Visual Kei has its origins on the Japanese stages. Musicians from the JPop and JRock scenes began in the early 1980s to adapt their looks to western models of the "New Romantic" or "New Wave" scene. They were influenced by bands like Kiss, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Visage or even David Bowie, mixed this style with national and traditional influences from Japanese Kabuki theatre and created a whole new style of their own on Japan's stages. JPop and JRock, by the way, are just the Japanese versions of ordinary pop and rock music, but - unlike their idols - usually performed with Japanese lyrics.
The followers of the Visual Kei scene copy the style of the musicians who have consistently developed the influences from back then. It is therefore one of the few Japanese scenes that also has its own musical background. Today, Visual Kei is subject to countless Western influences and often seems like a patchwork culture from all the subcultures of this planet. The V-Rock Festival, one of the most popular events for JPop and JRock music in Japan, has been attracting around 50 bands from some 49 countries to Japan since 2009, celebrated by thousands of Visual Kei fans.