Oshi-Katsu Chronicle 1989: The Heisei Era Begins, the Ikaten Band Boom and the Game Boy Arrives

Japan’s calendar year 1989 carried two era names. Emperor Showa died on January 7, and from the next day, January 8, the era became Heisei. Within the same calendar year, seven days of Showa 64 gave way to the first year of Heisei. Across this turning point, young people found new music and street fashion on late-night television and in Tokyo neighborhoods, expanding how they enjoyed their favorite culture.

In February, the late-night TV show Yuji Miyake’s Ikasu Band Tengoku, where amateur bands competed with live performances, began airing, and in April the handheld Game Boy console went on sale. Talent shops lined Takeshita Street in Harajuku, while in Shibuya the “Shibukaji” look built around navy blazers reshaped street fashion.

1. JanuaryHeisei beginsEmperor Showa died on January 7
2. FebruaryIkaten beginsAmateur bands on late-night TBS
3. AprilX debuts, Game Boy launchesBLUE BLOOD; handheld play and Utsurundesu telephoto
4. JuneHibari Misora diesShe was 52; Tetris launches for Game Boy
5. SeptemberThe Best Ten endsEpisode 603 after nearly 12 years
6. DecemberComic Market movesThe 37th, at Makuhari Messe with 120,000 attendees

New bands, street fashion, handheld machines and the end of a weekly ranking show.

“Ikaten” Begins: Cheering Bands on TV Before Their Debut

On February 11, Yuji Miyake’s Ikasu Band Tengoku began inside TBS’s late-night block Heisei Meibutsu TV. Its nickname was “Ikaten.” Each week ten amateur bands appeared and played for three minutes while a panel of judges rated their performance. Rolling Stone Japan (in Japanese)

If judges pressed their lamps during a song, the band’s video frame shrank on screen, and if all judges pressed their lamps the performance was cut off mid-song. Bands that played all the way to the end achieved a complete run and challenged the reigning champion for the weekly “Ikaten King” title. Winning five weeks in a row earned the title of “Grand Ikaten King.” Rolling Stone Japan (in Japanese)

Viewers watched unsigned bands take on the challenge every Saturday night. Starting with FLYING KIDS, the first Grand Ikaten King, groups such as BEGIN, JITTERIN’JINN, Tama and Blankey Jet City became known nationwide through the broadcast. Television opened a way for fans to discover and cheer for bands before their CDs even reached record store shelves.

X Makes Its Major Debut, and Princess Princess Heads for the Budokan

Concert venues for rock bands also expanded from small live houses to halls and Nippon Budokan. On April 21, X made its major debut from CBS/Sony with the album BLUE BLOOD. Having built a following in live houses with VANISHING VISION on its independent Extasy Records label the year before, the band now began delivering its music nationwide through a major record company. Sony Music (in Japanese)

BLUE BLOOD included “Kurenai” and the ballad “ENDLESS RAIN,” songs that remained signature pieces for decades. Combining striking makeup and hairstyles with high-speed guitar work and melodic vocals, the band helped shape the stream that later became known as visual kei. Sony Music (in Japanese)

The five-member all-female rock band Princess Princess played their first three-day run at Nippon Budokan from January 23 to 25. It was the first Budokan concert by an all-female rock band and a step up from their Shibuya Public Hall concerts the previous year. Their single “Diamonds,” released on April 21, became a million-seller and took No. 1 on the annual Oricon singles chart for 1989. Official live report (in Japanese)

On May 29, LUNACY took the stage for the first time at the live house Machida PLAY HOUSE in Machida, Tokyo. Both on late-night television and in small live houses across the country, bands that would lead the 1990s music scene were getting started. SKY PerfecTV! (in Japanese)

Talent Shops Fill Takeshita Street in Harajuku, and “Shibukaji” Spreads in Shibuya

On the streets of Tokyo, “talent shops” selling goods modeled after TV entertainers and programs lined Takeshita Street in Harajuku. The boom had been sparked in 1987 by “Genki ga Deru House,” opened by the Nippon TV variety show Tensai Takeshi no Genki ga Deru TV!!. By around 1989, shops such as Masashi Tashiro’s “MARCY’S,” stores for George Tokoro and Kuniko Yamada, Noriko Sakai’s “NORI-P HOUSE” and Seiko Matsuda’s “Flawless Seiko” stood side by side. FASHIONSNAP (in Japanese)

For middle and high school students visiting on school trips from across Japan, talent shops were sightseeing landmarks where TV stars felt close at hand. Takeshita Street was packed with young visitors buying T-shirts, stationery, mugs and shop bags bearing caricatures and mascots to bring home as souvenirs for friends. FASHIONSNAP (in Japanese)

In neighboring Shibuya, a style called “Shibukaji” (Shibuya casual) spread among high school and college students gathering around Center-gai and Fire-dori. Replacing the expensive domestic designer and character (DC) brands that had dominated the mid-1980s, young people wore American casual items picked up at import clothing shops as everyday wear. NEWYORKER Magazine (in Japanese)

In 1989 in particular, “kirekaji” (clean casual)—pairing a navy blazer with gold buttons (“kon-bure”) with faded Levi’s 501 jeans and loafers—grew popular. Featured in magazines such as POPEYE and Hot-Dog PRESS, outfits born on Shibuya street corners spread to young people nationwide. NEWYORKER Magazine (in Japanese)

The Death of Hibari Misora, and the End of The Best Ten

A major chapter also closed in the history of Showa-era popular song and television music shows. On June 24, singer Hibari Misora died at age 52. After holding her comeback “Phoenix Concert” at Tokyo Dome in April 1988, she had released the single “Kawa no Nagare no Yo ni” (“Like the Flow of a River”), with lyrics by Yasushi Akimoto and music by Akira Mitake, on January 11, 1989. In July she became the first woman to receive the People’s Honor Award for her decades of achievement. Hibari Misora official (in Japanese)

At the 31st Japan Record Awards at the end of the year, “Kawa no Nagare no Yo ni” won the Gold Prize and the Work Award, and Hibari Misora received a Special Honor Singer Award. The composition award was shared by Akira Mitake and Tetsuya Komuro, who wrote songs for TM NETWORK and Misato Watanabe. Japan Composers Association (in Japanese)

On September 28, the live music program The Best Ten, which had aired weekly on TBS since January 1978, ended with its 603rd broadcast. The show determined its weekly rankings by combining record sales with cable radio requests, radio charts and viewer postcards. Its final No. 1 was Shizuka Kudo’s “Kosa ni Fukarete,” followed by Hikaru GENJI’s “Taiyo ga Ippai” at No. 2, and the show’s all-time peak rating reached 41.9%. Re:minder (in Japanese)

Meanwhile, the 40th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen on New Year’s Eve moved its start time up to 7:20 p.m. and adopted a two-part format for the first time. Part 1 featured a retrospective on Showa-era songs, drawing a 38.5% rating in the Kanto region, while Part 2 drew 47.0%. The Grand Prix at the Japan Record Awards went to Wink’s “Sabishii Nettaigyo” (“Lonely Tropical Fish”). Video Research (in Japanese) / Japan Composers Association (in Japanese)

Prejudice Against “Otaku” Spreads, and Comic Market Runs Three Times

In coverage of the serial abduction and murder case of young girls that year, television shows and weekly magazines repeatedly focused on the stacks of videotapes, anime magazines and manga found in the arrested suspect’s room. Through those reports, a view linking the word “otaku” to a negative image of anime and manga enthusiasts as a whole spread through society. Bunshun Online’s review (in Japanese)

Television and magazine crews also descended on Comic Market, the sales convention for fan-made doujinshi books. At the 36th Comic Market held in August at the Tokyo International Trade Center in Harumi, staff of the Comic Market Preparation Committee were kept busy responding to the rush of press coverage. Comic Market Preparation Committee (in Japanese)

1. Mar.

   35th, Harumi

   8,900 circles / 70,000 attendees combined

2. Aug.

   36th, Harumi

   10,000 circles / 100,000 attendees combined

3. Dec.

   37th, Makuhari Messe

   11,000 circles / 120,000 attendees combined

Each is the total for two days. Attendance figures are estimates from the organizer's chronology. Comic Market Preparation Committee (in Japanese)

70,000

35th, March

100,000

36th, August

120,000

37th, December, at Makuhari Messe

Estimates from the organizer's chronology. A circle is a group or individual selling at the event.

Source: Comic Market Preparation Committee (in Japanese)

For the 37th event in December, the venue moved to Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture, which had opened that October. Participating circles rose to about 11,000, and combined two-day attendance reached about 120,000. Even as prejudice against the hobby intensified, fans kept creating works for the series they loved and distributing their books at the venue. Comic Market Preparation Committee (in Japanese)

The Game Boy and “Utsurundesu”: Portable Play and Swapping Photo Prints

On April 21, Nintendo released the handheld Game Boy console priced at ¥12,500. Powered by four AA batteries, the unit had its own liquid-crystal screen and let players swap cartridges to enjoy different games. Without competing with family members for the living-room television, players could carry the console into their own rooms or out of the house. Nintendo: chronology (in Japanese)

On June 14, the puzzle game Tetris, where players stack falling blocks into horizontal lines to clear them, went on sale. Connecting two Game Boy units with a separate link cable let two friends sit side by side and battle head-to-head. Tetris spread among adults as well as children, selling 4.24 million copies in Japan. Nintendo: software list (in Japanese)

Another item carried on outings, Fujifilm’s lens-equipped film series “Utsurundesu” (QuickSnap), also expanded its lineup. Following the original model launched in July 1986, Fujifilm released the telephoto model “Utsurundesu Boen” in April 1989 for capturing distant subjects larger in the frame. In December, “Utsurundesu Sekkin” added close-up shooting from 40 centimeters along with a built-in flash. Fujifilm (in Japanese) / National Museum of Nature and Science (in Japanese)

Middle and high schoolers who did not own expensive cameras brought “Utsurundesu” on school trips and to the entrances of concert halls. Dropping the finished roll at a photo shop for development and ordering extra prints (yakimashi) from the negatives to hand out to every friend in the picture became an everyday custom.

Dragon Ball Z Begins, and the Film Kiki’s Delivery Service Is a Hit

In the world of manga and anime, Osamu Tezuka, creator of Astro Boy and Black Jack, died on February 9 at age 60. The passing of the pioneer who shaped postwar story manga and television anime was mourned by readers and creators alike.

On April 26, the TV anime Dragon Ball Z began airing on Fuji TV. Adapted from Akira Toriyama’s manga, the series followed the grown-up Son Goku and his son Son Gohan into new battles after Dragon Ball. Paired with Hironobu Kageyama’s opening theme “CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA,” it became a Wednesday 7:00 p.m. staple. Toei Animation (in Japanese)

In theaters, Studio Ghibli’s Kiki’s Delivery Service, directed by Hayao Miyazaki and released on July 29, earned ¥2.15 billion in distribution income to place No. 1 among Japanese films that year. Telling the story of 13-year-old apprentice witch Kiki living in a seaside town with her black cat Jiji, the film featured Yumi Arai’s (Yumi Matsutoya’s) songs “Rouge no Dengon” and “Yasashisa ni Tsutsumaretanara.” Distribution income was the industry statistic used at the time for the distributor’s share of box-office receipts. Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (in Japanese)

At home

On TV

• Ikaten on late-night TV
• The Best Ten ranking show until September
• Dragon Ball Z, week by week

In the city

On stage and in shops

• X's major debut with BLUE BLOOD
• Princess Princess at the Budokan
• Harajuku talent shops and Shibuya Shibukaji

On the move

In your bag

• Game Boy and Tetris with a link cable
• Utsurundesu extra photo prints for friends
• Kiki's Delivery Service in theaters

A favorite could be found in the living room, on the street or in your pocket.

Key Events of the Year

1. Jan. 7Emperor Showa dies; this was the last day of the Showa 64th yearSociety
2. Jan. 8The era name changes to "Heisei"Society
3. Jan. 23–25Princess Princess plays the Nippon Budokan for the first timeMusic
4. Feb. 9Osamu Tezuka dies at age 60Anime & manga
5. Feb. 11TBS begins broadcasting "Miyake Yuji no Ikasu Band Tengoku"Media
6. Mar. 25–26Comic Market 35 (70,000 total visits over 2 days)Fan works
7. Apr. 1Consumption tax (3% rate) is introducedBusiness
8. Apr.X makes its major debut with "BLUE BLOOD"Music
9. Apr. 21Nintendo releases the Game BoyGames
10. Apr. 26The anime Dragon Ball Z begins broadcastingAnime
11. June 24Hibari Misora dies at age 52Music
12. SummerCoverage of a crime spreads prejudice against "otaku"Media
13. Aug. 13–14Comic Market 36 (100,000 total visits over 2 days)Fan works
14. Sept. 28"The Best Ten" ends its run after 603 episodesMedia
15. Dec. 23–24Comiket 37 is held at Makuhari Messe (120,000 total visits)Fan works
16. Dec. 31The 31st Japan Record Awards; the Grand Prix goes to WinkMusic

The Year’s Buzzword Awards

New words · GoldSekushal harasumento (sexual harassment)

Kazuko Kawamoto (lawyer)

New words · SilverHanako (the Magazine House women's magazine)

Yoshihisa Kinameri (president of Magazine House)

New words · BronzeDODA / Deuda (suru) (job-change magazine; "to DODA" meant to switch jobs)

Miyuki Inoue (president of Gakusei Engokai)

Popular phrases · GoldObatarian / Obatarian senpu ("Obatarian," brash middle-aged women, and the "Obatarian whirlwind")

Katsuhiko Hotta (cartoonist) and Takako Doi (chair of the Japan Socialist Party)

Popular phrases · SilverKejime ("drawing the line," taking clear responsibility)

Hiroshi Kume (anchor of ANB's "News Station")

Popular phrases · Bronze24-jikan tatakaemasuka ("Can you fight for 24 hours?" from an energy-drink ad)

Saburo Tokito (actor)

Popular phrases · Popular AwardIkaten (short for TBS's band-audition show Ikasu Band Tengoku)

Yuji Miyake (TBS "Ikasu Band Tengoku")

At the sixth New Words and Buzzwords Awards, “Ikaten,” the nickname for Yuji Miyake’s Ikasu Band Tengoku, won the People’s Prize in the buzzword category. The silver prize in the new-word category went to “Hanako,” the women’s magazine launched the previous year that spotlighted Tokyo dining and shops. Jiyu Kokuminsha: winners of the sixth awards (in Japanese)

In 1990, bands from Ikaten climbed the hit charts and B’z earned their first weekly Oricon No. 1. From the tiramisu boom sparked by Hanako to the spread of karaoke boxes and the opening of Sanrio Puroland, culture enjoyed out in the city widened even further.