Aya Kawasaki goes full fundoshi for autumn festival photo shoot ahead of gravure retirement
In the November 7th issue of the weekly manga magazine Young Jump, gravure idol (gradol) Aya Kawasaki has posed for a memorable shoot as part of her final countdown to retirement from the industry.
The shoot has an autumn festival theme, dressing 28-year-old Kawasaki up in a very skimpy fundoshi outfit and robe. Loved for her sharp butt and long legs, the images pay tribute to Aya’s best assets with loving care. Given the recent bout of typhoony and rainy weather we have been having in Tokyo, we suspect the shoot was done several weeks ago or outside the capital somewhere.
There is also meant to be a full photo book out soon as Aya’s final major release.
The 52-cm-waist idol will formally retire from gravure in March 2020, though this date was chosen surely because it must be when her contract with her agency runs out (contracts in Japan, like the fiscal year, often run to the end of March). We have hopes, then, that Aya will return under a new professional name with a different agency. As far as we know, she hasn’t suffered from a decline in popularity that should prompt her agency to end her contract, though the gradol scene is infamously crowded and ruthless — and, to be blunt, Aya is edging toward 30, which means jukujo territory for idols of her ilk and a whole other kind of image to the one she has projected in her career so far.
But this leads us to another question… What is it about retiring top gravure idols right now? Have we arrived at a changing of the guard?
Top gradols Yuka Ogura and Rena Takeda have both announced their graduation from major gravure shoots for magazines in various ways.
Who’s next?!
