Japanese Gravure Idol Nene Matsuoka

Meet the grand prize winner of the 2009 Gravure JAPAN gravure idol contest, Nene Matsuoka (松岡音々).  The Hiroshima Prefecture native is definitely looking sexy and pretty in the red bikini…I’m sure we’ll see more of her in the future.  Nene just turned 21 earlier this month and has appeared in Japanese fashion magazines such as ViVi, CanCam and PINKY.

Gravure Japan Gravure Idol Contest Bonus

What would you do if all of a sudden these 16 cute and sexy young girls showed up on your doorstep?

Here are some group shots of the 16 semi-finalists.  Gravure JAPAN is the result of collaboration between Shukan Young Jump (週刊ヤングジャンプ) and Shukan Playboy (週刊プレイボーイ).  This new gravure idol contest is run as part of the celebration for the 30 year anniversary of Young Jump comic.

In case you haven’t figured out, the “Y” and “J” stand for Young Jump.

Gravure Japan Gravure Idol Contest

As all of you Japanese gravure idol lovers know by now, Japan is the mecca of factories that churn out cute, young idols.  To combat the famous Miss Magazine (ミスマガジン) gravure idol contest put on by Japanese comic publisher Shukan Young Magazine (週刊ヤングマガジン), this year rival publisher Shukan Young Jump (週刊ヤングジャンプ) teamed up with Shukan Playboy (週刊プレイボーイ) and produced their own gravure idol search called Gravure Japan (グラビアJAPAN).

Confusing?  Yeah, I thought so.

Gravure Japan finalists (from L to R): Yuko Shimizu, Nana Seino, Nene Matsuoka, Rin Aoi and Aya Takigawa

Gravure Japan started out with 1200 girls applying.  100 entrants were kept and later 16 girls were selected.  Then the number was further narrowed down to 5 finalists.  The top Grand Prix prize went to Nene Matsuoka (松岡音々).  The part of her body the 21 year old is most proud of is the mole on her neck.  Nene is practicing karate but is still a white belt.  She said, “I’m thrilled to be standing here and I’ll work hard to have a photobook out.”

Runner-up included Rin Aoi (蒼井凛) who is the youngest of the group at just 13 years of age, as well as Yuko Shimizu (清水ゆう子-20), Aya Takigawa (滝川綾-22) and Nana Seino (清野菜名-14).

I don’t know about you guys but I’d much rather watch this contest unfold than a minute of that god awful American Idol!  What kind of “idol” are they talking about exactly?!

1st Row (L to R): Nana Seino and Rin Aoi

2nd Row (L to R): Yuko Shimizu, Nene Matsuoka and Aya Takigawa

Japanese Gravure Idol Konan, Part 2

Japanese gravure idol Konan belongs to One Eight Promotion (ワンエイトプロモーション) and is roommates with Japanese lingerie supermodel hottie Yuko Ishida.  From ‘05 to ‘07 she was working the circuit as a Super GT race queen!

Japanese Gravure Idol Konan

Today we’ve got Japanese gravure idol Konan being playful on a floating bed by the pool.  The 23 year old Osaka native got her start in showbiz by being selected as a member of Shukan Young Jump’s high school uniform collection, or “Seikore” (週刊ヤングジャンプ 制コレ) back in ‘01.

Japanese Idol Actress Erika Toda x Up To Boy

Hot Japanese idol and actress Erika Toda (戸田恵梨香) in the house today. The mega popular former U-19 idol recently left that status when she turned 20 in August. Erika is from the beautiful port city of Kobe and got her start in showbiz by entering Shukan Young Jump magazine’s annual “Seikore” (制コレ, or All Japan High School Girl Uniform Collection) contest when she was 15. Some other Japanese celebrities who also entered in the contest that same year include gravure idol Maki Horikiri, fashion model Yurie Tashiro and gravure idol Yukie Kawamura who was the runner-up.