[zeroryouko]

Wow, thanks for sharing your insight! I never would have guessed there was so much depth to the physical part of her performance.

I think you're quite right to point out Ringo's exploration of her identity through her work - she has explored Eastern vs. Western identity all the way back through MM. But it strikes me that she's also spent a lot of time exploring her identity as a woman - in terms of what that means in comparison to being male, and in terms of what being a woman means in Japanese society.

This makes me wonder if her Kouhaku performances, and her inclusion of Aya and Bambi in them, are not meant to be a bit subversive on some level. Don't get me wrong, Aya and Bambi are certainly more than talented enough to merit their inclusion on that basis alone - but do you ever get the sense that it's about more than that? I somewhat glibly implied in a previous post that she might be doing it simply to shock a conservative audience (which, IMO, does have a value beyond mere impetuousness). But maybe there's more to it - maybe she's trying to send a message about accepting people wherever they may fall on the spectrum - east or west, male or female, homosexual or heterosexual. Or, maybe she's trying to say something about what women can accomplish on their own merits and without male intervention.

Maybe I'm reading too much into it - but if she's used the blandness of the Coke song to sneak a message like that into so public a forum, then my hat is off to her.

I still want a version with real vocals though!