Japan

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(Dawn-Elissa Fischer is the Principal Investigator (PI) for Japan for the Hiphop Archive)

Timeline Excerpt

Early 80's - Japan is riding on a wave of economic prosperity, is the 2^nd largest economy on Earth behind the United States, and cultural exchange between the United States and Japan is at an all-time high. There are still barriers, primarily linguistic, preventing Japanese youth from accessing all the elements of the up-and-coming Hiphop cultural movement, but the more artistic expressions of breakdancing and graffiti begin to make their way across the Pacific, largely through film and live performances (Condry, Hip Hop Japan). This is in spite of the fact that hiphop could be heard in the nightclubs long prior to this - but again, linguistically it was inaccessible.

1983-1984 - the release of Wild Style, the classic hip-hop flick, in Japan. Crazy-A and the Rock Steady Japan Crew begin breakdancing in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park (Condry: 165). At this point, DJ'ing and MC'ing are still relatively unheard of.

1985-1994 - DJ'ing begins catching on more and more, as it is less inaccessible than MC'ing for the growing cultural movement in Japan. One pioneer was DJ Krush, coming from Yoyogi Park. In '86 the first Hiphop club opens up in Shibuya, the nightlife and fashion capital of Tokyo.  MC's will gradually come to emerge in the scene: prominent rappers include Ito Seiko, Chikado Haruo, Tinnie Punx and Takagi Kan.  The collapse of the Economic Bubble in Japan in the late 80's and 90's created fertile ground for hiphop and counter-culture in general to take root, particularly against the rigid conformity and homogeneity of Japanese society.

1995ish - The beginning of real commercial success for Japanese hiphop. Schadaraparr and Ozawa Kenji's "Kon'ya wa buugi bakku" (Tonight, Boogie Back), King Giddra's (Shinjitsu no Dangan)

1996 - Thumpin' Camp, a major hiphop performance, occurs. Males were more attracted to this hip hop scene than females; thus, about 80% of the audience was male adolescents. Over thirty rappers, DJs, and break-dancers from the underground scene performed in the show.

Late 90's to the Present - The Hiphop movement continues its steady rise in popularity, though still remaining largely a local, club-oriented phenomena.  The trends within Hiphop are, and continue to be, primarily a function of what Ian Condry calls the "global flows of media and commodities" to Japan.  Fashion is a HUGE accelerant to the creation, maintenance and termination of these trends.