Oshi-Katsu Chronicle 1993: The J.League Kicks Off, "Supporters" Become a Word, and ZARD Plays On

On May 15, 1993, Japan’s professional soccer league, the J.League, kicked off. Fans in their favorite clubs’ jerseys filled the stands, coloring the seating bowls with face paint and towel scarves as they chanted for the players. Television broadcasts carried that excitement across the country, and the word “supporter” took root as the name for fans who back a team.

In music, ZARD’s “Makenaide” and CHAGE and ASKA’s “YAH YAH YAH” became massive hits, while the music culture known as “Shibuya-kei” spread from large CD shops in Shibuya. Around the country, Fukuoka Dome and Yokohama Landmark Tower opened, and the chewy coconut dessert “nata de coco” sparked a nationwide craze.

The J.League Opens: Wearing Your Club’s Colors and Cheering in the Stadium

On May 15, the J.League’s opening match took place at Tokyo’s National Stadium. Verdy Kawasaki faced Yokohama Marinos before a crowd of 59,626. After Verdy’s Hennie Meijer scored the opening goal, Yokohama Marinos equalized in the second half and Ramón Díaz netted the winner 11 minutes later for a 2-1 comeback victory (Yokohama F. Marinos: a look back at the opener, in Japanese).

The inaugural season began with 10 clubs. Some fans rooted for their hometown team, while others chose a club for favorite players such as Kazuyoshi Miura, Ruy Ramos, Zico or Gary Lineker. League matches at the time had no draws; if a game was tied after 90 minutes, it went to sudden-death “V-goal” extra time or a penalty shootout to decide the winner (J.League official site, in Japanese).

The opening match

May 15 at the National Stadium: Verdy Kawasaki vs. Yokohama Marinos, before 59,626 spectators.

Result

Yokohama Marinos won 2-1.

Rules at the time

League matches had no draws. A tied game was settled by extra time or a penalty shootout.

Mascot goods and team jerseys designed by Sony Creative Products for the 10 clubs repeatedly sold out at official shops, while children avidly collected “J.League Chips” potato crisps bundled with player trading cards. Kashima Antlers, led by Zico, won the first stage, while Verdy Kawasaki won the second stage and the January championship series to become the league’s first overall champion (J.League official site, in Japanese).

Japan’s “Agony of Doha,” and the Opening of Fukuoka Dome and Yokohama Landmark Tower

On October 28, the Japan national soccer team played its final match of the Asian qualifiers for the USA World Cup in Doha, Qatar. Leading Iraq 2-1 and moments away from clinching Japan’s first-ever World Cup berth, the team conceded an equalizer in second-half stoppage time to finish 2-2, missing out on qualification by goal difference and total goals scored in a match remembered ever since as “the Agony of Doha” (Doha no higeki) (Japan Football Association, in Japanese).

In grand sumo, Akebono became the first foreign-born wrestler promoted to the 64th yokozuna after the January tournament, while Takahanada was promoted to ozeki at the same time and changed his ring name to “Takanohana.” After the July tournament, older brother Wakahanada also reached ozeki under the name “Wakanohana,” creating a pair of brother ozeki (Japan Sumo Association: Akebono, in Japanese; Takanohana, in Japanese; Wakanohana, in Japanese).

Major new stadiums and skyscrapers also opened. On April 2, “Fukuoka Dome,” Japan’s first stadium with a retractable roof, opened in Chuo Ward, Fukuoka, serving both as the home of professional baseball’s Fukuoka Daiei Hawks and as the Kyushu stop for major dome tours by domestic and international artists. On July 16, the 70-story, 296-meter “Yokohama Landmark Tower” opened in Yokohama’s Minato Mirai 21 district with an observation deck and shopping mall. In food culture, “nata de coco,” a chewy fermented coconut gel originating in the Philippines, became a nationwide sensation through family-restaurant desserts and retail packs (Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, in Japanese; Japan Federation of Construction Contractors, in Japanese; Yokohama Landmark Tower official, in Japanese; Fujicco, in Japanese).

ZARD’s “Makenaide,” DREAMS COME TRUE’s MAGIC and the Peak of 8cm CDs

On January 27, ZARD released their sixth single, “Makenaide” (“Don’t Give Up”). Used as the ending theme for the drama Hakucho Reiko de Gozaimasu! starring Yasuko Matsuyuki, it sold 1.64 million copies and was chosen the following spring as the entrance march for the 66th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament, becoming an enduring anthem of encouragement. ZARD also scored million-sellers with the May single “Yureru Omoi” and the July album of the same name (ZARD official site, in Japanese; official work introduction, in Japanese).

In March, CHAGE and ASKA’s “YAH YAH YAH”—the theme song for the drama Furikaereba Yatsu ga Iru—sold 2.41 million copies, while B’z sold 2.02 million copies of “Ai no Mama ni Wagamama ni Boku wa Kimi dake wo Kizutsukenai.” From autumn into winter, Fumiya Fujii’s solo single “TRUE LOVE,” the theme song for the drama Asunaro Hakusho, also topped 2 million copies. On September 9, DREAMS COME TRUE released the Shiseido commercial song “go for it!”, followed on December 4 by the album MAGIC, which sold more than 2.5 million copies (DREAMS COME TRUE official site: single, in Japanese; album, in Japanese; JOYSOUND music column, in Japanese).

1. 01Hear it on TVA drama ending or a commercial
2. 02Buy the singleThe 8 cm CD in its tall case
3. 03Listen start to finishRepeat the song you first heard briefly
4. 04Explore the singerLook for their other songs
5. 05Move to albumsA bigger collection

In 1993, buying singles was the center of showing support.

According to Recording Industry Association of Japan statistics, production of 8-centimeter CDs reached about 153.79 million units that year, up roughly 39% from 110.55 million the year before, while total CD production value reached ¥480.4 billion. Picking up a song heard in a TV drama or commercial right away on a slim, tall-cased 8-centimeter CD priced around ¥1,000 was at its peak (Recording Industry Association of Japan, in Japanese).

153.79M

8 cm CDs produced

+39%

Increase from the year before

Source: Recording Industry Association of Japan

“Shibuya-kei” Listening Stations and L’Arc-en-Ciel’s Indie No. 1 DUNE

Around Shibuya Center-gai and Koen-dori in Tokyo, the music culture known as “Shibuya-kei” blossomed around large CD shops such as HMV Shibuya and Tower Records Shibuya. From the duo Flipper’s Guitar, which had disbanded in 1991, Kenji Ozawa made his solo debut in July with the single “Tenki Yomi,” while Keigo Oyamada launched his solo project Cornelius. Pizzicato Five released “Sweet Soul Revue” in May, and Original Love followed with the album EYES in June (JOYSOUND music column, in Japanese).

Rows of headphone listening stations lined the floors of large CD shops, where shoppers read handwritten staff recommendation cards (POP) and sampled Western pop, film soundtracks and Japanese indie releases side by side. More young listeners also hunted for imported CDs and vinyl records to display stylishly designed jackets in their rooms.

Meanwhile in the visual kei scene, the Osaka-formed band L’Arc-en-Ciel independently released their first album, DUNE, in a limited edition on April 10 and a regular edition on April 27, reaching No. 1 on Oricon’s weekly indies chart. Nagoya’s Kuroyume also expanded their live-house following on the indie circuit ahead of their major debut in February 1994. Following X JAPAN and LUNA SEA, who were already headlining Tokyo Dome and Nippon Budokan, a nationwide fan base grew that backed next-generation bands from their indie days (L’Arc-en-Ciel official site, in Japanese; Yamaha Music Communications, in Japanese).

Nintama Rantaro and SLAM DUNK Begin on TV, and Jurassic Park Hits Theaters

On April 10, the anime Nintama Rantaro, based on Soubee Amako’s manga Rakudai Ninja Rantaro, began airing on NHK Educational TV, endearing the ninja-academy trio of Rantaro, Kirimaru and Shinbei alongside the theme song “Yuuki 100%” sung by Hikaru GENJI. Then on October 16, the TV anime adaptation of Takehiko Inoue’s high school basketball manga SLAM DUNK premiered on the TV Asahi network (Animate Times, in Japanese; PASH! PLUS, in Japanese).

The Shohoku High roster in SLAM DUNK brought together distinctive teammates including basketball beginner Hanamichi Sakuragi, first-year ace Kaede Rukawa and three-point shooter Hisashi Mitsui. Friends debated which player was their favorite, and theme-song CDs by BAAD and WANDS also became hits.

In movie theaters, Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, which brought dinosaurs to life with computer graphics, opened in Japan in July and earned ¥8.3 billion in distribution revenue (the distributor’s share of box-office receipts), finishing No. 1 overall for the year (Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, in Japanese).

Virtua Fighter Arrives in Arcades, and Commercial Internet Access Begins

In December, Sega’s head-to-head fighting game Virtua Fighter arrived in game arcades across the country. Combining small polygonal surfaces to render characters and stages in three-dimensional graphics, it brought rotating 3D camera angles into a genre that had previously centered on flat, side-view pixel art (Sega: history of games, in Japanese; release-month record, in Japanese).

Sega positions the title as the world’s first 3D fighting game. With its 1994 sequel Virtua Fighter 2, top players across Japan known as “tetsujin” (iron men) were featured like stars on TV programs and in game magazines. On home consoles, Square released Romancing SaGa 2 for the Super Famicom in December, winning praise for its generational imperial-succession system (Sega: game history, in Japanese).

Comic Market drew a combined 250,000 attendees over two days in summer and 200,000 in winter. Alongside meeting in person at the venue, more fans connected from home to PC-networking forums (pasokon tsushin) to discuss favorite works. In November, Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ) launched Japan’s first commercial internet access service, starting with leased lines for organizations before adding dial-up access over phone lines in May 1994 (Comic Market Preparation Committee, in Japanese; Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications: history of computer networks, in Japanese; IIJ: record of the service launch, in Japanese).

NovemberIIJ's commercial internet access

Leased lines only at first. Dial-up access over phone lines began in May 1994.

DecemberVirtua Fighter

Described by Sega as the world's first 3D fighting game, with characters drawn in polygons.

Key Events of the Year

1. Jan.Takanohana is promoted to ozekiSports
2. Jan. 27Akebono is promoted to yokozuna, the first foreign-born wrestler to reach the rankSports
3. Jan. 27ZARD releases "Makenaide"Music
4. Apr. 10TV anime Nintama Rantaro begins broadcastingAnime
5. Apr. 10L'Arc~en~Ciel releases the limited edition of their first album, DUNEMusic
6. May 15J.League opening match at the National Stadium (59,626 people)Sports
7. Jun. 9The Crown Prince's wedding ceremony and paradeSociety
8. Jul.Wakanohana is promoted to ozekiSports
9. Jul.The film Jurassic Park opens in JapanFilm
10. Aug. 15–16Comic Market 44 (250,000 total visits over two days)Fan works
11. Sep. 9Dreams Come True releases the commercial song "go for it!"Music
12. Oct.TV anime SLAM DUNK begins broadcastingAnime
13. Oct. 23–Nov. 1In the Japan Series, the Yakult Swallows beat the Seibu Lions four games to threeSports
14. Oct. 28The Japan national team misses out on the World Cup: the "Tragedy of Doha"Sports
15. Nov.IIJ starts a commercial internet access serviceTelecom
16. Dec.Virtua Fighter arcade machines go into operationGames
17. Dec."J.League" wins the Grand Prize at the Buzzwords of the Year awardsMedia
18. Dec. 29–30Comic Market 45 (200,000 total visits over two days)Fan works
19. Dec. 31The 35th Japan Record Awards (Kaori Kozai, "Mugonzaka")Music

1. Jan 27ZARD's "Makenaide"Released, also a drama ending theme
2. AprDUNE and Nintama RantaroL'Arc-en-Ciel's indie album; new anime
3. May 15J.League opens59,626 fans at the National Stadium
4. Sep 9DREAMS COME TRUE: go for it!Also a Shiseido commercial song
5. Oct 28Agony of DohaJapan misses the World Cup
6. Nov–DecInternet and Virtua FighterIIJ launches; 3D fighting arrives

A stadium, a record shelf and an arcade cabinet all became places to show support.

The Year’s Buzzword Awards

Grand PrizeJ.League (Japan's new professional soccer league)

Saburo Kawabuchi

New words · GoldSupporter (a soccer fan who backs a team)

Risako Shitara

New words · SilverShin-○○ ("new ○○" as a naming fad)

Issei Sakamoto

New words · BronzeFA (free agent)

Hiromitsu Ochiai and his wife Nobuko

Popular phrases · GoldKisei kanwa ("deregulation")

Sadao Aoki

Popular phrases · SilverSeihin ("honorable poverty," from a bestselling book)

Koji Nakano

Popular phrases · BronzeTen no koe ("the voice of heaven," a bid-rigging catchphrase)

—

Popular words · GoldOyabun ("the boss")

Keiji Osawa

Popular words · SilverKiite nai yo ("I didn't hear about that!")

Dacho Club

Popular words · BronzeOtachidai (the raised dance platform in a disco)

Keiko Koda, Keiko Ogawa

Expression · Gold2,500-yen suit

Aoyama, Tokyo Ginza store

Expression · SilverUgo Ugo Ruga (a children's TV show)

Hidetou Tajima, Yuka Koide

Expression · BronzeTama-Hiyo (moms reading the baby magazines Tamago Club and Hiyoko Club)

Izuru Watahiki, Kumiko Mori

Special Award · Best Quote of the YearAkusai wa otto wo nobasu ("A bad wife makes her husband grow")

Nobuko Ochiai

At the 10th New Words and Buzzwords Awards, the grand prize went to “J.League,” accepted by first league chairman Saburo Kawabuchi. The gold prize in the new-word category went to “supporter” for fans cheering on their clubs, while the popular-category silver prize went to the hit dessert “nata de coco” (Jiyu Kokuminsha: winners of the 10th awards, in Japanese).

In 1994, GLAY and L’Arc-en-Ciel made their major debuts, Weekly Shonen Jump recorded its all-time peak circulation of 6.53 million copies, and the year-end launches of the Sega Saturn and PlayStation transformed home gaming.