Japanese rastasFebruary 27th, 2009 by Adamu |
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Wiki:
A small but devoted Rasta community developed in Japan in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Rasta shops selling natural foods, Reggae recordings, and other Rasta-related items sprang up in Tokyo, Osaka, and other cities. For several years, “Japan Splashes” or open-air Reggae concerts were held in various locations throughout Japan. For a review by two sociologists of how the Japanese Rasta movement can be explained in the context of modern Japanese society, see Dean W. Collinwood and Osamu Kusatsu, “Japanese Rastafarians: Non-Conformity in Modern Japan,” The Study of International Relations, No. 26, Tokyo: Tsuda College, March 2000 (research conducted in 1986 and 1987).
Where are these Japanese rastas today?
February 27th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
The short answer is that kids went for hip hop instead.
Reggae picked up popularity again in the late 90s but it also took in dancehall and ragga and those fans didn’t necessarily develop an interest in rastafarianism. One landmark at the time was in 2002 when Junko “Bashment” Kudo became the first foreigner to be named dancehall queen in Jamaica. Here’s a BBC article from 2006 which describes the back end of that wave
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5199504.stm
It seems the Sunsplash guys started up the Japan leg of the festival again in 2006 and 2007 but it doesn’t look like they held one last year.
February 28th, 2009 at 12:25 am
This may be a figment of my imagination, but I always got the impression that there were Japafarians in Kansai than there were in Kanto.
February 28th, 2009 at 3:05 am
Try the ital vegan rasta restaurant recently reviewed in The Japan Times:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fg20090220sr.html
February 28th, 2009 at 5:51 am
“I always got the impression that there were Japafarians in Kansai than there were in Kanto.”
I spent one hectic night in a rasta bar in Osaka’s Amemura in 1998. I don’t know if it is there anymore.
February 28th, 2009 at 11:06 am
Well, in Kyoto there’s one or two “reggae bars” on Kiyamachi, and on Kawaramachi there’s a rasta store that has a case full of bongs and bowls.
March 1st, 2009 at 10:52 am
I’ve seen a rather amazing-looking record shop in Osaka devoted to Jamaican 45s.
March 1st, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Yappari…
March 2nd, 2009 at 1:50 pm
I think the Rasta part has defiantly been watered down here. But elements of Rasta are still popular:
Marijuana and the Rasta colors are popular symbols and fashion trends.
The “slow life” and vegetarian-ism is very popular.
One of my favorite restaurants is run by some hippies. They’re hippies in the real sense. They grow their own vegetables. They encourage vegetarian diet. They make their own clothes and accessories. They play and regularly listen to Reggae and folk music. They sell peace and hemp wears. They regularly close the shop to protest war and nuclear activity.
They have friends who run a “hemp used wear” store and an art gallery.
When I’ve asked the owners (a young man and wife) if they have any religious connection, they categorically deny that. And that’s understandable, since any real belief in religion in Japan is considered scary.
Basically, I think Japanese have taken elements of either ideology, fashion or both (as best suits the individual) from Rasta and left the faith itself out.
March 9th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
They’re in Koenji.
Check out dining bar ZION.
http://diningbarzion.blog87.fc2.com/
You can also find them on (English) map here: http://tinyurl.com/koenji
March 9th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
I ended up at a Jamaican themed “reggae bar” in downtown Kyoto for a couple of hours over the weekend and spoke with foreigners from Egypt, Turkey, Kenya, Brazil and the US but only one actual Jamaican. There was a poster on the wall with some Marley lyrics about Zion and some of the other usual bric-a-brac but I can’t say that the place had a particularly “Rastafarian” vibe. I mean, I ate jerked chicken and Rastas are supposed to be vegetarian right?
On a related note, I noticed last week that the Rasta-themed head shop “麻や” on Kawaramachi just south of Sanjo closed down. I recall seeing it when I first came to Kyoto in 2002. And to think, just as pot is actually getting popular in Japan.
March 10th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
If it’s a restaurant, they are probably just selling the chicken for the money. They might not eat it themselves.
...It’s hard to live out an ideology when you have to worry about turning a profit.
April 12th, 2009 at 4:27 am
There seem to be a small number of Japanese rastas living in Brooklyn, ny.