?
I wonder, very seriously, if this is the cultural divide speaking, but what I love about your music, and your ostensible attitude toward life, is that it has no ego. This isn’t something one is likely to find on American radio. For example, the token exceptional female vocalist of recent years in America has been Lady Gaga. While I appreciate what she does, and I don’t mean to belittle it, in her music, in her videos, and in her personal style, she makes it very clear that shes too cool for anyone else. In your music, I don’t hear the sting of cynical trendyness. Rather, I hear the fun-loving exclamations of someone who’s happy to be in love with what she’s doing, and that moves me.
Then I begin to wonder, am I looking too much into the cultural barrier thing. I can’t tell if Japanese audiences feel the same way I do about your music, but I also need not care how they take it. There’s no shame in enjoying one’s own understanding of art. Indeed, such enjoyment helps art move forward in no small way. I’ve heard it said that opera began as an Italian misinterpretation of how ancient Greek theater was originally performed.
I think too much. Your work has inspired me, and I wish we could all love life the way you seem to. Thank you for being you. Your art, your style, your passion; thank you.

Your fan,
Charles Peckham