The Sixty Years of Rock and Japan (1) Rock meant 'western music'
The U.S. forces brought 'country & western' to the burnt - out ruins
After August,1945 when World War the second ended, western music that was regarded as 'hostile music' during the war returned to Japan. It was a good news for Japanese musicians because they were very active in sucking in foreign music in a fashion fromTaisho period (1912 - 26) to the early Showa period (1926 - 1940). And at the same time, foreign music was very exciting for young would-be musicians who lived in poor and unexciting world then. That music was brought by U.S. occupation forces that became to dot in Japan right after General headquarters (GHQ) started to occupy Japan and FEN, a radio broadcasting station for U.S. occupation forces. The country that lost the war sucked in music from soldiers of the country that won the war.....it sounds very ironic, but the fact remains that culture of America ,which enjoyed the best wealth in the world then, was dazzling for poor and dark Japanese then.
Japanese musicians who sucked in foreign music started to play music at some U.S. military bases for their living. And music played there was jazz, Latin music, Hawaiian music, but there was 'country & western' among them. This music was born in 1920's in America., and it hadn't spread in Japan yet before the war and during the war. However, soldiers of U.S. occupation forces were pleased with it because many of them were from the Midwest, so that music spread to Japanese musicians. And from 1950 to 53 when the Korean War went on, U.S. military bases in Japan were used as the base for U.S. forces to attack Democratic People's Republic of Korea, so the supply for musicians who played for them was increasing.
Rock 'n' roll movement broke out in U.S.A.
In July,1955 when ten years had passed after the war ended, a musical movement broke out in America.. 'Rock Around the Clock' sung by Bill Haley and used as the theme song of 'Blackboard Jungle' made No.1 hit on the chart and had kept it for two months. This movie was prohibited to open to the public one after another because it described teenagers' delinquency and school violence. So This theme song took on dangerous image for it, but this song ,which had strong beats never seen in American pop music, became to be widely known as 'rock 'n' roll'.
And in January,1956, the big movement of only 21-year-old Elvis Presley attacked America and it was much bigger than Bill Haley's. Elvis made his major debut song, 'Heartbreak Hotel', No.1 hit on the chart and became the king of rock 'n' roll in a moment. And following Elvis's success, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, and Eddie Cochran appeared one after another, and America became to be in the wave of enthusiasm of rock 'n' roll.
Japanese western musicians translated rock 'n' roll
How Japan accepted this enthusiasm? Rock 'n' roll was new born music even in America , so nobody did the same music in Japan then. In December, 'Blackboard Jungle' made a hit in Japan too and a cover version of 'Rock Around the Clock' sung by Eri Chiemi was released. She sang 'Tennessee Waltz', a standard jazz song, when she was just fourteen yeas old and a rival to Misora Hibari. But its arrangement wasn't out of conventional swing jazz.
Eri Chiemi - Rock Around The Clock
Finally those who welcomed this 'rock 'n' roll' were country & western musicians because 'rock 'n' roll' was interpreted as 'new western music'. In fact Bill Haley was a western music singer originally and Elvis was introduced to Japan as a new star of western music at first and he appeared on a western music omnibus record 'Western caravan vol.4' in December,1955 at first in Japan one year before he broke through. In addition to it, the coinage of 'rockabilly', a combination of 'rock' and 'hillbilly' of another name of rock 'n' roll that meant countryman in the Midwest was used in Japan then. And Japanese used the word of 'rockabilly' more often.
And In 1956 and 1957, the opportunity where western bands played cover versions of rock 'n' roll was increasing within Tokyo. Jazz cafes like ACB in Shinjuku, Mimatsu and Tennessee in Ginza, Drum in Ikebukuro offered some spaces for them. And among these scenes, Kosaka Kazuya , the frontman of Wagon Masters, a popular band in Japan, debuted and released 'Heartbreak Hotel' in 1956, and got so enormous popularity that he appeared in NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen that year.
Kosaka Kazuya - Heartbreak Hotel
Western Carnival
In February,1958, a rockabilly festival 'Nichgeki Western Carnival' was held at Nihon Gekijo (Nichigeki) in Yuraku-cho, the biggest entertainment hall in Tokyo then. This was the beginning of Japanese rock 'n' roll and an big opportunity for Japanese entertainment agencies to establish themselves.
Western Carnival, a live event of western music, had been held at Video Hall in Yuraku-cho since the early 50's, and it was so successful in the middle of 50's that some fans couldn't enter there. And then Watanebe Misa who established Watanabe Entertainment right then together with her husband, a jazz musician, went to western music events held at Video Hall or some jazz cafes so often from the influence of her sister, Manase Nobuko , a big fan of rockabilly, and felt a big movement coming next to jazz. Misa and Nobuko's mother, Manase Hanako were quarter British and worked as interpreters at U.S. occupation forces after the war. So their daughters moved there as interpreters too, and they knew American entertainment and got to think that they attempted to raise the standard of Japanese entertainment.
And then Hori Takeo, the leader of Swing West of a western music band, had confidence about the success of Western Carnival where rock songs like Elvis were played , and thought of 'We want to do it at a bigger hall ' and thought of doing it at a Nichigeki, the biggest indoor entertainment hall in Japan then, together with Kusano ShoIchi in Shinko Music Entertainment. However they didn't have any direct connection with Nichigeki, so they asked Watanabe Shin to introduce them Yamamoto Shiro, the stage director of Nichigeki. Then Watanabe answered 'I don't want to come out in public because I am a jazz musician', but it was successful.
Three of Watanabe Misa, Hori, Kusano ,both of who share mutual speculation, started to elaborate a plan of having Western carnival advance to Nichigeki. At first Yamamoto Shiro was unwilling to do it, but he knew that jazz events held at Nichigeki then weren't successful in commerce. Watanabe Shin thought so too and had a sense of danger about that jazz became so serious from the influence of bebop that young people couldn't dance with it.
So they decided to hold an event in February when any big events weren't held. And Kosaka Kazuya already debuted, confessing 'rock 'n' roll', so they decided to use 'rockabilly', an another name of rock 'n' roll, for improving a new image for it and launch out this show as a rockabilly event.
Thus Nichigeki Western Carnival had been held for one week from February 8 to 14 and it draw 9500 audience only on the first day and 45000 audience for one week successfully. Thanks to this success, Watanabe Misa became to be called 'Rockabilly Madam' and caught a great deal of attention, and Watanabe Shin stopped working as a musician and got down to management of his office, managing 'Rockabily Trio' of Hirao Masaaki, Mickey Curtis, Yamashita Keijiro. This was the real beginning of Watanabe Entertainment. On the other hand, Hori entered Watanabe Entertainment, but quited it soon and established Hori productions and launched out Moriya Hiroshi , a hit of Western Carnival. Manase production started by Manase Hanako, Watanabe Misa's mother, together with her husband, Masao right after the war led Sakamoto Kyu and Moriyama Kayoko to achieve a great success.
Western Carnival established as a rockabilly event held four times a year for a while, and it had been held as a music event of big entertainment agencies until 1977 after the movement passed away. And in the process, Kamayatsu Hiroshi or Uchida Yuya, who would contribute to the beginning of Japanese, rock joined in it.
Considering that Japan had such a big rock 'n' roll scene within three years after the movement broke out in America, you can tell that Japan is one of the countries where rock 'n' roll took route early comparatively. Even in UK, Cliff Richard, the best follower of Elvis, debuted in that year and the other European countries followed later. It's because that Japan lost U.S.A. in the war and put under U.A. forces occupation.
Japanese rockabilly boom wasn't as dangerous as American's
Japan had a rock 'n ' roll scene very early, but the fact remained that there was a limit to Japanese understanding of rock 'n ' roll then.
One of those is that Japanese hardly understood how rock 'n ' roll was treated as heresy and oppressed in America. Kosaka Kazuya sang 'Heartbreak Hotel' at NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen in 1956, and Hamamura Michiko, a Latin music singer, sang 'Jail House Rock', and Yukimura Izumi, a girl's jazz singer, sang 'Be-Bop-a-Lula' there in 1957. It means that it wouldn't interfere with anyone if they sang rock songs at NHK in Showa 30's.
And now there is an image of 'Rockabilly fashion is bad' ,but it has spread since Carol led by Yazawa Eikichi appeared in 70's with leather jackets and regent hairstyle under the concept of 'The Beatles were like that before they debuted', and it was a big hit with juvenile delinquents centered on motorcycle gangs then and many followers like Yokohama Ginbae and Kishidan appeared in later years. Kaminarizoku, the motorcycle gang in 50's in Japan, never followed rockabilly movement.
However things were quite different in America. Certainly rock 'n' roll was sung by white country & western musicians, but it began when they sang rhythm & blues of black music. It's 1964 when Civil Rights Act was established officially in America.,so the civil rights movement already started then, but black people were a target of racism still then in America. And conservative white people found faults with it like 'How could white children be absorbed in black culture?'. Their anger spread more and more when Elvis showed a dance with violent movement of his waist ,which reminded people of sex openly, and finally Elvis and rock 'n' roll became to be called 'Evil in Christian society'.
By the way, Elvis was a pious Christian and the political party he supported was the Republican Party, which was the conservative. He had never joined in the civil rights movement and then rock 'n' roll itself didn't have any political senses then. It was just like that its up-beat originated from black people was comfortable for children and young people. Its exhilarant feeling spread to other countries soon, but it's undeniable that there was so little information about rock 'n' roll that people couldn't understand it from the view point of American culture.
And in the case of Japan, it's undeniable that people didn't understand relish and wildness of rhythm of black music well because they understood it from the view point of country, lacking understanding of black rock 'n' roll musicians like Little Richard or Chuck Belly. To tell the truth, Japan hadn't been able to get over this feeling for a while. And it would appear later as difference between Japanese and British young people then, who found rock 'n' roll guitarists like Chuck Belly or Bo Diddley and black blues artists even white American people hadn't ever listened to one after another and sucked in them into their own music.
Is Kobayashi Akira the original rock 'n' roll star ?
In addition to them, there were another week spot about rockabilly movement in Japan then. It was like ' It didn't spread nationally' and 'it lacked any big stars with charisma'. At the stage of 1958, the popularization of television wasn't so high and the number of television owned in Japan then was only one million. The total population of Japan then was about ninety one million, so it means that only one person out of ninety people had a television then. In the following year, the number of television owned achieved two million because of the crown prince's marriage and it was increasing quickly with Tokyo Olympic, color televisions after then, but rock 'n roll was a movement before then, so it didn't spread nationally.
And certainly Japanese rockabilly stars were sophisticated presence in Japanese society, but it's doubtful that they had aura like Elvis who shook the world. Elvis wasn't the presence only music gave birth to. In America, the problem of juvenile delinquency became obvious a little bit before he had appeared , and people looked for any rebels then. It was conspicuous among Hollywood movies and rebels like Marlon Brando who took a leather jacket and played a biker in 'The Wild One' and James Dean in 'Rebel Without a Cause' were very popular then. The reason why not Bill Haley, but Elvis became the king of rock 'n' roll was that he was as handsome as those Hollywood stars of rebels.
Ishihara Yujiro - Brandy Glass
On the other hand, in Japan, Ishihara Yujiro, a Nikkatsu star, who appeared on 'Taiyo no Kisetsu' written by his elder brother, Ishihara Shintaro had a image of such rebels. He was a music star too, but his musical style was 'Moody Kayo' ,Japanese style standard jazz, like Frank Sinatra.
Kobayashi Akira - Dynamaite 150 tons
And Otaki Eiichi, who would contribute to Japanese rock and pop music much with Happy End and his solo works, looked back the late 50's when he was a pupil in Iwate prefecture and said 'I longed for Elvis and him then' ,mentioning the name of Kobayashi Akira, a Nikkatsu star. He said 'Those who took leather jackets and white scarfs longed for not Elvis, but Akira then'.
Probably some people feel antipathy to give Otaki's saying feedback to the whole and you can't tell definitely that songs sung by Kobayashi Akira in his movies were like rock 'n' roll. However considering that 'Dynamite 100 tons' released by him in 1959 is covered in rock versions by Kai Band or Mashima Masatoshi (The Blue Hearts～The High Lows～The Cro-Magnons), the theory of 'Akira is the original rock 'n' roller' isn't necessarily wrong. And considering that songs sung by Japanese rockabilly stars then are hardly covered in late years in spite of their big contribution, much more you can think so.
