To HikaruGENJI by Kita Koji (1988) [Encounters with Mr. Johnny]
(Please see Part One for more information and context.)
I hadn’t intended to translate more of this book but because of the image of idols as mindless automatons pushed by outlets like the BBC and its recent documentary and recent coverage from The New Yorker, I think it’s important to understand that there are many idols, like Mr. Kita, who love music. While the freedom of idols to write their own songs and be involved creatively in their own performances varies by company and by era, the idea that it’s something new and groundbreaking for idols to write music and lyrics is ahistorical and just plain ignorant.
These selections come from the second section of Kita Koji’s book—Encounters with Mr. Johnny—in which he retells the story of his early life and first encounters with both Johnny Kitagawa and the world of show business. And to assure any nervous readers, I have no intention of translating the gritty details of the sexual abuse suffered by Mr. Kita so you can read ahead safely. Unlike the BBC I’m not interested in trauma tourism.
Mr. Kita was from a fishing village in Wakayama Prefecture, in the Kansai region near Osaka. He had a childhood marked by hunger and family strife but was a determined and active kid. He showed an early talent for gymnastics and would go on to become the first Johnny’s idol to incorporate the backflip into his performances. Backflips would become a hallmark of later Johnny’s & Associates groups like Shonentai, V6, A.B.C-Z, and continues today with Snowman. Mr. Kita also loved poetry and would transform that love into a talent for writing lyrics. He wrote the lyrics for a number of Four Leaves songs including the A-sides for some of their best known singles such as オリビアの調べ (“Looking up Olivia”, 1968) and 夏の誘惑 (“Summer Temptation”, 1971).
[And you can see Mr. Kita doing his famous backflip during a performance of the Four Leaves’s 夏のふれあい , lyrics by Kita Koji.]
At 15, against his parents’ wishes, Mr. Kita dropped out of school to do factory work. First in nearby Nagoya and then moving to Osaka. He landed at an iron works and moved into the company dormitory. Watching music programs on television was an escape and he became infatuated with the dance and music of the Johnnys. This selection picks up with Mr. Kita at about 15-16 years old, living on his own in a company dormitory, employed at an iron works in Osaka.
Curious readers looking for more information about the 1960s and 1970s pop scene in Japan may also want to check out my three part podcast series on Japan’s first idol group, the Tigers, whose story overlaps with Mr. Kita’s in many ways and will provide more context for the era, including fashion. You will even recognize a few of the same landmarks such as the famous Groups Sounds era music venue “Namba Ichiban” in Osaka and the Nishigeki Western Carnival held annually at the Nippon Theater in Tokyo. It’s not impossible the young Mr. Kita crossed paths with the young Tigers (or “Sally and the Playboys” as they were known at the time) at a club in Osaka.
The first episode of my idol history series also covers some of the context of the era, such as the Big Three (御三家), who were the teen kings of the pop scene at the time and Johnny Kitagawa’s first idol group who were (confusingly) named the “Johnnys.” This group is sometimes referred to now as 初ジャニーズ or “first Johnnys” because, today, idols from Johnny’s & Associates are also referred to simply as “Johnnys.” However, when Mr. Kita refers to “Johnnys” he means the four member idol group active at the time and not Johnny’s & Associates idols, generally.
This was sourced from my own personal copy of the book and, as always, this is for entertainment purposes and personal use only. I am not a professional translator and do this purely for fun and language practice. Do not republish.
I admired the Johnnys
If I can just get into show business, I’ll definitely become a star. A star just like the Johnnys.
At the time, the Big Three were gaining in popularity--Hashi Yukio, Funaki Kazuo, and Saigo Teruhiko. But, the Johnnys with their singing and dancing were stars like nothing Japan had ever seen before. Their light step, sweet singing voices, encircled in the high-pitched screams of girls and multicolored tape. It was the first time anybody had seen anything like it.
In the blink of an eye, the four members--Iino Osami, Aoi Teruhiko, Nakatani Ryo, and Maie Hiromi--had become stars. To a country boy like me, they were an incredible, dazzling group of men.
They’re so cool———-for somebody like me, proud of my athletic ability, naturally I wanted to try and imitate their dancing and movements.
“Koji, you’re pretty good. Can you teach me too?”
My pimple-faced dorm mate joined me in dancing. Every time we saw the Johnnys on TV we became bigger and bigger fans.
How much fun would it be if I could sing and dance like that too. I’d be popular with the girls and it would be a fun way to earn money. For a kid who liked writing poetry, I knew that songs were just like poems and you could use them to express yourself. Could I also become a singer——-.
Thinking about that I’d lay in bed at night unable to sleep. During that same exact era, I was always going to Namba Ichiban, the famous music club in Osaka. I had my first experience with live music there. Deep in my bones the sound of the bass, guitars, and drums reverberated.
At about 14 or 15 years old is the age when you start waking up to the kind of music you like and for me it was the Johnnys and Namba Ichiban that opened my eyes. I was also moved by the film West Side Story. Singing was not a particular speciality of mine but I became a slave, body and soul, to music. Going on like I was at the factory, I’d only ever earn small wages but if I could just debut in show business I’d get popular singing and dancing like the Johnnys. I could buy a big house with a garden and the whole family could live together and if I had kids, they’d never see a dinner table without side dishes.*
The dream and the practical reality became something I caught hold of and didn’t let go. I’d found a quick and easy way of getting rich but I couldn’t do anything about it where I was. A kid working at an iron plant in Osaka has no way to connect with the glittering world of celebrities.
Damn it, there’s nothing I can do…… If I can just get into show business, I’ll definitely become a star, I can dance just like the Johnnys dance, and as for singing, I’ll throw my whole heart into it and manage somehow. A world where you can get money and fame all at once, what’s the best way to get into it——-
* This phrase おかずのない食卓 literally “dinner table with no side dishes” calls back to an earlier part of this section where Mr. Kita recalls eating meals of plain rice with no side dishes and how a trip to the local shop to get the cheapest vegetable tempura seemed like the height of luxury.
Wanna be a roadie?
A roadie* is somebody who does odd jobs for the band members. These odd jobs could be my first step into the world of show business.
One day, on one of my frequent visits to Namba Ichiban, one of the members of the band called out to me, “If you like music so much, wanna be a roadie for us?”
It was one of the Wagon Stars, who were working as the backing band for the Three Funkeys, who were a popular group at the time. He’d been in the green room loitering aimlessly and called out to me.
“Oh, for real? When would you need me to start?”
A roadie is somebody who does odd jobs for the band members. These odd jobs could be my first step into the world of show business.
“If ya feel like it, come to Tokyo. We’re looking for a roadie right now. Pay’s pretty low though.”
“I’ll come! I’ll get my stuff and come!”
The next night, I’d shoved my stuff into a small bag and like a thief in the night left the factory dormitory. As a roadie, I’d be a legitimate part of the world of show business. I had a foothold and would show everyone, I’d become a star like the Johnnys.
Looking out of the window of the night train, my face appeared reflected in the glass. It was a nice face. With only the title of “road crew”, I left for Tokyo without a word to my parents.
* The word used in this section is ボーヤ a contraction of the English loan phrase バンドボーイ or バンドボーヤ literally “Band Boy”. The closest equivalent we have in English is “roadie” short for road crew. Today, being a roadie is a professional career and involves a high level of skill in setting up and maintaining equipment but, at the time, in Japan as well as in the West, generally it was just some guy the band knew and he’d be in charge of things like running to get cigarettes as well as hauling around gear. For example of the kind of job Mr. Kita is doing, you can see Mal Evans in the Beatles documentary The Beatles:Get Back running to fetch things and providing support as needed. Mal Evans was an exemplary ボーヤ.
Wakayama dialect in Tokyo
Staring intently at the stage, this 16-year old boy felt his own inferiority.
Tokyo. You could call it the beating heart of Japan. It appeared before my eyes. I’d been surprised by the cities of Osaka and Nagoya but, for me, the big city of Tokyo, which was swept up in the fervor for the Tokyo Olympics, was a huge surprise. The Miyuki Tribe* was getting noticed by society but as a roadie I was surrounded by strangers.
“Hey Koji, when we’re hanging out with the guys in the scene can you drop the Wakayama dialect? The other guys are all calling you a hick.”
This was one step on my way to becoming a taciturn kid and unfortunately I’d become a roadie who didn’t say much of anything. If I was a sociable person who dealt positively with anything that came up, I wouldn’t be so intimidated and when meeting strangers I’d gradually be able to speak. But, as an introvert, my embarrassment took over. Overly aware of my Wakayama pronunciations, I eventually stopped talking.
During the time when Four Leaves first became popular, returning to my hometown was a bitter experience. I’d started to forget the Wakayama dialect but I didn’t speak a normal Tokyo dialect either. I was an indeterminate person. I didn’t belong to Wakayama; I didn’t belong to Tokyo. I didn’t have a have a home. I was living like a floating weed** it felt like I was peeping through at the other side of the idol business.
The work of a roadie was more difficult than the toy store, iron works, or the sushi shop. I didn’t get a regular salary. I’d pack up the guitars and drums nice and tight in the van and then I’d get shaken around in the cargo space. I could be riding back there on a flat iron surface with no cushions for seven or eight hours.
Even during that harsh roadie life, I was still thinking about the Johnnys. I was holding onto my dream of becoming a star like them who sang and danced. I never missed seeing them on television and went to as many concerts as I could in Tokyo. Standing amidst the screaming girls his age, staring intently at the stage, this 16-year old boy felt his own inferiority.
* Read more (in English!) on the Miyuki Tribe here but the short version is they were young people who took to loitering around Miyuki Street in Ginza in the summer of 1964 and were known for their adoption of the “Ivy Look.”
** The floating weed is a metaphor for people drifting in society. You can read more (in English!) here.
An Encounter with Johnny
Meeting Mr. Johnny Kitagawa at the Western Carnival became the decisive turning point in my life.
The Johnnys are appearing at the Nishigeki Western Carnival.* Whatever I need to do, I’m going to be there——-
The Nishigeki Western Carnival opened in 1955 at the beginning of the rockabilly boom and had become a once-in-a-lifetime performance goal for young idol singers. And it wasn’t any easier to get a ticket to a popular idol group than it was to appear on stage. Every year the mass media would report on the hysterical fans gathered outside the venue.
Tamping down my excitement, I headed to the Nishigeki, which completely swamped with girls, to try and dig up a ticket. The cheers of support for the artists singing and dancing on stage were intense, bordering on screaming, and I was pinned down by the force of it. So when the Johnnys appeared on stage before me, I felt like I’d been knocked out. So this is the Johnnys, the feelings I had seeing them on television felt very far away.
This was when it happened. At some point earlier, I spotted a young man in the stage wing looking my way. At first I thought, who is he looking at and tried to figure it out but eventually I realized he was looking at me. Maybe he’s connected to the band, I thought. I heard a voice from behind me, the handsome man had come over unnoticed.
“You, who are you here to see?”
“The Johnnys, sir.”
“Hmm. So, what’cha doing now?”
“Uh……I’m working as a roadie.”
“Really? So, you’re kind of in the music business then, aren’t you. What do ya think? Do you like show business?”
“.......Yeah.......”
This unknown, handsome man put his hand on my shoulder and softly continued to talk.
When I heard that the Johnnys were part of this handsome man’s production company, I felt hot all over my body. Oh my God——-oh my God, this man is the president of the Johnnys’ production company.
Maybe I could meet the Johnnys. I couldn’t believe that I would be scouted, so I thought maybe he was going to introduce me to the Johnnys and I’d get an autograph. For a 16-year old boy, that was more than enough to be overflowing with happiness.
“Why don’t you come work as a roadie for us? Be a roadie for the Johnnys. I’ll look after you.”
With his hand still resting gently on my shoulder, the man calling himself Johnny Kitagawa murmured this softly in my ear.
This meeting at Western Carnival became the decisive turning point in my life.
* To give you an idea of how big an event this would have been, the climatic finale of the first act of (my ultimate favorite group) A.B.C-Z’s play The Legend of Johnny’s is a performance at the Nishigeki Western Carnival. When I saw the production in December 2022, A.B.C-Z performed as the “first Johnnys” while the Johnny’s Junior group 7 Men Samurai portrayed the Group Sounds era band The Spiders during this section, playing a cover of the Spiders’ hit song なんとなく. When the Nippon Theater was torn down in 1981, many of the original performers at Nishigeki Western Carnival reunited for a big performance which was eventually released as a three album set. I’ve never been able to find a copy at a decent price.