Shonen Knife's Happy Hour

Food, Gender, Rock and Roll

Brooke McCorkle Okazaki

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781501347962
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medien & darstellende Kunst
• Subtopic: Musik

Shonen Knife-an all-female punk trio from Osaka, Japan-cultivated a global fan base that has included the likes of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore. Their 1998 album Happy Hour, filled with tunes about delicacies ranging from sushi to banana chips, encapsulates the band's charming fusion of cuteness with punk rock cool. Tracing histories of food and josei rock in Japan, McCorkle Okazaki outlines the ways Shonen Knife has, over the last forty years, consistently used seemingly straightforward songs about food to comment on gender stereotypes in popular culture.

1 Girl Bands and Josei Rock, 1950s–1980s

Girls Band and/or Josei Rock?

Girls bands (known as gāruzu bando in Japanese katakana, the phonetic system used for foreign loanwords) have existed in some form since the beginning of rock-and-roll culture in Japan in the mid-twentieth century. There are some qualities about this denotative genre that are problematic. As the reader can surmise, gāruzu bando is Japanified English; the phrase itself is immediately established as foreign to the native Japanese language, and by extension to the culture itself. Additionally, the word “girl” acts as a diminutive adjective adding a patina of cuteness to the noun “band.” As we will see, some, but not all, women-led groups embrace cute performance practices. The persistent use of the term “girl” demeans the grown women performing in these bands. By describing them as “girls” in the popular media, these performers’ music is implicitly marginalized as commodity entertainment not to be taken seriously; it is not adult “art.” Finally, the word “band” is vague as it does not indicate a musical genre. The lack of generic attachment may seem liberating, but it is in many ways a limitation. The phrase “girl bands” disassociates female-identifying performers from their musical creations. What their music sounds like seems to matter less than the fact that they are young and female.

Because of these issues, I suggest an alternative term, josei rock. Josei means “woman” or “female” in Japanese. It can be used as a general term to describe all those identifying as female. Rock, or rokku in Japanese, is of course a broad genre that encompasses everything from surf and new wave to hardcore and heavy metal. But the term does imply the general combination of guitar, bass, and drum set, and it references generic harmonic and melodic practices. To be sure, many of the bands I discuss in this chapter have historically been described as girl bands and some, like Princess Princess, can easily fall under the category of either pop or rock. However, I believe josei rock to be a more apt term that best describes the wide variety of women rock groups from Japan both in the past and in the present. Thus, for the purposes of this book, I use the phrase josei rock.

Josei Rock: History and Context

In this section I briefly discuss the history of rock and the dynamics of gender and race in Japan before focusing on some predecessors and contemporaries of Shonen Knife during its formative years in the 1980s. Mary Celeste Kearney explains the different ways gender politics entered into rock history in America, citing the predominance of hegemonic masculinity and a patriarchal system that came to dominate the rock scene (Kearney 2017: 55–8). Thanks to the broader political work by feminist and queer activists, rock culture in Anglo-European contexts slowly transformed in the final decades of the twentieth century (Kearney 2017: 58–60). Nevertheless, the cult of identity, and by extension gender performance, continues to influence rock today. Rock does not exist in a vacuum; as much as we might wish for a world in which all races, sexes, gender identifications, and sexual orientations receive egalitarian treatment, the world has not yet achieved this utopic ideal. Landmarks like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s induction of Aretha Franklin in 1987 and Sister Rosetta Tharpe in 2018 have finally highlighted the historical role of women, and especially Black women, in the genre’s development in the United States. Additionally, scholarship and media are increasingly focusing attention on female artists’, producers’, and consumers’ influences on rock culture (Kearney 2017: 123–30). Therefore, I want to highlight the contributions of some female-identifying Japanese artists who have hitherto been ignored abroad, and in some cases even in their home country.

Josei Rock Beginnings

In 1950s Japan, men and women alike were inspired by Elvis Presley and were dipping their toes into the newest popular music genre: rock and roll.¹ Among these women, Misora Hibari stands out for her long and extensive career across multiple genres: boogie-woogie, rockabilly, and most notably, enka, nostalgic ballads that mix Japanese traditional music elements with Western ones. While Hibari (referred to by fans and scholars alike by her given name) built her legacy on the latter genre, her activity across the board was crucial to women’s participation in popular music in Japan in the second half of the twentieth century. Michael K. Bourdaghs relates that it is impossible to compare Hibari to any single Western artist, but if pressed he would describe her as “a combination of Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis Presley” (Bourdaghs 2012: 53). Hibari hugely influenced the world of postwar music in Japan, and generations of performers including 1960s rockers Jackie and the Blue Comets and, later, Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Sakamoto Ryūichi sought collaborations with her (Bourdaghs 2012: 73). Because of Hibari’s importance to Japanese popular music in the latter half of the twentieth century, a history of josei rock by necessity begins with Hibari and her colleagues.

Most relevant to this history is Hibari’s participation in a girl group early in her career. Together with Yukimura Izumi and Eri Chiemi, the young women performed as a rockabilly group called Three Girls (Sannin Musume) that formed as part of a crossover promotion between Japan’s film and music industries (Bourdaghs 2012: 59).² While most of their songs were covers of American tunes, they also sang some Japanese-language songs (albeit composed by others) (Branstetter 2019).³ The women drew on the sound world of low registers and growls that might have been inspired by Oklahoma native Wanda Jackson and her su ccessful tour of Japan in 1959 (Jackson with Bomar 2017: 132–3; Branstetter 2019). Misora effectively mastered the rockabilly sound in her 1958 recording “Rockabilly Swordfighting” (Rokabirī Kenpō) (Bourdaghs 2012: 66, 87; Branstetter 2019). Misora’s colleague Yukimura even covered Jackson’s “Fujiyama Mama,” which had become a number one hit released by Capital Records’ Japanese branch (Jackson with Bomar 2017: 132–3). Yukimura transformed the Jackson tune and inserted Japanese lyrics between English ones, adopting the musical language of early rock and making it her own (Bourdaghs 2012: 87). The women of Three Girls, known for their varied musical activities in postwar Japan, are among some of the earliest female participants in rock and their influence cannot be ignored.

Just as Elvis and rockabilly swept Japan in the 1950s, Beatlemania invaded the country in the latter half of the 1960s (Bourdaghs 2012: 124–5). The rock music of this time, centered around the electric guitar, came to be known as “Group Sounds” (Bourdaghs 2012: 113–57). While young men comprised many of the era’s bands, women also participated in Group Sounds, usually filling the role of vocalist.⁴ Among these performers, Obata Miki stands out. She began her career as a fashion model before entering the music world in 1967 with her debut single “First Love’s Letter” (Hatsukoi no retā), a tune with a surf beat featuring brass, electric guitar, and a minor-mode melody. While Obata collaborated with Nakamura Taiji on the music, she wrote the lyrics for her songs herself—an uncommon activity for female pop-music performers both then and now. In doing so, she asserted agency over her performances.

Early Beatles tunes also inspired the female band members of Pinky Chicks, originally a dance group called Sweet Roses. Leader Oka Naomi encouraged her friends to transform themselves into a rock band and capitalize on the popularity of Group Sounds. Joining Oka, the bassist and vocalist, were Itono Miwa on vocals, Hirooka Julie and Togashi Yumi on guitar, Ōtori Mika on drums, and Matsubara Miho on keyboards. With support from Japan Victor Records, the Pinky Chicks learned some tunes and performed at American military stations, small clubs, and on late-night television. They found moderate success with the ballad “Go to Your Side” (Soba ni itte) and appeared in two movies in 1968. In one of these films, Train for the First Shrine Visit of the New Year (Hatsumode ressha), the band performs a groovy tune titled “Work Song a-Go-Go” (Sōran-bushi a go-go).⁵ While dancers scream and cheer, the women, dressed only in short silk robes akin to smoking jackets, dance in synchronization and perform a surf riff. “Yeah yeah yeah” comprises the majority of the lyrics. The Pinky Chicks and their 1960s attire capture the atmosphere of Group Sounds.⁶ Although the Pinky Chicks were a josei rock group who played their own instruments, as a musical endeavor, the group was short-lived. Like many other Group Sounds bands, it dissolved in the early 1970s. Nevertheless, women shown playing rock instruments in popular media was an important step in the history of josei rock.

The 1970s saw the rise of women singer-songwriters in Japan just as similar artists like Joni Mitchell and Carole King were coming to prominence in the United States. Pianist-vocalists like Matsutoya Yumi and Yano Akiko debuted at this time to great acclaim and went on to influence Japanese popular music for decades. Early idol girl groups like Pink Lady and Candies also emerged around then, as the Japanese producers sought to cultivate performers and exert greater control on the industry. Concurrently, glam, electronic music, funk, soul, disco, new wave, rock, and punk were also flowing into Japan’s popular music ether. And toward the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, a large number of female musical groups appeared on the scene, representing the first wave of josei rock. Shonen Knife were active parti­cipants in this first wave, but so were many other groups that were not able to sustain their careers beyond the 1980s. In the remainder of this chapter, I discuss some of these josei rock bands. These women made important contributions to the world of Japanese rock that have gone unheeded in both Japanese and English-language scholarship to date.

Josei Rock’s First Wave

A few qualities differentiate the artists of josei rock’s first wave from their predecessors. First, many of the musicians in the first wave of josei rock wrote and recorded their own songs and played rock instruments. While control over their music and image depended on their relationship with the music industry, the fact that women were not relegated to the role of vocalist is important. Second, as mentioned earlier, idol culture also appeared around this time. The women rockers sometimes starkly contrasted with idols’ squeaky-clean images and concomitant squeaky, high-pitched voices. At other times, female rock musicians borrowed and capitalized on idol culture in potent ways. Importantly, though, many groups exercised some agency over how gender performance would come into play musically and on stage. Third, the first wave of josei rock arose at a time when women rockers in other parts of the world were also attracting attention. Fanny, Exene Cervenka, Patti Smith, Chrissie Hynde, Siouxsie Sioux, Poly Styrene, Debbie Harry, the Slits, Heart, the Runaways, and the Go-Go’s all appeared on the scene in the 1970s and early 1980s. Shonen Knife and the groups described below were participating, consciously or not, in a global movement by women rockers challenging the genre’s patriarchal elements.⁷

Finally, Japan’s economic conditions also influenced the course of josei rock. Around this time, Japan’s economy had achieved phenomenal growth. By the 1970s and 1980s, Japanese electronics and cars were dominating the global economy, and until 2010, Japan’s GDP was second only to that of the United States. The country’s growing economic clout affected women and the feminist movement, inclu­ding education and employment. The percentage of women attending junior and four-year colleges had septupled bet­ween 1955 and 1981 (Fujimura-Fanselow 1985: 475). About 50 percent of women worked outside the home, though many had to choose between p ursuing a lifelong career comparable to men’s and undertaking part-time work while also performing the duties expected of a housewife (Kano 2016: 18–19, 125, 149). Ayako Kano describes, “The feminizumu [feminism] boom in the 1980s was at once commercial, political, and academic in nature, as the era of women (onna no jidai) became a slogan for marketers as well as for activists and scholars” (Kano 2016: 18–19). Josei rock participated in the decade’s feminizumu boom, both directly and indirectly. By taking this historical context into consideration, we can better appreciate the musical, cultural, and even political work of Shonen Knife and their contemporaries in a global context.

One early example of the exchange between Japanese rockers and those across the Pacific is GIRLS’ cover of the Runaways’ “Cherry Bomb.” Founded in 1977, GIRLS was together for only two years, and the majority of their tracks are disco influenced and less heavy than the Runaways’ tune. In their cover of “Cherry Bomb,” released as the B-side on their debut album Nora Neko (Stray Cat), lead singer Rita (Nomoto Takako) alternates between Japanese-language verses and an English-language chorus. The easy switching between the two languages is a significant gesture that remains a staple for much of rock music in Japan. GIRLS’ version of “Cherry Bomb” follows the original closely, albeit without the orgasmic moans.⁸ GIRLS went on to record other covers, such as Blondie’s “In the Flesh” and a disco version of the Ramones’ “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker.” As early josei rockers, they unabashedly embraced the commodification of both their musical abilities and their sex appeal; the album cover for Nora Neko shows the women posing sassily and leader Rita stands with her legs splayed, wearing hot pants and a leopard print corset.

In their overt sexuality, GIRLS’ image contrasts with their close contemporaries, Mizutama Shōbōdan (Polka Dot Fire Brigade). Formed in 1979, the group billed itself as “five women who make their own songs and play guitars, keyboard, bass, and drums.”⁹ Mizutama Shōbōdan’s sound is difficult to describe. T...