Bradcat's J-Music Focus... Hanato Chiruran

I'm always on the look out for new Japanese music (After all, there's only so much Scandal one man can listen to) which is how I stumbled across a podcast called "It Came From Japan", an independent outfit ran by Daniel Robson. I listen to the podcast on a regular basis, and really enjoy all the bands Daniel suggests. However none of them really jumped out at me like Hanato Chiruran did.

Hanato Chiruran

I've always been a fan of bands with disjointed guitar riffs and jazz beats. The first musicians that jump to mind are Acoustic Ladyland and Giraffes? Giraffes! which is where I think Hanato Chiruran would fit in the west.

Hanato Chiruran are a Japanese rock band formed in Tokyo in 2008. They have had collaborations with many other musicians, including hip-hop artists, but over time they have changed their style to classic rock and roll. Releasing their first album "Dirty and Beauty" in 2009, they followed this up in 2010 with "Bulldozer" where they were picked up by a management team and began touring in Europe in 2011 and 2012 in places such as Germany, France, and Italy.

It's hard to describe Hanato Chiruran's unique sound without hearing it for yourself. Lead vocalist Yumiho has a beautifully haunting voice, combined with John Frusciante style guitar from Kokeshi, funky and lightning precise bass tones from Karuta, and indie trip-hop beats from Rossi. Altogether they give an amazingly epic sound for an indie band.

Hanato Chiruran - The Game

The track which caught my attention from the "It Came From Japan" podcast was "The Game". I sent a tweet to Daniel asking if I could download the track from iTunes. He then messaged the band directly, which put me in contact with Yumiho. She was kind enough to explain that they had no digital version, only a CD, but she would send me a CD in the post!

"To Sean, Enjoy our CD, Thank you!" - A message from Hanato Chiruran / Yumiho

Hanato Chiruran - Bulldozer

I received the CD in just a few days and immediately imported it to my iTunes and it's been sat on repeat for days now. There are segments of each track which are reminiscent of some of my favourite tracks by western artists including Bloc Party, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and The XX. "The Game" is still my favourite track, just for it's haunting opening lyrics where Yumiho asks "Did we shoot a dice when we walked in for the first time?" as we realise this is a romantic song full of regret, but no sooner do we fall in love with her soft traditional Japanese vocals, that the rest of the band explode into action into a fast paced five minute belter. The video above doesn't really do the track justice due to the recording quality of the video camera, but believe me, it sounds fantastic.

I'll wrap up by leaving you with another track from the album, it's called "JUMP"

Hanato Chiruran - JUMP

For more information on Hanato Chiruran, you can find their official links here:
Hanato Chiruran official website
Hanato Chiruran on Facebook
Hanato Chiruran on Twitter

Don't forget to check out "It Came From Japan" too:
It Came From Japan official website
It Came From Japan on Twitter

Bradcat's Japanese Word of the Week... Tanoshī

Bradcat's Japanese phrase/word of the week is "Tanoshī" (楽しい) "Tan-oh-shii" which means "Fun"

So let's imagine if you were trapped in a zombie apocalypse and a Japanese person asked what it was like to slay a horde of zombies using an electric guitar, you could say:

"Tanoshikatta!" which means "It was fun!"

Bradcat's Japanese Culture Focus... Fast Food

In the UK we're no strangers to the world of fast food with "Drive-thru" restaurants popping up on practically every corner, and the government constantly trying to push healthy school meals. Not to mention we were statistically the 5th "fattest" county in Europe in 2013. While our meal sizes are smaller in comparison to countries like America (Their small McDonalds meals are equal to our large ones) that doesn't stop us from indulging ourselves once in a while. 

"Would you like a side of fries with that?"
"Would you like to upgrade to a larger side order?"
"Did you know you can go large for just 30p?"

These are standard questions at any fast food restaurant these days. But what would you say, if your server asked if you'd "like a stone of fries with that?" You'd probably look at them as if they were insane.

Not in Japan...

In Japan, McDonald's ran a special promotion for a short period of time where you could buy a large portion of fries for just  ¥150 yen (that's roughly 90p) and kids went crazy for it. Some groups of kids hosted their own "potato parties" spending ¥5500 (£35) on mountains of fries like in the photo above. According to the Twitter commentary which went with the photos, all the fries were consumed. 

More recently Burger King have announced their BiKing promotion. Their play on words is meant to be synonymous with "Viking" with Japanese people obviously pronouncing their V's as B's. In this promotion the company are offering all you can eat Whopper burgers. All you have to do is consume your burger, go back to the counter with your empty wrapper, and they'll give you a new one! Obviously there are rules to stop cheaters. You're not allowed to palm the Whoppers into your bag, or have your friend help you eat, anyone caught doing this will be refused service. Oh, there is also a 30 minute time limit, so think again if you planned on eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the BK lounge.

On a slightly more serious note, Japan is the world's second biggest economy but it struggles to produce enough food. The government says only 39% of the food the Japanese need is grown in Japan. In contrast Britain produces 70% of the food its population needs and France more than 120%. With over 128 million people in Japan, it ranks 124th in the world in terms of food security, and as the global population continues to grow there is more competition for resources. Which begs the question, are these over the top promotions wise?

What's the craziest fast food you've experienced? Let me know in the comments below!

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Bradcat's J-Music Focus... Sugar'n'Spice

As most of you know by now, I'm a huge fan of the band Scandal. They played a big part in my love for discovering new Japanese music to listen to. One day whilst browsing YouTube for Japanese bands, one particular video caught my attention called "Hybrid Age". The reason it caught my eye is because my username on YouTube is Hybrid3415 (Don't ask, it's a username I've used since I was 15) So I gave it a listen...

Sugar'n'Spice - The Hybrid Age

Who was this bad ass of a front woman, accompanied by a cute punky drummer and attitude fuelled crunching indie guitar tones? It was of course Sugar'n'Spice. I loved the track so much, I had it on repeat for over an hour. I followed the links via their description and shortly downloaded the album also entitled "The Hybrid Age" from iTunes. I soon came to love their other tracks, with one of my other favourites being "Queen Kate", a song in which lead singer Kyao, daydreams of visiting London and hanging out with one of her idols; Kate Moss. The track has a very rough British punk, Libertines-esque, vibe to it.

Sugar'n'Spice - Queen Kate

Since discovering the band, I've tried to share them with my friends via Twitter and Facebook. I recently tried my hand at DJing at a local rock night, where I was able to throw in a few tracks by Sugar'n'Spice too. As Kyao manages most of the social media aspects of the band, we have had a few interactions, the same goes for the other members Tsue (guitar) and Mie (drums) ...

A quick Tweet to Mie chan for her birthday...

And a question to Tsue about her incredible appetite...

Kyao was even kind enough to help me surprise one of my best friends for his birthday! Since hearing Hybrid Age, my friend Bob has enjoyed the band as much as I have. I asked Kyao via Twitter if she wouldn't mind getting the band to sign a CD and send it over to me for his birthday. How cool is that?!

The girls hosted a LIVE web chat before one of their shows recently. I messaged them to let them know that I would see them one day...

If your Japanese is like mine isn't that strong, Kyao says; "A guy from England is watching this too! He will visit Japan one day and come to our show, coming from across the sea. Thank you so much!" (Thanks to my friend Mami chan for the translation)

It's really great to see an upcoming band that has such great interaction with their fans. I really look forward to seeing what the girls produce next with their new addition of Okumurakana on bass guitar, and hopefully seeing them play live one day.

Sugar'n'Spice... Ganbatte ne!

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There are links scattered throughout this blog post linking to the band's Twitter profiles and YouTube accounts, for more information check out the following links:

Sugar'n'Spice Official Website

Sugar'n'Spice on iTunes

Bradcat's Japanese Culture Focus... Sex in Japan

An article was recently published in The Guardian titled "Why have young people in Japan stopped having sex?" by Abigail Haworth. The article has caused a bit of a stir on the internet, with rival newspapers writing counter articles, people making videos on YouTube in response, and bloggers like myself, ranting on their pages.

The article explores multiple reasons for the decline in newborns, and why young people are shying away from the bedroom. I'll try my best to outline some of the key points for you:

Technology

With the rise of modern technology, teenage boys are finding themselves drawn in by simulation games. Why bother to go out and do the real thing, when you can simulate that activity via a video game in the comfort of your own home? That's fine for sports simulations, or activities that might be beyond your normal parameters, but what about dating sims? 

That's right, you can now have your very own virtual girlfriend (or boyfriend) without having to deal with the "baggage" of a relationship. You can turn your companion on or off, as and when you see fit. Many of these young Japanese males take these simulations on journeys with them to work! 

But do these virtual spouses match the real thing? Many of these people would say yes, with some males keeping hold of their simulation games for several years, longer than most real world marriages.

Career

It's not just the lonely Otaku males, hiding away in their bedrooms that are avoiding relationships. Women are too. Many middle aged women are avoiding relationships, and marriage in fear of becoming pregnant and having that interfere with their careers. One woman who was interviewed for the article in The Guardian said;

"The bosses assume you will get pregnant." Once a woman does have a child, she adds, the long, inflexible hours become unmanageable. "You have to resign. You end up being a housewife with no independent income. It's not an option for women like me."

Tradition

Japan is a country with deep roots in tradition. It has only recently started to break away from the archaic family roles. In the 80's the "Salaryman" was born. The husband was labeled as the breadwinner of the household, while the wife would stay at home to cook and clean. Many Western countries dropped these gender roles as early as the 60's, while in Japan these structures can still be found.

This is why a lot of middle aged males avoid relationships, as they feel pressured into providing for their entire family during Japan's financial crisis.

What does this all mean for Japan? 

Well for starters with fewer younger people, this will mean more old people to support a few years down the line. The elderly will look down to the younger generations and say "I've paid my dues, I've worked hard to create this world for you, now it's your turn to look after me." If you imagine a triangle representing the population of Japan. At the moment, there is a large population (at the base), supporting a small number of elderly people (at the top). However if this trend continues, we will see an inverted triangle with a smaller population supporting a large number of elderly people. This will no doubt cause even more worries for Japan.

What are your views on this issue? You can read the article for yourself by clicking here