Just ignore the fact that they all look like girls... 
rather, concentrate on their music.....I love how unique their music sounds....sorry, i don't have any samples to share with you guys, but if you go to this website, D:vd, and check out all the different links there, you should be able to find some mp3 rotation sites that have some Kagrra, songs.
QUOTE
Formed in October 1998, Kagrra was originally attached to the Key Party label as CROW. They formed a sort of twin band with another newcomer to the scene at that time, also under Key Party, Lar~Mia, and were known as "black feathers" (kuroi tori, literally "black bird" = appearance of a crow) and "white feathers" (shiroi tori) respectively. CROW left Key Party by the first quarter of 1999 and joined PS Company as Kagrra in the second quarter the same year. Hence, CROW and Kagrra are basically the same band, only having changed their name and label. However, following their major debut on 1 January 2004, they will now be known as Kagrra, (with the comma).
The name "Kagrra" is actually a twisted spelling of "kagura", an ancient sacred music and dance in Japan. "Kagura" really means "the place of god (or kami-sama)" even though the kanji suggests that the name means "the music of god". You can find more information about the original kagura here.
The concept of CROW was the same as Kagrra -- ancient classical Japanese aesthetics. The members themselves base their costumes and concepts on different periods in Japanese history and which ever period they adopt varies with each piece of music. As the history of Japan is far and long, there is a wide range of concepts that Kagrra adopts. As of mid 1999, Kagrra adopted "nothingness" (mu) as yet another theme in addition to their original concept. The idea of "nothingness" itself has actually been a rather popular motif in Japanese literary works and I would say that it is quite closely tied with the concept of "aware" as well. It is also the basis of some major religions in Japan, such as the Buddhism Zen, where "zen" literally means trance. Whilst Kagrra,'s themes and concepts tend to change over time, their core concept generally always centres that of ancient classical Japanese aesthetics.
The vocalist, Isshi has often expressed great interest in Murasaki Shikibu's Genji Monogatari -- a collection of classical literature written during the Heian era. This period in Japanese history is more or less known as "Classical Japanese" (ie, Heian together with the Nara period). The Heian era is also often known as the Golden Age of Japan (think China's Tang Dynasty! Incidentally, they took place at about the same time in history!) because art and literature flourished like never before and peace prevailed for at least four centuries from around the 8th to 12th century. Japan during this period stressed heavily on a courtly value known as "miyabi" (something like the art of appreciating "beauty". for more help, think "gentillese" but with a completely different value system) and "aware" (a general sense of sadness and pity because of the inherently ephemereal nature of "beauty" and other things).
Isshi's great interest in Japanese ancient history and literature and is strongly reflected in his works. He refers to his songs as containing a self-created story each. During the Heian era, the language in use was mainly Old Japanese (think Geoffrey Chaucer and Old English! or better still, Chinese and the Tang poems!) and Isshi actually wrote several songs in Old Japanese! Women during the Heian era were only allowed to write in Japanese whilst men could write in Chinese. The Japanese language was somewhat regarded as "lower class" in relation to Chinese -- the formal language for official documents -- and it was only used in everyday life as a verbal means of communication, or in diaries and other less formal documents. As a result, the greatest literature ever written were mostly by women, probably the most famous being Murasaki Shikibu and her Genji Monogatari. These literary styles were emulated by many later, men and women alike. As a result, a male writer adopting a "feminine" style of writing was not considered "sissy" at all if ever; it was good because it displays his level of sensitivity, as likened to that of women, to the nuances of language, the world and other issues. In fact, a "feminine" style of writing was considered a trait inherited by all Japanese writers. I believe that is why, along with the attempt to reflect realism, Isshi adopts a female persona in many of his songs.
source: http://kagrra.forbidden-lover.net/
The name "Kagrra" is actually a twisted spelling of "kagura", an ancient sacred music and dance in Japan. "Kagura" really means "the place of god (or kami-sama)" even though the kanji suggests that the name means "the music of god". You can find more information about the original kagura here.
The concept of CROW was the same as Kagrra -- ancient classical Japanese aesthetics. The members themselves base their costumes and concepts on different periods in Japanese history and which ever period they adopt varies with each piece of music. As the history of Japan is far and long, there is a wide range of concepts that Kagrra adopts. As of mid 1999, Kagrra adopted "nothingness" (mu) as yet another theme in addition to their original concept. The idea of "nothingness" itself has actually been a rather popular motif in Japanese literary works and I would say that it is quite closely tied with the concept of "aware" as well. It is also the basis of some major religions in Japan, such as the Buddhism Zen, where "zen" literally means trance. Whilst Kagrra,'s themes and concepts tend to change over time, their core concept generally always centres that of ancient classical Japanese aesthetics.
The vocalist, Isshi has often expressed great interest in Murasaki Shikibu's Genji Monogatari -- a collection of classical literature written during the Heian era. This period in Japanese history is more or less known as "Classical Japanese" (ie, Heian together with the Nara period). The Heian era is also often known as the Golden Age of Japan (think China's Tang Dynasty! Incidentally, they took place at about the same time in history!) because art and literature flourished like never before and peace prevailed for at least four centuries from around the 8th to 12th century. Japan during this period stressed heavily on a courtly value known as "miyabi" (something like the art of appreciating "beauty". for more help, think "gentillese" but with a completely different value system) and "aware" (a general sense of sadness and pity because of the inherently ephemereal nature of "beauty" and other things).
Isshi's great interest in Japanese ancient history and literature and is strongly reflected in his works. He refers to his songs as containing a self-created story each. During the Heian era, the language in use was mainly Old Japanese (think Geoffrey Chaucer and Old English! or better still, Chinese and the Tang poems!) and Isshi actually wrote several songs in Old Japanese! Women during the Heian era were only allowed to write in Japanese whilst men could write in Chinese. The Japanese language was somewhat regarded as "lower class" in relation to Chinese -- the formal language for official documents -- and it was only used in everyday life as a verbal means of communication, or in diaries and other less formal documents. As a result, the greatest literature ever written were mostly by women, probably the most famous being Murasaki Shikibu and her Genji Monogatari. These literary styles were emulated by many later, men and women alike. As a result, a male writer adopting a "feminine" style of writing was not considered "sissy" at all if ever; it was good because it displays his level of sensitivity, as likened to that of women, to the nuances of language, the world and other issues. In fact, a "feminine" style of writing was considered a trait inherited by all Japanese writers. I believe that is why, along with the attempt to reflect realism, Isshi adopts a female persona in many of his songs.
source: http://kagrra.forbidden-lover.net/
