At the 38th Mynavi Tokyo Girls Collection 2024 SPRING/SUMMER (“Mynavi TGC 2024 S/S”), one of the largest fashion festivals in history, Kansai Junior Hikaru Hakui, along with Shonen Ninja’s Nao Oriyama made an appearance as the secret guests.
The performance was based on contemporary dance, something both of the talents are incredibly talented at, but it soon also transformed into various ways of expressing themselves through their craft. Overflowing with narrative akin to watching a scene from a movie, it became a captivating and impactful three minutes where one couldn’t take their eyes off for a moment. The +81 STUDIO Channel also uploaded a teaser of the duo’s contemporary dancing, produced by Ohkura Tadayoshi from SUPER EIGHT.
Following the show’s end, Hikaru’s Instagram page opened, and the young talent has already gained a massive number of followers in a short time.
They have a story highlight already, introducing them to the world! Among the things in their introduction, singing, dancing and fashion are their interests and they also share the two TikToks (see linked below) that have gained quite the attention since being posted.
Hikaru Hakui (伯井太陽)
Born: February 10th, 2011.
Height: 160 cm
“I will do my best so that many people can see my personality, so please support me.”
Before joining the agency as a Junior, Hikaru has won numerous dance competitions and has attracted attention because of their dance skills and genderless presence.
They joined the agency on January 28th, 2023, making them quite the fresh Junior in the sense of entrance dates, but they are already accustomed to the spotlight on the stage. They are quickly gaining interest from various media, too.
Earlier, Hikaru was also featured in the popular fashion, beauty, and lifestyle magazine ViVi, and inspired by their cool demeanor on SNS, the passionate offer from the ViVi editorial team led to their confirmed appearance in the March issue.
“And, appearing on social media with self-applied makeup and a personal fashion style, often conveying their motto ‘GALMIND‘, they also reveal a strong and confident side of themselves.” – ViVi 2023.01
They were also featured in anan’s Beauty+ Special no.2375, showcasing the wonders of makeup and their motto “GALMIND.” In the interview with anan, they talk about how dance contests have led to self-discovery, how they’ve taught themselves makeup a few years ago but also learning from their older sister who’s also a dancer.
“Makeup and hairstyle are very important because I feel like it makes it easier to express what’s inside me that is invisible to the naked eye,” Hikaru said as they explain more how they try to experiment with different ways of expressing themselves through makeup and fashion. “Sometimes I look back on it later and feel that it looks strange. But I try to think that if I thought it was the right thing to do at the time, then it was the right thing to do.”
Even though diversity has become more common, it still takes determination to actually live up to one’s individuality.
They also talk about meeting an incredible gal (gyaru) at a dance event who told them, “Don’t worry about what other people think. Just be yourself.” Since that encounter, they try to say, “Always ready to be GALMINDed!“ (e.g. “Always ready to be myself!”), as many gals often have a strong sense of sticking to their principles and they want to follow that.
When asked about their current situation in the entertainment industry, where they have been able to express their individuality on stage and such, they replied, “I am glad that I have more places where I can express myself. I think there are many people who support me even in places I can’t see, so I want to remember to be grateful.”
With unique charisma, a GALMIND, and modesty, Hikaru wants to communicate to everyone that even though the times have changed, they think many are still troubled by their individuality and gender. They hope that by communicating their own experiences, they can help as many people as possible to live their lives in their own way.
By opening their own Instagram, we may be able to see a new path open for them to walk on, a platform to openly express themselves to their heart’s content, give confidence to others, and hopefully be the inspiration to others they aspire to be. Hikaru is the new generation of “GALMIND,” and their journey on Instagram will only take them even further to achieve their goals.
Check out Juniors on their various social media platforms along with their fellow Juniors!
YouTube | X (Twitter) | X (Twitter)(English) | Instagram | TikTok | Official site
Note: As the Japanese language does not use pronouns in the same way as English, and it has not been confirmed exactly which pronouns Hikaru prefers/goes by, we do not know the correct pronouns. But to respect their alleged genderless presence and desire to express themselves freely, we have decided to go with “they/them.”
One thought on “Kansai Junior Hikaru Hakui opens Instagram!”