Wotagei Glossary

Wotagei ヲタ芸

A dance using lightsticks or glowsticks. Originated in the 1980s in Japan as a cheering style for idols, but evolved into its own art, sport, and entertainment form.

Wota ヲタ

An umbrella term referring to the broader subculture, including calls, mix, cheering styles, and general idol-fan/anime subculture activities.

Many people confuse wota with wotagei, but they are not the same. Wota refers to the larger idol fan culture, while wotagei is the specific dance style using glowsticks.

Lumegei リウム芸

Short for Cyalumegei. Interchangeable term for wotagei.

Chikagei 地下芸

The original oshi dance from which lumegei (and wotagei) evolved.

The key difference is that it does not use glowsticks or lightsticks. Performed mostly at underground idol venues (chika idol scenes), focusing on dynamic body movements without lighting tools.

Otagei オタ芸

Interchangeable term with chikagei

Anikuragei アニクラ芸

Term for some song-specific moves people do in anikura

This was actually used by DJ Caesar to refer to Hamtaro Circle

※ Many terms in the wotagei scene are interchangeable, and meanings often vary depending on the community. Both the Lumegei and Chikagei communities tend to claim the term “Wotagei”, so it’s very important to pay attention to context and do your research before attending an event labeled as “wotagei”.

Cyalume サイリウム

General term for chemical glowsticks. Specifically, a trademarked brand name.

Over time, the name “Cyalume” became a generic term for any glowstick, much like how Band-Aid is used for all bandages. In wotagei culture, it refers broadly to any handheld chemical lightstick used for performance.

Waza 技

Technique, skill, move, or motion used in wotagei choreography.

Typically structured around 32 beats, but can vary. See Drive and Wazaren, esp. for chikagei

Sabi Waza サビ技

A technique or sequence performed during the sabi (chorus or climax) part of a song.

Oriwaza オリ技

An original waza or self-created move. Refers to a move or sequence that a performer claims to have personally invented.

Commonly used when introducing a new motion or choreography. Example: “I've never seen that waza. Is that your oriwaza?” / “Yes, it's my oriwaza. I just made it last weekend.”

Honke 本家

The person who holds the IP or rights to a waza. Each waza is considered a kind of property, and the honke is the person who currently has ownership or formal authority over that waza.

Most of the time, the creator of the waza is the honke, but not all honke are the original creators. The title can be transferred. When the creator decides to inherit the waza to someone else, the person receiving it becomes the new honke. Important note: Not all honke are creators, but all creators are honke.

Uchishi 打ち師

A practitioner or performer of wotagei.

It literally means “hitting master.”

Wazaren 技連

A continuation or sequence of sabi waza (chorus skill). In chikagei, wazaren are often given their own name to refer to a specific chain of moves.

The wazaren project is known for showcasing series of sabi waza in structured, artistic sequences.

UO

Short for Ultra Orange, a specific brand and color of glowstick known for being extremely bright. Originally referred only to the orange color glowstick.

The brightest and most commonly used glowstick among wotagei performers. In Japan, people usually say Cyalume, but in Western wotagei culture, UO is more common. Over time, it became a generic term for all glowsticks, regardless of color. Example usage: “Can you pass me that purple UO?” / “You mean the purple Cyalume?” / “You know what I mean.” It is customary to use UOs during really hype moments regardless of the song.

Genba 現場

The live venue or event space.

Term usage example: “I am at the venue”. “Please go to the genba chat instead of general chat.”

Renban 連番

When two people perform wotagei together in a coordinated sequence.

Typically refers to a pair performance. It’s rare to call it renban if more than two people are involved.

Stardust スターダスト

When a performer loses grip of their glowstick or lightstick, causing it to fly out of their hand either intentionally or unintentionally.

Usually happens by accident, but can also be done intentionally for dramatic effect, especially during the ending of a choreography in group performances. The term likely comes from the image of glowing “stars” scattering.

Miss ミス

When a performer makes a mistake while executing a waza (technique).

Commonly used when posting wotagei videos. The performer lists the move name and adds “(miss)” to indicate an error. Example: waza: thundersnake (miss). This shows transparency and humility while sharing progress or practice footage.

Kai 改

A variant or edited version of an existing move.

Commonly used as a suffix (e.g., “Toranomon-kai”).

Kai 廻

廻 means spinning. But at the same time, it’s also pronounced “kai”, just like 改, which means variant (see above). So it’s a wordplay that Latte came up with.

Example usage: “Have you seen Latte’s new Narmaya Kai? It has even more circles than the original Narmaya!”

Kei 系

Category or family.

Used to classify families of certain wazas. (e.g., “mon-kei”)

Hasei 派生

Derivative waza within a family.

These are wazas based off an existing waza that contains a unique element of the waza. e.g. Moroha derivatives always have the squatting motion from Moroha no Tsurugi.

Torch トーチ

Twirling-style wotagei move, characterized by fast rotational movements, adapted into wotagei from poi

Shiranui is one of the most recognizable torch-style waza in wotagei.

Shaku 尺

Chikagei term for measurement of the number of standard sabi waza lengths (32 beats). e.g. 1.5 shaku waza = 48 beat waza.

A lot of Drives are non-integer shakus, also called irregular or special shaku. Astro shaku = 2.5/1.5 length (it varies person to person) as it's based on the length of Astrodrive which is 2.5 shaku, but can be canceled 1.5 shaku in if the song doesn't fit.

Drive ドライブ

Chikagei term originally from Reiji Souma for wazas built around Dragoon Spear to fill choruses that aren't a whole number of standard wazas. But a lot of wazas > 1 shaku (32 beats) are also called Drives.

It seems that Reiji Souma only considers it a Drive waza if it contains the first 24 beats of Dragoon Spear. Under this definition, not every waza with Drive in the name is a Drive.

Shiki 式

Chikagei term that means Style. Usually combined with a person's name to refer to their unique version, e.g. Amane Shiki Denpa Snake.

Tokushuu Snake 特殊スネーク

Chikagei term that means Special Snake.

It's a general catch-all term for most chikagei wazas that are 32-beats and may contain elements of the basic chikagei wazas.

Gotouchi snake ご当地スネーク

Chikagei term that means Regional Snake. A subset of Special Snakes.

Usually contains references to cultural elements of the region

Sousaku Dance 創作ダンス

Chikagei term that means Creative Dance.

These refer to wazas that are rooted more in regular dance elements than wotagei, e.g. Indo Dance. But it's not a hard separation.

Tobipo 跳びポ / 飛びポ

Jumping Point. A specific point in songs where everyone is expected to jump together. Often done with a short hop before the actual jump.

This is usually where there's a slight pause in the music/energy. Often right before the last chorus. This is often done at anikura/lives.

Bu 部

Club. Refers to people who like to do and promote specific actions for songs. e.g. Gundam Epyon Club or Wao Club.

Sometimes it can refer to opposing factions, like the Gundam Epyon Club vs the Anti-Gundam Epyon Club.

Anikura アニクラ

Portmanteau of anisong clubbing. Refers to a clubbing event where most of the music is anisong/otaku related.

These days a lot of anikura are hosted in non-clubbing venues like parks or gyms. These are sometimes called outdoor or "sports festival" anikura and have a distinct, more physical aspect to traditional clubbing.