Big Sound Temple

The writing top-right down says 'Best!'

The 'Empress of J-Pop', Ayumi Hamasaki, is 31 today. Ayumi – or just plain old ‘Ayu’ to her legion of fans – moved from Fukuoka to Tokyo whilst still in her early teens to pursue her singing, acting and modelling careers.

Her albums went on to sell millions, with Hamasaki’s 2008 single – the uniquely-entitled Mirrorcle World – making the J-pop starlet the first and, indeed, so far only Japanese female artist to have had a number-one single every year for a decade.

There has been a price to pay for all this achievement, however: in January 2008, Hamasaki revealed that frequent performing had caused her to develop severe tinnitus in her left ear. She continues to be featured on billboards, in magazine advertisements and television commercials, advertising everything from canned coffee to mobile phones.

Here's Ayu strutting her proverbial at a recent live performance. Enjoy: