th e wo rl d f o r b e ing the “kawaii” ( young , cute and extravagant)
f a s h i o n d i stri c t in Tokyo It is a must for many tourists on the lookout for the latest clothing and accessories. But do we really know Harajuku? We asked three residents to be our g uides throug h this fascinating area At the end of the visit you will have learned that the neig hbourhood is a great dea l more unconventiona l than it mig ht appear The way it has evolved reflects the changes that the capital has undergone over the past 50 years and its future depends on its capacit y to adapt to the chang ing lifestyle of people living in Tokyo Enjoy your visit, and have a wonderful holiday !
THE EDITORIAL TEAM info@zoomjapan info
I N THE EYE OF Eric Rechsteiner
9th of June, Shinjuku, Tokyo
NUCLEAR Back into service
On the 19th of June, stricter security standards for Japan's atomic reactors were ratified. These new standards should allow the twelve electricity companies working to implement them to rapidly bring their reactors back into ser vice
ECONOMY Orangina attempts to break into the market
Suntory Beverage & Food, who own the Orangina brand, will start trading on Tokyo’s stock exchange on the 3rd of July. For several months, France’s famous drink has benefited from a huge advertising campaign Actor Richard Gere played the role of famous film character Tora-san in an attempt to establish the orange drink in Japan. billion yen. That’s the total of Japan’s commercial deficit as of May this year, 9.5 % more than for the same period last year Despite the increase in the value of exports, it is the cost of oil imports that explains this figure. 993.9
In Shinjuku, dozens of fans of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure by Araki Hirohiko gather by the giant screen at Studio Alta They await the exclusive showing of an episode of the animated adaptation of the manga, which has sold over 68 million copies in the archipelago since its creation in 1986
TRENDS Hyper Japan sets London to Tokyo local time
Once again, just it has done for the past three years, Japanese pop culture makes an appearance in the British capital. It’s an exciting event with many highlights.
Over the pa st de cade, Japan ha s consciously de velope d and promote d its own pop culture : manga, animation, films, video games,
c u i s i n e , l i t er at ure , a n d more. It’s an initiative that
wa s l aun c h e d b y Fo rm er Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in 2002. The aim
wa s t o s up p o r t a n d p ro -
m o t e Jap a n e s e c u l t ure
a cro ss th e worl d in ord er to contribute to the coun-
tr y ’ s p o s i ti ve i ma g e . Th e Ministr y of Economy and
In d u s tr y n ow i n c l u d e s a department charg e d with p ro m o ti n g th e cre ati ve
c o nt ent i n d u s tr y ( ko n -
t ent s u s a n g y o) a n d th e
M i n i s tr y o f Fo re i g n
Affairs’ organizes an international manga prize ever y
y e a r Th e re s u l t s a re
c o n c l u s i ve Th e B B C
World Ser vice’s internatio-
trucks were decorated with manga heroes They never came under attack ; af ter all, who would have dare d hurt Captain Tsubasa , the football champion young Iraqis dream about ?
In Europe, the increasing success of Japanese pop culture is undeniable, especially with Hyper Japan’s growing success since it was created in 2010 This year, the event takes place from the 26th to the 28th of July at E arls Cour t, and it wil l
na l p o l l o n h ow d i f f erent c o untri e s a re p erc e i ve d around the world ranks Japan first among those countries that were seen to have the most positive influence Nowadays, mang a and an imation film hero es have become ambassadors for Japan. In Iraq, where Tokyo d ep l o y e d tro o p s i n c ha r g e o f l o g i s ti c s , th e s up p l y
b e a g re at o c c a s i o n f o r lovers of Japanese culture
There is something to suit all tastes. Those who enjoy a n i m e w i l l w e l c o m e th e presence of Daisuki Anime, th e n e w Ma d e i n Jap a n streaming p or ta l Cosplay l o ver s w i l l b e a b l e t o demonstrate their ta lents, while Tokyo Fashion Stor y w i l l p re s ent Jap a n ’ s l at e s t s tre e t f a s h i o n Fo o d a n d sake will also be at the heart o f th e e vent s , w i th th e Sushi Awards and the Sake Experience It’s a chance to ta ste the b est pro ducts, a s well as to g et advice and be steered towards the best on o f f er. L a s t b ut n o t l e a s t , Japanese traditional culture is highlighted with Sayuki, the g eisha
This is an unmissable event where ever ybody will find something to satisf y their curiosit y and leave with a host of g ood memories. GABRIEL BERNARD
www hyperjapan co uk
Harajuku Follow the locals!
In the space of five decades, this ancient and once tranquil district has become one of the foremost centres for international fashion.
It can ’ t be repeate d too of ten that Tokyo's 1964 Olympic Games had an incredible impact on the app e aran c e o f th e Jap an e s e cap i ta l . For a l ong time, Harajuku was famous for its tranquillit y and its rice fields It was transforme d in just a few years after Tokyo was chosen to host the 18th Olympiad of the modern era and became a prominent location f o r c u l t ure a n d f a s h i o n i n Jap a n . Ha r a j u ku ha s become a trendsetting hotspot It all beg an in 1958 when the Harajuku Central Apartments were built. Tokyo Plaza Omotesando has now replaced the ori-
ginal building but it is still here that many artists and intellectuals choose to live. Café Léon opened on the g round flo or and b e came the me eting place for a ll kinds of creative people Unlike Shinjuku, its famous neig hbour with cinemas showing French Nouvelle Va g u e f i l ms , an d wh ere th e f o un dati ons f or a c u ltural revolution were laid at the end of the 60s, Harajuku is rather more dedicated to art and design Artists such as Sakamoto Ryuichi liked to spend time at the Ca f é L é on L i ttl e by l i ttl e , f a s h i on to o k o ver, an d in De cember 1973, An An ma g a zine, the Japanese equivalent of Elle, published a long article about Haraju ku and the f act that many young “AnNon trib e ” women (AnNon zoku, a reference to the mag azines An An and Non No that were ver y fashionable at the
time) would hang out there The shops run by these y o un g cre ati ve p e o p l e at tr a c t e d s tre e t a r ti s t s a n d Tokyo’s youth, esp e cia l ly m idd le- and h ig h-scho ol pupils, who took advantag e of the car ban in Omotesando to meet and dance from morning till nig ht The y were n ickname d the “Bamb o o Sho ot Trib e ” (takenoko zoku, in reference to the Takenoko shop owned by Otake Takenori, where they boug ht their clothes) The action spilled out into the streets and, bit by bit, the appearance of the streets changed Takeshita Street, right by the station, under went the most radica l chang e. In 1987, this long stre et, which for many years had been home to many hostess bars, saw the arrival of the first shop to be connected to a television broadcast It was called Genki g a deru hausu
With designer Chocomoo
[A home in which you feel happy] and was de veloped by the Nippon T V channel It became a hit and s h o p s l i ke i t mu l ti p l i e d , sp urring o n a a p eri o d o f talent hunting . Since the Sunday car ban was introduce d in the late 70's, Harajuku had space for pe ople to meet and the area around Omotesando developed into a vast open-air concert hall where dozens of bands could perform It attracted hordes of peop l e an d ma inta in e d th e my th o f a d i stri c t d e d i cated to creativit y Fashion shops prospered along the main arterial roads but Harajuku’s centre of gravit y pro g ressively move d towards Ura Haraju ku, a d istrict full of small streets where young designers were able to rent places at affordable prices. Young people in search of their own st yle found e ver y th ing the y were looking for in these shops. Without being too sophisticated, street fashion progressively took over, spearheaded in 1997 by A Bathing Ape, which was set up in Ura Harajuku and attracte d thousands of young p e op le on the lo o kout for novelt y It d idn’t ta ke long for Propeller Stre et and Cat Stre et to se e shops sprouting up like mushrooms The success of Jap a n e s e p o p c u l ture a cro ss th e wo rl d at th e sta r t of 21st centur y has contributed to Harajuku’s increasing popularity In the past, when foreigners came, it was mainly to visit the Oriental Bazaar, a shop specializing in Japanese souvenirs, from replica swords to tea bowls, or Kiddy Land, a toy shop full of g adg ets that were p opu lar at the time. These t wo h istorical shops still exist but a visit to them is no longer a priority. Nowadays, what everybody in Harajuku wants to be is kawaii (cute) Kep t in th e p u b l i c e y e by th e m e d i a , th i s f a s h i o n st yle is ea g erly soug ht out by many young Japanese and thousands of foreigners who walk up and down Ur a Ha r a j u ku’s s tr e e t s e v e r y w e e ke n d . It i s t h e vibrant m ix of d ifferent st yles that ma kes the area s o p l e a s ing In 2 0 0 4 , Am eri c a n s ing er Gwen St ef an i c e l e brate d th e d i stri c t in h er s ong , Hara ju ku Girls “I ’ m fascinated by the Japanese fashion scene, just an American g irl in the Tokyo streets, ” she sing s in her song that b e came an internationa l h it, defin itively re c o g n iz ing Haraju ku a s b eing one of the world’s foremost fashion centres Furthermore, just as it has done over the past five de cades, the neig hbourhood has continued to chang e and de velop. In 1964, Harajuku completely altered its previous exist e n c e i n t h e s p a c e - t i m e c o n t i n u um a n d i t h a s n ’ t stopped since then It's a place where you might have un l i ke l y e n c o unt e r s “ O n e b e a ut i f u l m o r n i n g i n Apri l , on a narrow s i d e - stre e t in To ky o ’ s f a s h i ona b l e Ha ra ju ku n e i g h b o urh o o d , I wa l ke d p a st th e 100% perfe ct g irl,” wrote Murakami Haruki in one o f h i s e s s a y s Ev er y th i n g i s p o s s i b l e i n Ha r a j u ku , and that is why Z oom Japan decided to ask three of the neig hb ourho o d’s inhabitants to b e our g uides. Thre e orig ina l and complimentar y perspe ctives on entering the hear t of Tokyo.
ODAIRA NAMIHEI
Bonobo
Alissa's itinerary
cemetar y
the Victor building
Chocomoo's itinerary
Spinns Harajuku
Joyrich c/o Laforet Harajuku
The Blood of Poets
Omochaya Spiral
BEAMS Harajuku Avantgarde JOL
Watarium Museum
Neighborhood Mishka Tokyo
Piazza Eco-Farm Café
Myoenji's temple
Watari's itinerary
The Togo sanctuar y
Kiddy Land
Oriental Bazaar
TREND Harajuku’s little princess
Artist Chocomoo has become ver y popular with many brands. Here she tells us more about her favourite places.
This year ’ s rainy season has been quite dr y so far, so Z oom Japan's dynamic duo (this writer and ace photographer Jeremie Souteyrat) decide to head to Japan’s street fashion capital : Harajuku Our mission : meet artist Chocomoo
The Kyoto -born rising star of Harajuku youth culture is now 29 but she still looks 23 – the same ag e when she turned her lifelong passion for drawing into a career “I ’ ve drawn all my life,” she says, “ but didn’t th in k much of my work Then ab out six years a g o
I wa s c o nta c t e d o ut o f th e b l u e by a To ky o -b a s e d brand The y had se en some of my drawing s on my blog and asked me to work for them. At the opening p ar t y I m e t s ing er Ai - c han , wh o a s ke d m e to d e sign some goods for her next tour. And so on, one project led to the next one, and here I am!” Since then
she ha s c o l lab orate d with such brands a s Mil kfe d , Override and Ravijour, and has designed tour g oods for “Japan’s Lady Gag a ” , Kyar y Pamyu Pamyu
To d ay Ch o c o m o o w i l l s h ow us s o m e o f h er f avorite spots in Harajuku We are not alone thoug h, as an NHK World T V crew has joined us It’s a sunny warm June afternoon and with it being a Friday, the streets are not as crowded as in the weekend O ur first destination is Sp inns 02 Haraju ku Th is popular chain's brand new outlet is located next door to such fashion heavy weig hts as Laforet, H&M and Forever 21. Spinns’ original location – just down the street – only opened in 2010 but has fast become one of the f avorite brands of the h ip Haraju ku crowd
Ch o c om o o ha s i l lustrate d b o th th e f ront an d th e interior of the new shop and her black and white drawing s are e ver y where. “ To complete this particular assignment it took me about 5-6 hours,” Chocomoo says. At the opening she performed one or her famous live painting s that are quickly becoming one of the
mu s t- s e e e vent s
“Because of my look and the kind of work I do, I ’ m often labeled a ‘Harajuku g irl’ but I used to be ver y shy Even now, when I ’ m in Kyoto – where I still live – I sp end most of the time at home drawing , a l ittle otaku-like It is only recently that I ’ ve somewhat overcome my shyness, what with all the inter views, the live painting s, parties, etc ”
Back outside, we immediately dive into Laforet next door Opened in 1978 on Meiji Street, this historical place has contributed more than any other store to sh if t the c enter of Jap anese youth f a sh ion from Shinjuku to Harajuku Our visit is perfectly timed as on the second floor we can admire Chocomoo’s latest and big g est collab oration yet : a ne w colle ction for influential L A-based brand Joyrich. Next we cross Meiji Street and enter the area informa l l y kn own a s Ura -Hara ju ku , th e ma z e o f b a c kstre ets where most stre et fashion is made and sold
Originally from Los Angeles, Joyrich has been popular in the area for three years
This is a relatively quieter area where the boutiques share space with residential building s Our next destinati on i s on e o f th o s e n i c h e s h op s y o u are l i ke l y to m iss un less you know what you are lo o king for. Avantg arde is a tiny basement store that specializes in tatto o sto c king s . “ Th e y are in cre d i b l y p op u lar among Harajuku g irls rig ht now, ” says Chocomoo “ The interesting th ing ab out th is place is that you can actually tr y the stocking s on It’s quite unique !” At this point we decide to take a break and head to the nearby Pia zza Ec o -Farm Cafe. “B e cause of my job, I spend a lot of time in this neig hborhood,” she says “Ever y time I have a break I like to hide in this cafe” We talk about Chocomoo’s artistic influences while sipping an ice tea “Obviously I like such artists a s Jean-Michel Ba squiat and Andy Warhol but my big g est influence comes from Japan I ’ ve had no forma l ar t e ducation, but in elementar y scho ol I learn e d tr a d i ti o na l c a l l i g r ap hy a n d wa s a l s o f o n d o f Indian-ink painting and woodblock print I like Japanese ar t ’ s monotones . That’s why my work s are a l l black and white Also, my grandfather was a kimono desig ner so I may have inherite d his love for tradition
In the beg inning my st yle was closer to a street wise punk sensibility (my favorite designer is Vivian Westw o o d ) , b ut w h en I s ta r t e d w o rki n g f o r th e s h o p s in this area I was asked to smooth the roug her edg es an d d raw s om e th ing m ore k awa i i to matc h Haraju ku’s o vera l l ima g e S o n ow I a lternate th e s e t wo st yles”.
We also talk about her creative process “Drawing for me is ver y random. I don’t really like to start a new work with a definite imag e in my head, and I never
use drafts or roug h copies. I directly apply my arsenal of markers, sharpies and acr ylic pens I keep drawing , improvising on the spot, until in the end the final imag e materializes in front of my eyes. If something goes wrong , I ’ m ver y good at covering my mistakes,” she says laug hing .
We re sum e navi g ating Ura -Hara ju ku’s ma z e O ur n e xt d e stinati on i s Mi s h k a To ky o , th e s i ster store o f Mi s h k a Ne w York Al ong th e way we s e e many ti ny s h o p s a n d b o uti q u e s Ch o c o m o o p o i nt s o ut Japan’s diversity in comparison with other countries. “Usually in the US, Korea or Taiwan one fad follows another, but here you can see several different trends and styles at the same time and people are not afraid to experiment and freely mix them all together Harajuku’s youth have a particular fashion sensibility and you can just see it by walking around here Also, the w h o l e s u b c u l t ure s c en e i s ver y a c ti ve , w i th ma ny mag azines and websites fuelling the interest for designers, artists, musicians and DJs It’s an endless party here !”.
Mishka is a small but st ylish shop packed with hats, t-shirts and jackets as well as the desig ner ’ s toy colle ction The shop is wor th visiting for the interior decoration alone “ The desig ner is a g ood friend of mine,” Chocomoo says, “and we share a love of weird toys By the way, there’s a g reat toy shop in front of Mishka !” So our party of seven heads to Omochaya Spiral, where all the available space is taken by dolls, anime-inspired fig urines and whatever else a toy lover may dream of. “My room is full of toys, ” Chocomoo s a y s ” I o f t en g o t o f l e a ma rke t s , a n d e ven w h en I return from my travels abroad my suitcase is always full of toys ”
shop for toy lovers.
Our mission accomplishe d, we head back to Harajuku’s main crossing where we say g ood-bye Be sure to visit the NHK World T V booth at the upcoming Japan Expo from July the 4th to the 7th where you will be able to see Chocomoo in action GIANNI SIMONE
Spiral is a
The artist particularly likes mixing styles, as can be found at Mishka Tokyo
Chocomoo’s imagination on the Spinns sign
MEMORIES A river runs through it
WATARI Koichi, director of the Watarium, was born and raised in Harajuku. He will guide us through this area so dear to him.
Harajuku is more than just a place on a map, it is a state of mind For example, there is a station with such a name, but a district called Harajuku does not actually exist Most of the area is actually called Jingu-mae Still, everybody knows where Harajuku is.
In order to shed some light on the subject, Zoom Japan spoke to one of Harajuku’s more prominent citizens, Watari Koichi, who, together with his sister Etsuko, runs the prestigious Watari Museum of Contemporary Art We meet in front of the museum and he immediately points out a yellow building on the other side of Gaien Nishi Street. “That’s the nursery school that I went to, ” he says “Then I attended Aoyama Elementary School in front of Gaien-mae Station Since then I’ve kept one foot in Harajuku and the other one in Aoyama. Harajuku is synonymous with street culture – starting with the so-called Takenoko-zoku (Bamboo Shoot Tribe) in the 1980s – while Aoyama has always been more highbrow and sophisticated, with fashion desig ners like Miyake Issey. Now I live on the other side of Aoyama Street, between Aoyama and Azabu, which still is quite close to this district”.
We start walking toward the Meiji Jingu stadium complex when, after about 300 metres, we suddenly take a narrow street to the left “Many years ago this was the Shibuya River,” Watari says “Most people don’t know this but the river still flows under this street before surfacing south of Shibuya Station” Along the way we find a couple of old-looking stones on both sides of the street “This is the spot where a bridge used to stand,” he says Watari explains that in the Edo period (1603-1868) many feudal lords had their mansions in this area while the rest of the area was mostly comprised of rice fields Following our guide, we finally reach one of Harajuku’s main arteries, Meiji Stre et Here we pass in front of BEAMS Harajuku, one of the area ’ s more popular shops for men ’ s fashion. “ This is the first brand that opened in Harajuku, back in 1976, together with United Arrows and other shops,” Watari says Today the BEAMS flagship store has been joined by nine more shops, all clustered near Meiji Street, ranging from clothes to records, art and collectors’ items.
I ask Watari for his opinion on how Harajuku has changed over the years “ When I was a child the district had a stronger American flavour,” he says “After the war they built a big camp for the American forces behind Harajuku Station, so a number of shops opened to cater to them: Kiddy Land, the Oriental Bazaar, etc A little further from here, near Gaien-mae Station, they opened the first bowling alley in Tokyo It was considered a very
WATARI Koichi outside his museum that has become one of Tokyo’s contemporary art hotspots
cool place and ever ybody used to go there, including my father And in Aoyama Street, next to the Brooks Bros shop, there was the upscale Yours supermarket that specialized in imported goods It was open until 3 00 a m so many hostesses from Ginza would do their shopping there after work”.
Watari has especially fond memories of Kiddy Land “For me it was like a dream land. I particularly loved the top floor where they kept all the imported toys The
kids could actually play with the samples so for me it was a ver y special place When, in 1974, they closed down that floor I was SO disappointed!”
We cross Meiji Street and quickly disappear into a quiet area full of trees This is Togo Jinja “The original shrine was built in 1940 in memory of Admiral Togo who had defeated the Russian fleet in the 1905 Russo-Japanese war, ” Watari says. “It was destroyed during the Second World War and rebuilt in 1964” Unfortunately we can-
not visit the inner shrine today because there is a Shinto wedding taking place From a distance we can see the kimono-clad couple slowly walking to the shrine while traditional gagaku music is playing. “For me it’s like a park,” Watari says “I like to walk through the shrine on my way to the station because it’s so peaceful. I almost forget I’m in Harajuku”
Following the tree-lined path, we reach a short flight of stairs leading to one of the loudest places in Harajuku: Takeshita Street Turning right one quickly reaches the station, but we go left instead, back to Meiji Street. On the way we pass by the spot where Palais France once stood “ They sold clothes, accessories, furniture and other goods,” Watari says, “and at the time it was the epitome of elegance There was also a cafe where you could listen to classical music. At the same time, there used to be a number of love hotels on Takeshita Street where the American soldiers would take their Japanese girlfriends…”.
Watari also reminisces about the area ’ s musical past “The younger generation probably don’t know this, but Harajuku used to be an interesting place for music lovers too Rock star Yazawa Eikichi, for example, used to play rockabilly at a local club called Cream Soda with his group Carol” Around the mid-70s Harajuku became a popular meeting point for rock and roll fans who loved such fashion brands as Jun and Van Predating street culture’s later flair for combining disparate styles, the boys would typically mix big afros with long Chinese jackets They used to gather on a stretch of Omotesando Avenue that was closed to traffic on Sunday. This area became so popular with amateur bands, their fans and casual observers that eventually the metropolitan government decided to stop the practice in 1996 Crossing Meiji Street again, we quickly reach Neighborhood, one of the orig inal Ura-Harajuku stores that mixes biker culture with outdoor and military elements “The other shops have moved up to Aoyama’s more upscale district, but Neighborhood has stayed faithful to its roots, ” Watari says
Speaking of business, I ask Watari about the time between 1995 and 2001 when he was the chairman of both the shop owner and neighbourhood development associations “Every time a new company or shop opens here we have meetings and explain our rules,” he says, “like our campaigns to keep the streets clean. We also make sure that the new buildings along Omotesando Avenue are not much taller than the trees Even during the bubble years, when the banks where opening new branches ever ywhere, we kept Omotesando bank-free” Watari thinks that the business environment has changed in the last 10 to15 years “In the beginning all these young entrepreneurs were opening their shops here because it was cheap, but since the street fashion boom rents have increased by 3-4 times Then big brands like H&M and Forever 21 have moved in, making things even tougher for small businesses, so now only the really successful names can stay in Harajuku”.
Watari recalls how he became involved with the local
organizations “In 1995 our museum organized a big project called ‘Ripple across the Water’ We invited 40 artists, each of them contributing a site-specific piece. It was a huge project, way too big for a small family-run museum The chairman at the time was a 70-year-old guy He helped us a lot, but at the end of the exhibition he asked me to replace him, and of course I couldn’t say no. It was ver y stressful but at the same time it helped us create a network of contacts that we could use for future projects”.
Temples and shrines are another important yet overloo-
ked feature of the area “They were built in order to protect Edo Castle,” Watari explains “In a sense they functioned like a wall”. On our way back to the museum, we pass in front of one of them, Myoenji, belonging to the Nichiren Buddhist sect According to a sign we find here, the name Harajuku (Literally meaning "lodgings by the field") comes from an inn along the road that connected Tokyo to the city of Kamakura. “Harajuku” definitely disappeared from the official postal address system in 1965, when it was replaced by Jingu-mae.
Wedding procession at Togo sanctuary on a sunny 14th of June
Before becoming one of Harajuku’s trendiest streets, Takeshita was home to many love hotels
CURIOSITY Ghost busters
As you move away from the louder streets in the neighbourhood, you may have a few surprising encounters.
Aro un d th e b a c k o f th e tren d i e st stre e ts in Harajuku, there is a tiny neighbourhood that has preser ved all of its myster y. Dotted with wholesalers and cafes frequented by eleg antly dressed locals, Jing u-mae 2-chome Street becomes more and more interesting the further you go down it. The street itself actually branches into two roads, which lead to the rema ins of the Olympic complex . Wa lki n g o n th e l e f t y o u w i l l p a ss b y o n e o f th e l o c a l shrines and on the rig ht the Blood of Poets bar and the haunted Sendag aya tunnel. At the junction between the two stands the the Bonobo bar, marked out by the sig n from an old liquor store, which use d to be owne d by a Ta iwanese man, hang ing in pride of place, exactly where it has done for the past 50 years A bar, a club, a noodle bar and a tapas bar, the Bonobo is all of these thing s as well as a communal meeting place for music-lovers and a hotspot for crazy, talented artists Around 5 pm, Jing u-mae Street lig hts up a s o f f i c e s c l o s e f o r th e d ay Ug ( Uj i ) Uen o a rri ve s in his famous “ sanctuar y-car ” , bedecked in leaves and branches, and parks in the middle of the street outside the Bonobo without anyone batting an e yelid. An o l d woman wave s h e l l o to Uen o - s an f rom h er grocery shop and then takes a picture with her phone
Nobody ever gets used to Ug ’ s car, it always provokes amazement, fear or laug hter with a 3 metre hig h and 5 metre long pile of branches sits on the roof like a nest “It helps to advertise my current hanaike exhibition!” he says Based on ikebana , hanaike is floral art that can measure up to the enormous scale of this artists’ work “I discovere d ikebana when I was 19 and I would ima g ine pe ople in kimonos, on a mat, contemplating But in realit y this art is much more a g g ressive and bold” The Bonobo’s g round floor is the perfect illustration of Ug ’ s wild ikebana It hang s down from the ceiling , with branches of a ll shapes and sizes that knot and swirl around each other above the D J ’ s booth, and according to the sea son, it can include branches from cherr y tre es or hydrang ea s Ueno met S ei Ko ich i, the B ono b o ’ s mana g er, four years a g o “At that time, the Bonobo had be en ha lf destroye d by a fire. S ei aske d me to create a terrace and to decorate the bar And I immediately thought of using bushes”
“ This is Tora-san’s house ” says the owner Sitting on a mat on the second floor of this strange house, named after a monkey and built like a cave, Sei remembers h is friend who p a sse d away 8 years a g o “ Tora -san was an old a lcoholic. He a lso create d the countr y ’ s b est audio s ystem in order to listen to Miles Davis
According to the time of day, the Bonobo is transformed from a bar, into a dance floor or a canteen.
properly He lived on the second floor of this house that was used as a rehersal studio” This Korean, born in Yamagata prefecture in 1963 and brought up with the name Yoshimura Koichi, was the founder of the Bonobo and mad about music He lived in New York were he played in experimental bands while working at NHK and broug ht back the spirit of the Loft and
its my thica l underg round par ties that inspire d the Bonobo He bought the house in 2005 after meeting Tora-san “If I hadn’t boug ht it, there’d be a car park here instead . Tora -san wa s rig ht to cho ose me. He couldn’t pay the rent and died 6 months later ” The B ono b o ha s b e en the subj e ct of much hara ssment from estate agents “I was offered 100 million yen for
Ug (Uji) Ueno and his car covered with branches, never go unnoticed in the neighbourhood
the site. I was crazy to refuse,” murmurs Sei. The fire happened after that, during the Obon holidays “Ever y b o d y wa s o f f o n h o l i d ay Th e p o l i c e s a i d i t wa s arson. So I took revenge by building a terrace and an outdoor bar !”
The neighbourhood around Jung u-mae also boasts a cemeter y, a Buddhist sanctuar y and a haunted tunnel that runs along side the old 1964 Olympic facilities Sendag aya tunnel was built for the Olympic Games under a cemeter y, despite warnings to the contrar y It has since been classified as a “hotspot” for ghostly apparitions, as well as suicides At the Senjuin traffic lights (the hermitage) outside the Victors building , is a ver y conspicuous house completely covered in leaves. A Japanese meddler tree spreads its branches over the entrance Nothing would lead you to believe that it is inhabited: the windows are closed and obscured by ivy, but then the light comes on, and all you can think of is running away. A little further down the road is a black building that contains the Blood of Poets bar with a replica of the Mona Lisa as its sign. In an ambiance half way between new wave and Cocteau, a Japanese Rastafarian drinks pastis at the counter As a beat generation photographer and a great poetr y enthusiast, the owner of the place, Fujimoto, opene d yet another bar on the ground floor call Howl. However, the most mysterious and alluring bar in these parts has to be Sakura-san Hidden at the bottom of a street, it is a refuge for the neighbourhood’s workers, although it has room for 10 customers at most The proprietor, Sakura-san himself, a tanned fifty-something , used to be an architect like his father and son “I left the family business because I hated the accounting ” he says He rebuilt this bar that used to be a warehouse, but kept the wooden structure and the outside entrance It isn’t surprising that there’s neither a door nor a sign for this surf lover’s establishment While the bar’s reg ulars come and go, Sakurasan remembers his first bar “It was the Kilala bar, further up towards Harajuku I don’t go there anymore, it’s haunte d !” The conversation suddenly takes off Se veral customers remember the bar. “It wasn ’ t just Sakura-san Everybody could see the ghost!” says Miyoshi, an engineer “One night, quite late, we were 4 or 5 mates hanging out, and it was humid and warm The g host entered throug h the window like a draug ht It just stayed there, standing. It was a man, a poltergeist,” says Sakura-san, as Ai-san shrieks that she would have loved to have seen him as well “ When you came it was too dr y, that’s why you didn’t see him Japanese ghosts like humidity”
It’s past 7 pm, the Bonobo’s outside bar lights up and a table is put outside on the pavement The Chie bar, named after its manager, is opening up “It’s not really legal to set up outside, but when the police turn up, all they find is a bunch of locals sitting around,” says Seisan with a smile. When it closes early in the morning , the bar turns into Usagi Udon, a noodle bar open every day for lunch. The Bonobo’s dance floor turns into a little canteen where the neighbourhood’s office wor-
Decorated by Ueno-san, the Bonobo is a hotspot for music lovers
kers come to eat It’s great fun to see these well dressed men loudly slurping their soup to the rhythm of Ska music amid Ug’s bushy decor. Besides its delicious udon, Usag i is noteworthy for chang ing its manag er ever y two years. “It’s to avoid boredom,” says Kisshin, the chef. Tokyo is a capital that continually changes and is known
for destroying and reconstructing according to the latest trends, but in this small part of Harajuku there remains a bunch of hardliners that prefers to hold on to the existing framework and heart of the area
ALISSA DESCOTES-TOYOSAKI
ENCOUNTER Hanazawa, an unintentional hero
A rising star of the manga world, and the author of I am a Hero, Hanazawa Kengo lets us in on his work and his take on Japanese society.
Hanazawa Keng o already has a few successes to boast of The latest, I am a Hero, has been published in Big Comic Spirits mag azine since 2009 We took advantage of his visit to Brussels for the Made in Asia Festival to inter view him about his progress and his latest mang a .
Your manga I am a Hero is ver y popular abroad. It was even part of the official selection at the Angoulême Festival in France. What do you have to say about its popularit y ?
HANAZAWA Kengo : Frankly, I was surprised It’s quite surprising that a mang a with a failed Japanese hero would g et such a warm welcome abroad I feel relieved that there are other people in the world that resemble me, and in whom I inspire sympathy. I’m happy to see that such t ypically Japanese culture, which is usually quite hard for foreigners to understand, was so well received
How was I am a Hero born?
H. K . : Usually, when you start a new series, you have meeting s with the publisher to determine the layout of the stor y For this manga, we decided to include the themes of “fear ” and “destruction” I talked about it with my editor quite a lot, to discover my own fears When I think about it, I ’ ve been fearful since I was a child. I ne ver suffered from any particular experience, but I was scared to g o to the toilet alone And this childish fear stayed with me as I grew up As for “destruction”, this is related to my previous comic strip, Boys on the run I experienced a ver y difficult period during which I had a lot of trouble finding new ideas. At that time, while I was commuting between home
and my studio, I sometimes wanted to just pack it all in. While I was thinking about a story that could combine with the themes of “fear ” and “destruction”, the idea of a zombie character seemed perfect And there are ver y few mang a in Japan that talk about zombies On the other hand, there are many zombie movies, such as 28 Days Later, the Army of the Dead, REC, I am a Legend In fact I am a Hero was inspired by the Army of the Dead
The zombie doesn’t appear until the eleventh episode, which is quite late. How come ?
H K : In the pre-publication mag azines, the g lobal
scenario can usually be imag ined after the second or third episode. This time, I wanted to mislead the reader and surprise him So the zombie appears in the script when the reader was starting to believe that the mang a was just about a mang a author ’ s ever yday life. The horror film Paranormal Activity inspired that moment. Instead of changing the frame, I thought it more realistic to keep the camera still In other words, if I had zoomed into a close-up, or had too wide a frame, I think it would have lost a lot of its realism. In a way, it's a documentar y approach that I wanted
Does Hideo, the mangaka’s assistant and the main character in I am a Hero, resemble you?
H. K . : Yes. When I started this strip I wanted it to stick to realit y more than in my previous work That is why I decided to create a main character that resembles me His face is mine, althoug h we don’t have the same haircut If I hadn’t been able to draw, I think I ’d have been a failure. I ’ ve always believed I was useless. I ’ ve never felt like shooting someone though, because that’s a crime. In Japan, g un law is ver y strict. It’s quite rare to even g et to touch a g un This mang a ’ s realism doesn’t only concern Hideo For example, I went to Mount Fuji to smell the scent of rotting bodies [many people commit suicide there] In fact, I only found bones.
Sometimes, Hideo denies realit y and enters an imaginar y world Why ?
H. K . : The main character has problems communicating. He has trouble living in the real world and hides away in an imaginar y world When you ’ re a mangaka, success promotes you to the top of the social pile On the other hand, when it doesn’t work, you ’ re at the bottom of the ladder Because we live in a ver y unequal society, many mangaka go through a lot of stress. Mangaka assistants carr y out their work diligently, but from the
Tokyo, 14th of June 2013
outside they often appear slightly suspect because people know ver y little about what they actually get up to
Unlike most ordinar y Japanese people, these suspicious characters are able to sur vive crisis situations.
H. K . : When you are part of that group, or when you ’ re a loser, you can only sur vive by fleeing realit y And in the event of a crisis, these people are astonishingly strong because they are used to being cold-blooded by fleeing reality In my case, if attacked by a zombie, I would probably become one after being bitten without fig hting it off I ’d prefer to be a zombie because it wouldn’t be as stressful ( laug hs)
How did you become a mangaka ?
H. K . : I didn’t want to do the same thing as others, I didn’t g o to a specialized mang a school I did computer science training When I graduated, I worked for a printing house first, before becoming an assistant to mang aka Uoto Osamu He is someone who liked precision. When he drew an onig iri, he would really focus on bringing out the texture of the seaweed I also worked for Yamamoto Hideo for a period of time It was important for him to endure real life experiences to write his mang a I was ver y influenced by him, so I always undertake research before starting on my own projects After my first manga, Ressentiment, I was still an assistant for quite a while Now I am married, and I have someone there to listen to me, but at the time, like Hideo, it was up to me alone to speak up and to criticize the societ y around me.
In the beginning , Hideo goes crazy tr ying to become a hero And he becomes one, step by step
H. K. : There’s nothing special about a zombie In that sense, the zombie only plays a secondary role as such. I only recently realized this Because the main character is so closely related to me, if I were to think that I wasn ’ t the main character in my own life, he couldn’t be either Will Hideo be the last sur vivor in this world ?
H K : I wonder I don’t know yet, but I have a vag ue
idea of what will happen In g eneral, in most zombie films it ends without really knowing what they are. I hope to g ive an answer to that
In your manga you show Japanese people who are incapable of responding to the appearance of zombies. This a way of criticizing a societ y that doesn’t comprehend the feeling of crisis and attempting to shock ?
H K : Hmm. I starte d the strip before March 2011’s earthquake It’s something I created from my own imagination. And then reality overtook me. I wonder if I should allow my way of thinking to evolve Before the earthquake I could evoke scenes of destruction while in a peaceful realit y but once that realit y was destroyed, perhaps I had to chang e the way I expressed myself, especially when writing about violent situations This mang a mig ht not have seen the lig ht of day if the earthquake had happened beforehand The Japanese are not very aware of danger They don’t know how to react in the face of dang er, but that may not be such a bad thing. I became aware of that when seeing how united we all were after the earthquake
Boys on the Run was adapted for the cinema in 2010 before the T V adaptation in 2012 I am a Hero was nominated for the Great Manga Prize and has been warmly welcomed abroad. As a result of this success, is it hard to continue drawing losers ?
H. K . : No. I can ’ t yet leave the universe of losers. I know that to succeed, I need to develop more confidence For the time being , I ’d feel I was lying if I were to draw myself as a superman. So because I can ’ t draw lies, I think I ’ll continue drawing losers
Is it hard to meet the deadlines for pre-publication magazines ?
H K : In general the editor keeps a close eye on what I ’ m doing when I ’ m drawing a strip and he deals with ever ything . So I always meet the deadlines. And sometimes, when I concentrate too hard on what I ’ m doing , I forg et what I ’ ve drawn the previous week I spend most of my time in my studio, which is in my house And when I relax, I like to go out to restaurants with my wife.
BY SAYAKA ATLAN
INTERVIEW
Hideo is the main character of I am a Hero To create him, the author took inspiration from himself
EATING & DRINKING
DISCOVERY High up on the sacred mountain
Designated as a Unesco World Heritage site in 2004, Mount Koya, an important Buddhist shrine, holds many surprises
This place is often neglected by foreign tourists who prefer to visit Kyoto or Nara Yet Mount Koya , or Koya -san to the iniate d, is an amazing location that deser ves a visit Getting there is not ver y difficult at a ll and ta kes around t wo and a ha lf hours from Osaka, Kyoto or Nara. The mountain temple complex is unique and captivating , especially if you
visit at a time when the mist appears through the trees, the temples and other sanctuaries It is a ver y mystical place that seduced the monk Kukai (renamed Kobodaishi af ter his death) nearly 1,200 years a g o on his way back from China , where he studied Chanyang ’ s tantric doctrine. The legend says that it was the Shinto divinities that led him to this hard-to -access mountain, at a heig ht of 1,000 meters Having convince d the Emperor to g ive him the rig ht to create a hermitage, the monk founded the Kongobu-ji temple here in 832, the first temple in which he preached his Shing on doctrine, adapted from what he had studied on
the continent. It's sphere of influence extended over the entire area of Koya-san as well The temple that currently bears the name (open from 8 30am - 5pm, entr y is 500 yen) is more recent, but it is still the principal monastery of Shingon Buddhism Within its precinct shelters the big g est stone g arden in Japan, the Banryu-tei, with rocks evoking mountains rising above a sea of clouds The oldest building still standing on Mount Koya is the Fudo -do, dating back to 1197 and it escaped many fires that destroyed most of the other temples. Classified as a national treasure, the Fudo -do doesn’t possess the majesty of the other buildings, but
The monk Kukai, renamed Kobo daishi after his death and founder of the Shingo sect, built his first monastery here His mausoleum is also located in the area
it exudes a serenity that few can resist. It is situated on the Danj o Garan site, wh ich is made up of five elements including the main gateway (Daimon) Placed at the entrance to the complex, the Daimon is a build ing 2 5 m e tre s h i g h , f lan ke d on e i th er s i d e by th e fig ures of two divinities, whose mission is to protect Koya-san Many tourists stop for the view of the inland sea and amateur photographers appreciate the mountain's spectacular sunsets. They also like to stop outside the Daito, the big pag oda (8 30am - 5pm, entr y is 200 yen) that was built by brother Kukai as a centra l element of the monastic complex The orig ina l building was built in 816 over a period of 70 years, but a las it did not sur vive the fires. The current pa g oda actua l ly dates b ack to 1937 It mea sures 49 metres in heig ht and shelters a statue of the Mahavairocana Buddha, with four Buddhas and sixteen bodhisattvas pa inte d on the pillars The way the y are positione d actually forms a three-dimensional expression of an important mandala (symbolic imag es to aid meditation) in Shingon Buddhism. This Buddhist sect claims to have twelve million followers and professes a doctrine according to which anyone can aspire to enlightenment and becoming a Buddha , reaching Nir vana throug h the untiring repetition of mantras ( incantations) and the visualisation of mandalas. Opposite the G re at Pa g o da , y o u can vi s i t th e G o l d en Pavi l i on (Kondo, 8 30am – 5pm, entr y is 200 yen), where the ma in Buddhist ser vices ta ke place. Initia lly built in 819, the current structure dates back to 1932 Rig ht next to it is the latest addition to the Danjo Garan site, the Mie-do or “portrait pavilion” This building is not accessible to the public but it still holds some importance, a s it is where the monk Kuka i is sa id to have lived Inside is a portrait of Kukai himself, said to be painted by his disciple, the imperial prince Shinnyo. The building is opened once a year, on the eve of the 21st of March, the anniversary of the date when Kukai is meant to have entered meditation for all eternity in 835 (the date of his death) To see his art work from Mount Koya’s various mona steries, we re commend the R eiho -kan museum (8 30am – 5 30pm May to
October and 8 30 am – 5pm November to April, entry is 600 yen) situated on the other side of the road that runs through the Danjo Garan The building contains many major pieces of Buddhist art, most of which are classified as national treasures. The second essential place to visit in Koya-san is Oku-no -in, a temple complex that is particularly spellbinding on a fogg y day. It is surrounded by an ancient cemeter y and the 200,000 tombs, scattered over an area of two kilometres, are in the midst of a forest of hundred-year-old cedars, which make the place somewhat more unsettling It is easy to understand why the Japanese are so fascinated by ghost stories when you find yourself in a place like this among st thousands of tomb stones covered in moss This sacred place, which beg ins at the Ichi no hashi bridg e, is also notable for the diversity of the monuments it encloses. Among st them is a rocket, part of a memorial by the Nissan Group in honour of their wor-
kers The UCC society that specializes in selling coffee naturally chose to mark its presence here with two hug e cups that many stop to stare at Thoug h these constructions catch the eye, most of the tombstones are quite simple. There are many five stor y stone stupas with car ving s of characters relating to the five ele-
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
FROM KYOTO take a train (the Tokaido line) to Osaka and then change for the Kanjo line From Shin-Imamiya, take the Koya-Nankai line to Gokuraku-bashi. From there, a funicular railway will take you to Koya-san station where you can catch a bus to the city centre. The journey will take you 2h30m From Tokyo, catch the shinkansen to Shin-Osaka and then change to the underground (Midosuji line) to Nankai Namba station where you can get the Koya-Nankai line. It is 4h50m away from the capital. http://koyasan or jp/
Souteyrat, Keiich Kondo, Jay Brillo, Luke Bissett,
The Daimon, the main gateway, is the entrance to Koya’s sacred site This is where the Choishi-michi pilgrimage path from Kudoyama (24 kilometers away) ends
TRAVEL
ments of Buddhist cosmolog y (earth, water, fire, wind and void ). In many strains of Buddhist doctrine, the Buddha Mahavairocana’s body as well as the human body and all of the physical world are made up of these five elements and they do not disintegrate after death The most famous stone stupa is Ichiban sekito, which was built by Tokugawa Tadanaga, son of shogun Tokugawa Hidetda, in memory of his mother It is 10 metres hig h and is the big g est in the ne cropolis. Along the path that leads to the Kobo daishi mausoleum there are little Buddhist statues wearing bibs They are representations of the Jizo bodhisattva, which according to popular belief, takes care of children and looks after them in the next world. There are quite a few and many bear funny facial expressions A few dozen metres away from the mausoleum, the Gobyo no hashi bridge marks the entrance to the most sacre d par t of Oku-no -in Here you will find the Pavilion of Lanterns ( Toro-do), a prayer chapel that contains over 10,000 lanterns left by believers On the other side is Kobo Daishi’s mau-
soleum, which according to tradition, is not the resting p lac e for h is c orpse but houses the e ver-l iving monk in a state of eternal meditation That is why monks still serve him two meals a day. The mausoleum is the pilgrim’s last stop before reaching Mount Koya Before the advent of public transport and the construction of roads suitable for cars, believers used to walk the pilgrim paths There are seven in total (known as the Koya nankuchi), and the most famous is the Choishi-michi that is 24 km long This path connects the Jison-in monaster y in Kudyama to the main gateway (Daimon) that marks the entrance to Koya-san’s sacred site It’s name comes from the stone markers ever y 109 m Like all of Mount Koya, this road was given Unesco World Heritage status in 2004 and if you aren ’ t in a rush, it’s a beautiful walk The path beg ins two kilometres from Kudoyama station and it will take you approximately 7 hours to walk to Danjo Garan
To take advantag e of the pilgrimag e atmosphere you can spend a night in a monaster y (shukubo) 52 of the
117 monasteries offer accommodation and vegetarian meals (shojin r yori). Orig inally, the y provided housing for migrant monks Nowadays, the rooms in many monasteries are comparable to the best hotels, with all the comfort you would expect You can ask to join morning prayers around 6am and many tourists enjoy the experience, so we recommend you make a reservation (www shukubo net) Mount Koya is accessible in any season, howe ver, the most impressive time is winter, when snow and mist g ive the area a mystical atmosphere that suits the monk Kukai’s Shingon Buddhism There are also many small cafes to visit af ter this meditational walk One of them, the Bon On Sha (0736 56 5535), rig ht by the post office, is especially cosy They ser ve delicious hot chocolate in warm galler y/shop surrounding s, filled with local handicrafts and photos of the region Once you are reinvigorated, you can continue your trip to the many other sacred locations in the reg ion.
ODAIRA NAMIHEI
Winter is the most spectacular season to visit Mount Koya
In the Oku-no-in necropolis, there are many multi-storey stone stupas.
