Japanese Music in Culture

Deanna Fries
COMP 106
April 13, 2010

Japanese Music in Culture

Japanese commercials consist of up-and-coming stars trying to sell people this and that. The songs in commercials are sung by the most popular groups and singers so more people will want to buy the product, even if the only reason is “because so-and-so sang in the commercial.” It would be an understatement to say that music merely affects aspects of the lives of people of Japan because the music industry is in their everyday lives.

One person who holds a large spot in the entertainment industry is a man named, Johnny Kitagawa. This influential man owns a talent agency called Johnny’s Jimusho, or Johnny’s Entertainment. The groups that Johnny creates are usually “male stars who sing, dance, act and make him millions of dollars along the way.” (Sims 1). The boy bands owned my Johnny’s Jimusho are affectionately called Johnny’s. These boys start out at a very young age because their families send them away to Johnny Kitagawa to become famous. They do not get to become a full fledged boy band until they are older, but they do get to have appearances on television shows and as back-up dancers for their senior Johnny’s.

Not only does Mr. Kitagawa control this company, but he also has a tight grip on the media industry. Johnny controls “what newspapers, magazines and television programs report about his clients and himself.” (Sims 1) Basically, if Johnny does not want them to say it, they will not. According to Masaru Nashimoto, an entertainment reporter ''If you're a television station and you don't comply with Johnny's Jimusho's wishes then all the popular stars will be withdrawn from your programs, your variety shows (talk shows) will not get any interviews with celebrities, and your ratings will plummet, the same thing goes for publications.'' (Sims 1) In the 28th July edition of Japanese magazine Shuukan Gendai, there were photos of one of Johnny’s top selling artist, Ohno Satoshi of Arashi, allegedly smoking marijuana in a Karaoke bar. Johnny Kitagawa as well as Ohno Satoshi denied these allegations so much that Mr. Kitagawa will not be working with Shuukan Gendai’s publisher Kodansha. Kodansha owns many fashion magazines which Johnny’s Idols will not be featured in anymore. Unfortunately, “the most painful result of the breakup is the loss of the annual Johnny's calendars - which bring in a steady 200,000,000 yen a year (roughly $1.8 million)” (Scoop).

In the fall of 2000, Johnny Kitagawa was accused by the one of Japan’s most popular magazines, Shukan Bunshun of have sexual relationships with some teenage boys. Whether these allegations were true or not was never revealed, but ever since then, Johnny has “denied [Shukan Bunshun’s] requests for promotional photos and interviews with acts managed by Mr. Kitagawa.” (Sims 1) Not only did Johnny Kitagawa deny these things from this magazine, but also denied other magazines from the same company the same things.

Now-a-days, Johnny’s boy bands are selling the most singles, albums and DVDs. They tend to have larger scale, sold out, concerts at the Tokyo Dome, a large arena for Japan’s baseball games. Since Johnny’s sing, dance and act, they get roles in Japanese dramas and television commercials. Statistics show that the dramas that Johnny’s idols act in have more viewers and last longer than dramas that do not. Also when a Johnny acts in a drama, they also sometimes get to make the theme song, therefore, becoming free advertisement for their group. People love Johnny’s boy bands because “their pop music is light and fun, it's never anything too derogatory or crude, and Johnny's Entertainment always releases cheerful songs that brighten up people’s days.” For those people who do not want to be bothered with scandals, whether they are true or not, there are always different kinds of music to listen to.

Japanese rock music comes in a wide range of flavors, amongst them is Visual Kei. This type of music tends to be on the eccentric side in both looks and sound. X Japan may have been the first band to start the Visual Kei movement in the 1980s. (--) The people in Visual Kei bands wear elaborate costumes and change their names in order to become someone else. They change their appearances and become a new person for their fans to give them a sense of fantasy. Many Visual Kei artists “strive to be androgynous, many not only wear dresses but also striking make-up and over-the-top hairstyles.” (Garnermann 1). While some bands enjoy playing this ‘character,’ others only do it for the fans. When a band is still independent, or indie, they tend to do what their record label wants them to do. If having good looking guys dressed in fancy outfits sells records, then band persuaded to do it. Of course when the band makes it big, or becomes major, they will sometimes stop dressing up, but this does not stop people from buying their albums. Many fans believe that “the Visual Kei look is part of the music” and that “they pull it off well.” (Anonymous)

Another Style of music that is popular in Japan, called Oshare Kei, does not venture very far away from Visual Kei. Oshare directly translates to “fashion conscience.” Where Visual Kei is darker and more gothic, Oshare Kei is just the opposite, colorful and happy. In 2001, one of the first Osahre kei bands, Baroque, appeared on the music scene. This new style of music was brought to the public’s attention once more bands like “Kra, Charlotte and An Cafe,… displayed classic, cute styles without going overboard.” (Garnermann 1) The original sound of Oshare Kei was much like that of Visual Kei. Only recently was the genre “characterized by upbeat, positive rock music [sometimes containing] dance, techno and even jazz influences.” (Garnermann 1). Even though Visual Kei came first, Oshare Kei seems to have become more popular recently. Many of the new bands in Japan, like Mix Speaker’s Inc., xTRiPx, the KIDDIE, and DaizyStripper, showcase themselves as Oshare, although sometimes delving into Visual Kei. Since these genres are very similar, it is not uncommon to see bands dressing and playing as both.

The reason Visual Kei and Oshare Kei bands are important to Japan’s culture is because of the events and concerts that are available for the public. Many bands will have signing events when a new single or album comes out, so there are more opportunities to meet with a visual band. Unlike Johnny’s, who only have a few huge concerts, Visual and Oshare Kei bands will have many small concerts leading up to a “Grand Finale” at a venue that is larger than the ones they were previously playing at. There are more concerts for a Visual bands during a course of time then there is for a Johnny. Generally, Johnny’s will play about three concerts at the Tokyo Dome every few years while Visual bands will play many concerts at different venues.

Japanese music affects their culture, but it is not only limited to Japan. Recently, Japanese music has become very popular in Europe as well as South America. Many bands try to travel to these places and play a few concerts for their overseas fans. When asked why people listen to Japanese music, many people agreed that “I am surrounded everyday by Western music, I have nothing against it, but am so used to hearing it that Japanese music is refreshing to listen to” (Anonymous). The creativity and the difference between American music and Japanese music is a breath of fresh air that even can be seen from the Japanese culture.

Works Cited

Garnermann, Lara. "Oshare Kei - Articles - JaME U.S.A." JaME World - The 1st Database and Information Website about Japanese Music. 18 Apr. 2010. Web. 22 Apr. 2010. http://www.jmusicamerica.com/us/articles-62095-oshare-kei.html.

Kodanshi, ed. Trans. Uwasa-ko. Shuukan Gendai 28 July 2008. Web. 22 Apr. 2010.

Sims, Calvin. "In Japan, Tarnishing a Star Maker." New York Times. 30 Jan. 2000. Web. 13 Apr. 2010.

"Urban Dictionary: Oshare Kei." Urban Dictionary, April 22: Buy-curious. 9 Dec. 2006. Web. 22 Apr. 2010. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=oshare+kei.

Wolfe, Scottie, and Ryan Cook. "X JAPAN -
- Artists - JaME U.S.A." JaME World - The 1st Database and Information Website about
Japanese Music. 14 July 2009. Web. 23 Apr. 2010. http://www.jmusicamerica.com/us/database-artists-biography-3-x-japan.html.

Survey Results

I thought I was going to have a hard time finding people to do my survey, but I did not expect it to be as hard as it was. Not many people I know listen to Japanese music, so I had to rely on a few friends to share my survey with people they knew. In the end I ended up with enough people, but getting there was the hard part.

I was surprised that the majority of the people who took my survey listened to rock music the most. I had thought that pop music would have been the most. I was quite impressed with the amount of writing that one of my surveyors had written for the essay questions. This was just a little of what the surveyor wrote compared to everyone else.

Every person seemed to have a different view on each question, so I had a lot to look over. I think that this survey will be helpful for my paper because of the different views expressed in the questions. I was glad to have gotten enough people to take my survey.

This graph shows the types of music each surveyor listens to. They were allowed to pick more than one style.

Interview

I knew I only had a few choices in choosing someone to interview because of my research paper topic: how does Japanese music affect the culture. The first person that came to mind was a good friend of mine, Alex, who knows quite a bit about Japanese music. When I first approached her to ask her if she wanted to be my interviewee she was all for it. There were some complications on how we were going to do it because she goes to school about two hours away. She ended up coming home for the weekend which gave us the perfect chance to meet. I explained to her what my research project was and since she happens to like Japanese music I thought she could give me her insight on the subject.

We began talking about Alex’s childhood and how she first got involved with the Japanese culture. When she was younger, she would watch Sailor Moon and Pokemon on television. At the time, she had no idea that these two shows would open up a whole new world for her. As she got older, she frequented the internet often and from there found the original Japanese songs for Sailor Moon and Pokemon. Alex said that her mother thought she was just going through a phase, but her sister believed it to not be a phase. Her sister ended up being right. Alex started to watch anime, Japanese animation, and became even more involved with the music. She watched this anime called Full Metal Alchemist and the theme song really struck her. She came across the song online and found that it was by a Japanese band called L’Arc~en~Ciel. This band would be her first extended experience listening to Japanese music.

Alex and I first met in seventh grade when she transferred from Cabrini to Divine Child. Freshman year of high school, I gave her two L’Arc~en~Ciel CDs. Alex reminisced about listening to those CDs on the way to her uncle’s funeral. She told me that her uncle was “awesome”, but we did not dwell on it very much. I did not want to make her uncomfortable so she continued telling me her story of how she got into Japanese music. We both had gone to a friends birthday party, and there I gave Alex another CD, this time of the vocalist of L’Arc~en~Ciel. With all of this exposure to this one Japanese band, they quickly became her favorite. Continuing on her journey, Alex then told me she started to find more Japanese music online using mainly youtube.com to find new bands. Sophomore year, Alex befriend a freshman who listened to Korean pop. He got her involved with yet another culture’s music. Alex now goes to Hillsdale College and continues her search for new Japanese and Korean music.

Japanese music has different genres as does most music. These genres range from boy bands to hard rock and more. I asked Alex about a particular style of music called ‘Visual Kei.’ I asked Alex what she thought ‘Visual Kei’ was all about and she replied that it is “anything with a genre of rock music, with extravagant costumes, and that focus on looks first.” She told me that when she sees a Visual Kei band before hearing their music, she is inclined to listen to their music, but if they are bad she will not stick with them just because of their looks even though some people will. She then continued saying that if she hears a band first and then sees what they look like and they are not ‘Visual Kei,’ she will still listen to them because their music is good.

Alex really does like any kind of music, so when I brought up Johnny’s Entertainment, she became very excited. Johnny’s Entertainment is the company who owns the most popular boy bands in Japan. To prove this, Alex found polls on the internet that magazines have printed and showed me that most people will choose someone from Johnny’s Entertainment over anyone else. Alex also told me that even if there is a scandal with anyone under Johnny’s Entertainment, people will be asked to not speak about it. After she gave me these little facts, I asked her why she likes these boy bands. Her response was that “they brighten up her day, have charismatic personalities, are cute and entertaining to watch.”

Alex gave me many new ideas for my research paper because of this interview. We both had fun talking about these ideas, and she seemed to be very glad that I asked her to be my interviewee.

This is Alex, my interviewee. She had found some information that I could use for my research paper so she was writing down the website for me.




This is where we held the interview. My nice and comfortable living room.




These are a few examples of some Japanese bands. The bottom two are Visual Kei and the top one is a boy band.

Reading Response #2

Chapter 4

1. Jean Anyon agrees with the arguments that other authors make about children in different social classes receiving different treatments in school. I know she agrees with the other authors because she says that her "article offers tentative empirical support."

2. David Zinczenko's, Don't Blame the Eater, discusses why people are suing Fast Food companies. Zinczenko agrees with the people who sue Fast Food Companies, because of many reasons, one being that he once was fat from eating fast food. He suggests that fast food companies should have clear nutritional information for their food. Zinczenko brings up a counter-claim in his argument that says "Shouldn't we know then to eat two meals a day in fast-food restaurants?" He responded to that by saying teenagers cannot find "alternatives."
Fast Food Restaurants are not the main problem with today’s obesity. The food they serve is not healthy at all, but everyone I talk to knows that. If everyone knows fast food is not healthy, then why is it such a big shock when people gain weight after eating fast food all the time. When Zinczenko talks about teenagers not having other alternatives, I find it hard to believe. Being a teenager myself, I make my own food at home most of the time. Teenagers could go to the grocery store and pick up healthy foods to eat. I just do not see how people can blame Fast Food entirely when they made the choice to eat that food.

Reading Response #1

Exercise 1

a. Many scientists’ experiments suggest that there are dangerous levels of Chemical X in the Ohio groundwater.

b. According to many book clubs, this novel has certain flaws in which the book club discusses.

c. Talking to many women and men, I have heard them suggest that football is boring.

d. Students and teachers alike seem to believe that male students dominate class discussions.

e. Movie Critics write that the film is really about the problems of romantic relationships.

f. Templates are very helpful, but numerous people think that templates will stifle their creativity.


Exercise 2

If there ever was an idea custom made for a Jay Leno monologue, this was it: people only listening to one kind of genre of music. Isn’t that like eating the same thing for lunch everyday? Whatever happened to diversity?
I happen to sympathize with the people who like all kinds of music, though, perhaps because I get bored of listening to the same thing all of the time.

Screen Cap and Questions

Seeing my screenshot as a "photograph" is not really all that surprising to me. I have known how to screen cap for quite a few years now and it is fairly useful. I do not screen cap very often but when I do it is usually to show someone how to do something. Screen capping is especially useful when I want to show someone how to do something when I am talking to them online. I can just screen cap the application and then draw on it to show what do to. Although, in this case, I just screen capped a story I was working on. Also, I had a few other applications running while I was writing the story. I have a tendency to run at least three other programs while I am writing.

Composing in a digital space is very different than composing in a hand written way. In a digital document, I can type a lot more on a page then in hand writing. Also, I can type faster then handwriting. Unfortunately, because I can get distracted so easily, I do not use a laptop for my classes. The more I use programs on the computer, the more I learn about them. I think that is one way we can learn more about the digital composing process. Also, communication is key in learning more about the digital composing process. Just by talking to someone, whether it is a friend or a stranger, about what they do on the computer could open your eyes to more digital composing possibilities.