An Unbeatable Spark: Tokiko Kuala Lumpur

By Kat Joplin 

'She’s like my baby sister.' That’s the sentiment many of us seem to share when it comes to Tokiko Kuala Lumpur, the eternally beaming, perpetually upbeat twenty-four-year-old drag queen of Tokyo.  

I first met Tokiko through my roommate and drag sister, Angel Heart, who was pursuing an MA at Sophia University while Tokiko completed her undergrad. 

'Oh my God, I met another student who does drag,' Angel told me one day. 'She's incredibly funny and super cute, and when she debuts I know all the big-shot queens at AiSOTOPE are going to snap her up. We’ve gotta befriend her now before she’s too cool!' 

As luck would have it, I was able to work with Tokiko quite a bit over the last two years: booking her at our drag shows, performing with her at a drag-and-ballroom reinvention of the opera Dido and Aeneas, participating together in kiki balls. She is almost always recognisable by her feathered and sequined 1920s flapper style dresses and her short bobbed hair, as well as by her athletic dancing and lipsyncs to old Broadway musical numbers. Thus it was a shock and dismay to hear that this young and rising queen would be taking a long-term hiatus from the world of drag following a leukemia diagnosis that had progressed to a more aggressive form. 

'I had worked really hard to live a normal life,' Tokiko tells me and Angel, sitting at our kitchen table one afternoon for our interview. 'I realised that things like this can really happen and that swept away a lot of my fears… I understood, "I can’t live a normal life anyway, so now I don’t need to try!"' 

Knowing that this delightful young queen, who has become such a regular staple in our lives, would be going through so many trials, I was anxious to carve out this time for us to talk, so that I – and the world – could become better acquainted with Tokiko Kuala Lumpur and her background, mindset, and artistic goals.  

Tokiko Kuala Lumpur’s Beginnings 

Tokiko’s drag name partially comes from her place of birth: the large and bustling capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. Tokiko’s father is Japanese, while her mother is Chinese Malaysian; her childhood was a rapidly spinning lantern of different countries as her father’s job transferred him across Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, and China. However, her parents consistently enrolled her in Japanese schools abroad. Tokiko grew up speaking to her mother in English or in what she describes as kindergarten-level Mandarin Chinese, but, she says, 'My identity as a Japanese person is very strong while my Malaysian identity didn’t come into my consciousness very often. That’s part of why I brought it into my drag persona.' 

Tokiko was a colorful and creative child from a young age, enjoying art and dance.  

'I knew I was gay from when I was born, maybe,' she says. 'I played with Barbie when I was in kindergarten. I did my first cross-dressing show when I was in middle school in front of everyone! It was a little bit cosplay but I guess it was my first time in drag.' 

She began coming out to friends in her sophomore year in university after joining a musical theatre club. At that time, Tokiko presented herself as straight, and had become popular with girls. 

'I had a lot of girls confess their love and desire for me all at once,' she says sheepishly. 'It was very stressful... I tried dating women but realised it wouldn’t work at all. Then I started using gay dating apps, and started coming out to people in my club.' 

Tokiko’s embrace of musical theatre, her warm and supportive university friends, and her coming out unfortunately coincided with a massive health crisis when she was diagnosed with leukemia. 

'Early in 2023, I woke up and found my morning wood wouldn’t go away,' Tokiko says, with a mixture of gravity and horrified fascination. 'During the first three hours, I was like "whoa, this is hot but kind of weird." Then it became eight hours, ten. They rushed me to the hospital at that point' (Angel takes a moment to explain to me the extreme dangers of erections that last too long) 'and had to draw blood manually from my penis to make the erection go away. This happened to me twice!

'I had to cancel a date with my boyfriend.'

She pouts. 

'Anyway, this turned out to be the first symptom of chronic leukemia. It was a really unusual presentation, so there’s a chance my dick is being discussed in medical conferences now.' 

Tokiko was lucky in many ways, as her form of leukemia had, at the time, a slow progression: with a course of medicine, she could remain in school and continue her day-to-day life. But the illness and treatment were hard on her body, and it was upsetting to confront her own mortality at only twenty-one.  

'I was very sad when I was diagnosed; so shocked. I realised life can change in a moment. You might pass away and never do what you want to accomplish. That motivated me to start drag.' 

Little Miss Sophian

Within welcoming space of her beloved musical theatre club, Tokiko debuted her first proper drag number, performing a song from Chicago in full costume and makeup. Her show received a standing ovation among the club members. Emboldened, Tokiko began to think about going out on the town as a drag queen. 

Tokiko describes her 2024 debut at AiSOTOPE Lounge as a very smooth and natural progression from her earlier shows in musical theatre: connecting with senior drag queens, acquiring bookings, and marketing the show to potential guests. Established drag queens like Kyouko Yonekura, Bomba Sachiko, and Babie-No-Bitch were especially great mentors to Tokiko as she launched her Shinjuku Ni-chōme career. While still studying full-time at Sophia University, Tokiko began hostessing at venues like Campy! Bar, performing at Uzumaki Z (a show aimed at newer performers), and, of course, joining me and Angel at our drag events. 

Tokiko had a strong sense of her drag character’s style and image from the beginning, embracing Hollywood icons like Marilyn Monroe and Liza Minnelli – individuals who overcame pain and turbulence to give their all on their stage. She is also inspired by older, more traditional drag queen aesthetics: big feathered boas and loud makeup. 

'My senpai always told me I’m very old school and traditional. The influence of ballroom and Drag Race is very strong these days, but I prefer cabaret and lip-syncs for myself.' 

Her name, which was half given to her by a bar mama (who wanted to name her 'Tokiko Grand Bazaar' – a flashy name in keeping with traditional Japanese drag queens), half derived from her place of birth, holds a special place in Tokiko’s heart as a way to better reconnect herself with her Chinese Malaysian roots.  

'Sometimes when I’m out of drag working a bar in Golden Gai, if I just tell customers I’m Malaysian, they’ll immediately ask, "Oh, are you Tokiko Kuala Lumpur?" It’s a very special and identifying name. I think I’m the only person in the world who would choose it!' 

Motivated by a sense of determination, due to her illness as well as her naturally energetic personality, Tokiko’s drag career skyrocketed her first year. By 2025, Tokiko felt ready to take on the next big challenge: entering her university’s pageant. 

Sophia University, Tokiko explains, has been holding a competition called the "Sophian’s Contest" since about 2020, aimed at finding students with charismatic personalities and values that embody the university to then serve as the ‘face’ of the institution. Tokiko was excited to discover that the contest was genderless and decided to apply under her drag queen persona. 

'I had been looking for a way to link my personal activity with my university – I love the culture, my friends, my studies. I wanted to take drag out of just Ni-chōme and spread it to another place,' she explains.  

For about half a year, Tokiko threw herself into the work of the competition: taking videos to promote the university, performing in drag on campus, talking to random students while dressed up.  

'People would stop and talk to me [while I was in drag],' Tokiko says. 'It was their first time seeing something of that nature, and we could make new connections. I also talked about the school’s LGBTQ groups and Diversity and Inclusion regulations.' 

On the final day of the contest, the other contestants gave speeches. Tokiko performed a lip-sync and a dance. 

The student body voted for her in a landslide. 

Tokiko beams remembering the day she won the Sophian’s Contest grand prize.  

'I was very happy to have that chance, and that the students responded to me so well… I found people outside of the university – including high school students interested in attending Sophia, and their parents and guardians – were very enthusiastic and contacted me with questions about the school. LGBTQ and straight people. Some prospective students took pictures with me to have good luck on their exams!' 

She also notes that she was able to raise awareness about leukemia, and that people with similar chronic blood diseases reached out to her. 

Tokiko’s Health Takes a Downturn 

Well into her second year of drag, Tokiko’s life was full to the brim. In school, she was majoring in Global Studies, researching the drag queen business models of Bangkok, and preparing to graduate. In the Gay Town, she was performing, hostessing, appearing in HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns, and taking the stage in music festivals. In the midst of this success however, Tokiko’s chronic leukemia took a turn for the worse. 

'Previously I could live my life normally while taking my medicine, but the nature of a blood disease is that it can worsen at any time,' she says. 'So I’m taking time off of school and drag. I need to reset my body’s ability to make blood cells using anti-cancer drugs, and after that I’ll be able to receive a bone marrow transplant. I’m still feeling healthy, so it’s better to do the procedure now while I’m stronger. 

'I already have a match. I’m viewing the upcoming surgery in a positive way.' 

Tokiko expects to be discharged from the hospital in the summer, but due to being immunocompromised and other lingering aftereffects of the transplant, it will be two full years before she can safely enter clubs again. I’m devastated by the news. 

'But I won’t be quitting drag,' Tokiko says. 'I’ll still post online. I’ll make music videos, post photos, I’ll write. I can focus on new things, so it’s not entirely bad that I’m taking this break. And when I’m healthy enough, I’ll be back.' 

Before her farewell show on March 29th, Tokiko had one final goal to achieve: coming out as a drag queen to her family. 

'It was very sad and frustrating that I couldn’t talk to my parents about drag, or about winning Sophian’s, especially since my dad went to Sophia himself, actually. It was hard for me that he didn’t know how hard I’d been working,' Tokiko says. She paints an eccentric portrait of her Japanese father, a man in his sixties who loves K-Pop, but who is also right wing and a fan of Trump.  

'On the day of the event, I had my younger twin brother secretly escort him there. I just told him, "I'm the director, and I’m performing the main musical number." He probably never expected to be taken to a club in Gay Town full of drag queens!' 

Tokiko’s final drag show, a musical tribute night at AiSOTOPE, was a smashing success. Tokiko was joined on stage by friends both from the drag world and from her theatre work. During the climax of the evening, she took to the stage as Elphaba and brought the venue down with her ground-shaking performance of 'Defying Gravity.'  

'The next day, when I woke up, [my dad] acted like nothing had happened,' Tokiko says. 'So I thought, "Maybe yesterday was all just a dream?" But I mustered up the courage to ask him what he thought and to my surprise, he said, "I’ve found my favourite drag queen." But it wasn’t even me!' 

She bursts out laughing. (Tokiko Sr., apparently, is now a fan of Uzushio Tsubako.) 

'My dad isn’t the type to clearly express his feelings. But I’m starting to think it might be okay,' she continues. 'I was really happy I could introduce him to Gay Town and to my drag queen coworkers, too.' 

Dreams of the Future 

Tokiko’s next task will be to focus on her health, to undergo her transplant, and to get well again. Next spring, she will graduate Sophia. After that, she hopes she will get a good job that won’t pull her away from Tokyo too much. Gay Town will feel a little dimmer while Tokiko’s bright spark is on hiatus, but the community as a whole is looking forward to her return and rooting for her as she takes on this next challenge.  

'Of course, once I’m back on my feet, I want to host events again. Chicago Night, Liza Minnelli Night, Rocky Horror Night… so many events I want to host, shows I want to put on, costumes I want to wear. Honestly there’s just so much I want to do,' she says, still seated at our kitchen table.  

'I feel very gifted by being queer – if I wasn’t queer, I wouldn’t have these options to be a drag queen, or these interesting ideas. Queerness has given me powers of the imagination.' 

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Kat Joplin is a Tokyo and London-based journalist and creative writer. Their articles have appeared in Gay Times, QueerAF, and The Japan Times, and their creative fiction and nonfiction in Beestung, Bloodletter Magazine, and The Examined Life Journal. They were a contributing author for 2024 book Planet Drag by Quarto Publishing. As a drag queen, they perform internationally under the name Le Horla. 

Find more of Kat's work at KatJoplin.net, or on Instagram: @kat_dearu

Follow Tokiko on Instagram: @tokiko_kl_d and Angel Heart on Instagram: @angel.heart.queen

All photographs provided by the author