Popular Music (2013) Volume 32/1. Cambridge University Press 2013, pp.

3550
doi:10.1017/S0261143012000530

Representing Japan: national

style among Japanese hip-hop DJs
NORIKO MANABE
Department of Music, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
E-mail: nmanabe@gmail.com

Abstract
Based on ethnographic interviews, this paper examines how Japanese hip-hop DJs distinguish
themselves in the global marketplace in ways that reflect on Japans two self-images: its impenetrable uniqueness and its adeptness at assimilating other cultures (cf. Ivy, Iwabuchi). Following
the autoexoticist strategies of Takemitsu and Akiyoshi, DJ Krush and Shing02 draw on
Japanese uniqueness by integrating Japanese instruments (e.g. shakuhachi, shamisen, taiko),
genres (biwa narrative), and aesthetics (ma, imperfection) into their works; Evis Beats takes a
more parodic approach. At the DMC World Championships, Japanese DJs including DJ Kentar
have competed on the basis of eclecticism and originality in assimilating multiple sound sources.
While countering the stereotype of the Japanese as imitators, this emphasis on originality may
place some contestants too far from prevailing trends, putting them at a disadvantage. Both strategies imply that Japanese artists experience anxieties regarding their authenticity, necessitating
strategies to differentiate themselves.

Since the beginning of Westernisation in the mid-1800s, Japanese musicians have

avidly adopted a variety of foreign genres, including Western concert music, jazz,
rock, salsa and hip-hop. However, apart from some notable exceptions, many of
them have had difficulty in gaining recognition in the West, particularly in North
America. Although the Japanese have been playing these genres for decades, one
encounters with regularity Western writers who assume that Japanese musicians
are mere imitators who are uncreative and inauthentic, able to capture the technique
but not the soul of these genres. Take, for example, English writer Garry
Sharpe-Youngs description of Japanese heavy metal in Metal: The Definitive Guide
(emphases mine):
Critics pointed towards a lack of feeling in the music, perhaps betraying a lack of blues foundation.
While Japanese guitar gurus could match and outstrip their Western counterparts, it often
seemed that their technicality masked a dearth of true passion. Somehow, it seemed that the
Japanese had been able to emulate and expand the heavy metal formula, but somehow failed
to get the gut instinct and individuality that was the very heart and soul of it . . . the East
remains an enigma. (Sharpe-Young 2007, p. 408)

However, the same author views this lack of blues foundation and coldness as
positives for German metal:
. . . what set German metal apart was a strict non-reliance on the blues . . . [The Germans] natural
aptitude and fondness for heavy industry meant that Teutonic metal was as cold and
unforgiving as it could get. (Sharpe-Young 2007, p. 332)

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Similarly, Atkins (2001) and Condry (2006) provide many examples of dismissive commentary regarding the authenticity of Japanese jazz and hip-hop artists.
Why are Japanese artists prone to accusations of inauthenticity and inferiority,
evidently more so than European artists performing foreign styles? One answer lies
in the Wests persistent perception of Japan as a perpetual Other. Marilyn Ivy cites a
Time article describing Japan as exclusive, homogeneous, . . . tribal as evidence that
Americans perceive Japan as culturally not modern (Ivy 1995, p. 2). Moreover,
Japan is complicit in this exoticised view, as it cherishes its own image of uniqueness,
thereby living up to its difference; it also revels in its image as the master assimilator,
taking in foreign cultures yet retaining its cultural core (Iwabuchi 1994, 2002; Ivy
1995, pp. 1, 9). Hence, when the Japanese adopt Western cultural forms, the West
sees a mimicking people who are almost, but not quite, Western, to paraphrase
Homi Bhabha (1987). They are continually playing catch-up: as Atkins explains,
Japanese jazz artists, by virtue of their different ethnicity, are placed on a lower
rung of aesthetic hierarchy, because jazz is considered to be American (Atkins
2001, p. 11). Even Japanese critics including the artists themselves critique
Japanese jazz and hip-hop as being inauthentic and inferior to American performances (Atkins 2001; Condry 2006).
Coupled with these issues is the idea that the Western marketplace prefers to
see non-Western artists providing exotic cultural products rather than their uncoloured rendition of a globalised genre (Stokes 2004). Often, the musicians who
have incorporated the textures, timbres, scales and aesthetic principles of traditional
Japanese music which many non-Japanese identify with pre-20th century genres
involving the shakuhachi [Japanese end-blown flute] or shamisen [Japanese
three-stringed instrument], or festival-related taiko drums1 have garnered the
most attention internationally; Japanese composers Yamada Ksaku and
Takemitsu Tru, or jazz musician Akiyoshi Toshiko (Atkins 2001), come to mind.2
Indeed, autoexoticism has historically been a successful strategy for composers outside Western Europe, such as Chopin, Albniz, Piazzolla and Tan Dun (Locke 2009;
Born and Hesmondhalgh 2000).
In addition, Japanese artists have achieved success by projecting an image
along expected stereotypes, often ironically. In the late 1970s the members of
Yellow Magic Orchestra orientalised themselves under the hyper-technocratic stereotype of Japanese; the video for Firecracker, their electronic cover of Martin Dennys
exotica (1959), features visions of giant cranes and laser-lit pagodas, while that for
Technopolis shows spaceships landing in a futuristic, neon-lit Ginza.3 Similarly,
the hip-hop unit Geisha Girls two men dressed as geisha played on stereotypes
of Japanese held abroad (Yasuda 2000, p. 54). Other performers have played on
Japanese cuteness (e.g. Puffy AmiYumi) or been received by fans as such (e.g.
Shnen Knife) while Matsuzaki Satomi of the San Francisco band Deerhoof has
incorporated Japanese words and tais [Japanese group exercise] moves into her
performance.
In vocal genres like rock or rap, Japanese artists must choose between performing in Japanese making their music difficult to understand for non-Japanese audiences or in English, in which they may not be fluent. This language barrier may
contribute to the stereotypes attributed to some performers. But with no such barrier
to overcome for their music to be appreciated, Japanese hip-hop DJs and producers
would seem relatively better positioned for international stardom. Indeed,
DJ-producers such as DJ Krush and DJ Kentar have established large cadres of

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overseas fans, while others have bases abroad, such as DJ Tatsuki in London or DJ
Honda in New York. These DJs have collaborated, as producers and performers,
with African-American artists such as the Roots and the Pharcyde; there is mutual
admiration between DJs in Japan and those in the West, such as the friendship
between DJ Muro and Pete Rock (Rock, pers. commun.). Furthermore, Japanese turntablists such as DJ Kentar, DJ Co-ma, DJ Akakabe and the duo Kireek have been
placed at the top in DMC World competitions perhaps the most recognised international tournament of hip-hop and electronic dance turntablists.
In building their overseas reputations, these DJ-producers have engaged in
different strategies. DJ Krush has incorporated Japanese instruments and aesthetics
in some of his works, in a path reminiscent of the aural nationalism of Takemitsu
or Akiyoshi. On the other hand, DJ Kentar having catapulted to fame through
the DMC World Competition has built on ber-performance, based on virtuosity,
eclecticism and originality. As with Japanese musicians in other genres, both strategies reflect to borrow Du Boiss term a multiple consciousness of facing
foreigners expectations of Japanese balanced against the preferences of the
Japanese audience, awareness of global trends in hip-hop, and the performers
own national pride and musical strengths.
Based on ethnographic interviews with the artists, coupled with musical analysis, this paper explores the aesthetics of Japanese DJs, considering how Japanese DJs
have positioned themselves overseas and defined a national style. Firstly, I consider
the incorporation of the Japanese soundscape in hip-hop tracks, exploring the motivations of the artists and identifying the existence of Japanese aesthetics through musical analysis. I contrast this strategy against that of Japanese DJs at the DMC World
Championships, which requires virtuosity rather than obviously nationalistic
sounds.

Japaneseness in DJ-ing
DJ Krush (n Ishi Hideaki, b. 1962) is considered one of the pioneers of hip-hop in
Japan. Born into a working-class family in Tokyo, he had been working in the underworld (Bojko 2007) when he saw the movie Wild Style in 1983, which inspired him to
become a hip-hop DJ. Beginning by performing in Tokyos Yoygi Park on Sundays,
he formed the Krush Posse with DJ Muro and other artists in 1987. As a solo artist
from 1992 onwards, Krush gained attention for using the turntable as a live instrument, trading licks onstage with musicians. Known for his atmospheric tracks, he
has garnered an international fan base and is perhaps Japans best-known DJ.
Since the release of his first album Krush in 1994, he has released eight albums and
several remix albums.
During his first tours overseas in the early 1990s, journalists kept asking Krush
why he was not incorporating traditional Japanese music into his sets. He
responded that it was simply not the music of his environment.
It wasnt the music Id been listening to since I was a kid. We never listened to shakuhachi,
shamisen, or other traditional Japanese music at home. We listened to Westernised music,
like kaykyoku [Japanese popular song in Western style] and anime songs. If I had featured
traditional Japanese music in my tracks just because Im Japanese I would have felt that
I was lying to myself. People overseas think that all Japanese listen to such music
constantly. But since I hadnt been listening to it, to bring out Japanese music in capital

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letters, just because Im Japanese, would have been very obnoxious right? So I didnt want
to use Japanese music. I was embarrassed to do it. Very embarrassed. (DJ Krush, pers.
commun.)4

The turning point was his collaboration with African-American rapper C.L. Smooth,5
Only the Strong Survive, included on Krushs album Meiso (Meditation, 1995).
Sensing that the track needed another sound to complete it, Krush claims he
added a shakuhachi because its timbre matched Smooths voice.6 He also felt a
need to differentiate himself:
I didnt want to imitate American hip-hoppers. If I came up with a sound that was no different
from the American one, the American audience would definitely not appreciate it. On the other
hand, if I could return a track with a sound from traditional Japanese music, it would be in
keeping with the philosophy of representing in hip-hop.
Of all the Japanese sounds, I thought that the shakuhachi was most fitting, with its sense
of ma [the Japanese aesthetic of space]. I thought it would command more attention from
American hip-hoppers. It was the first time I had worked with an American rapper, and I
wanted to produce something that left a ripple in the water. (DJ Krush, pers. commun.)

This experience encouraged Krush to continue experimenting with Japanese sounds

and aesthetics. He explains his change in stance as follows:
In going to various countries, and in learning about different genres of music, I ended up
taking another look at Japan. When youre in Japan, you cant see your own fields so well.
But when you leave your country, you start to see the good and the bad of the place more
objectively. So I came to believe that if I thought the music of my own country was good, I
should study it, listen to its many types, and absorb it.
I listened to the shakuhachi as if my life depended on it, trying to figure out why it had
that atmosphere, that sense of space. I listened to the shamisen a lot, too. I also started to
listen to older Japanese jazz, when the artists tried to combine traditional Japanese
music with jazz. I realised that many people before me had tried to do what I am trying to
do. Jazz players were also experimenting with Japanese instruments. (DJ Krush, pers.
commun.)

Krushs discovery of his Japanese roots following time spent abroad echoes the
experiences of other autoexoticising composers such as Takemitsu, whose interest
in incorporating Japanese music was stimulated, among other influences, by John
Cage; as he recounted, . . . for a long period I struggled to avoid being Japanese,
to avoid Japanese qualities. It was largely through my contact with John Cage
that I came to recognise the value of my own tradition (Narazaki and Kanazawa
2002).

Simulating heterophony
Krush subsequently released three albums that made extensive use of Japanese aesthetics and instruments. The first, Kakusei (Awakening, 1998), not only sampled
Japanese instruments such as the shakuhachi, shamisen and koto [Japanese zither], but
also employed aesthetics reminiscent of Japanese music. As with many Asian musics,
traditional Japanese music is played heterophonically, where each voice or instrument
plays a variation of a basic melody; performers need not be in synchronisation with
each other instead anticipating or lagging behind other voices nor be in perfect
tune with one another.

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DJ Krush often achieves a similar aesthetic by juxtaposing sampled musical

loops of different timelines. In Kakusei, Krush experiments with small differences
in timing. As he claims:
I displace timing on purpose. I totally aim for it. Im sure if someone who doesnt know listens
to it, theyll think theres something wrong [laughs]. I really like this sort of slight slippage in
timing when its slipping, but it works. The music sometimes goes this way [he leans to one
side] and then back [he returns upright]. These slight differences give off a sensation that
changes the landscape of the music, if you listen closely. . . . Much of regular hip-hop is
precisely looped. But sometimes, its more interesting to have that bit of slippage, as if you
were being pulled in another direction. . . . I wanted to conduct these types of experiments
with sound to see, using hip-hop as a base, the variety of scenes I could paint with music.
(DJ Krush, pers. commun.)

In Parallel Distortion Krush displaces the loops of several instruments from one
another the steady drum beat, the opening string-like riff, and an echoing highpitched sound. In Deltaforest he places a synthesised sound reminiscent of geese
on a different timeline from the rest of the rhythm track. Perhaps the most extreme
example is Interlude, where he overlays a drum beat and heavily reverberated guitar line, at 80 bpm (beats per minute; Figure 1), on a shamisen melody at 100 bpm
(Figure 2). As the former loop is four measures long while the latter is five, their
beginnings coincide; however, because of the conflicts in tempo, the shamisen sounds
as if it is floating freely.
Krush has also experimented with changing the timing within a particular loop,
particularly on Kakusei. For example, he would take a 4/4 drum beat and make the
third beat come in slightly early: For every song on that album, I looked at the
crack between drumbeats with a microscope and made music. . . . Im really interested in seeing to what extent I can crush existing rules. The frame of hip-hop
alone isnt enough (DJ Krush, pers. commun.).
Krush also plays with juxtaposing pitches that do not match, as he has applied
on the lower notes of Kemuri (Strictly Turntabilised, 1994). Rather than using the
dials of the sampler to correct differences in the pitches of loops, he actually enjoys
putting them in: If you match all the pitches so perfectly, then its just too sparkling
clean. Its more hip-hop to leave in those little differences. Its the feel of it. But of

Figure 1. DJ Krush, Interlude (1998), drum loop.

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Figure 2. DJ Krush, Interlude (1998), shamisen loop.

course, if you make it too different, it feels bad. Theres a range where its OK and
feels good (DJ Krush, pers. commun.). Examples of such detuned loops include
Escapee, Inorganizm and 1200, on Kakusei.
While non-matching loop lengths and pitches are all imperfections that occur
naturally in the course of working with samples, I find it interesting that instead
of correcting them through technology, Krush has actively sought them out and
is proud of the results. Although Krush has not studied traditional Japanese music
formally, he has nonetheless sensed and incorporated its aesthetics the sense of
ma, differences in timing and tuning, the preference for imperfections into a
hip-hop format. From his point of view, it is his attention to these details these
differences that makes him Japanese; it also compensates for what he perceives
as a physical disadvantage relative to Americans:
The Japanese pay attention to details. Americans are more into coming in with power
BOOM! They tend not to pay so much attention to details. But if we [Japanese] depended
only on power like that, wed lose. The other side will hit more and more [baseball] hits,
and we wouldnt be able to compete. The way we can distinguish ourselves and compete
effectively is not through power alone, but in attention to details. And I like dealing with
those details. (DJ Krush, pers. commun.)

Using Japanese instruments

Following Kakusei, Krush released the Japan-inflected albums Zen (Gradual, 2001)
and Jaku (Nirvana, 2004), the latter of which features Japanese instruments most
prominently. The concept of this album is wa not so much in the sense of wa
() = Japan but rather wa () = ring, meaning we are all connected. To illustrate this concept of connectedness, he included both Japanese and Western
instruments.
Krush invited top instrumentalists Morita Shzan for shakuhachi; Nait
Tetsur of Kod, Japans most famous taiko troupe; and Kinoshita Shinichi, master
of tsugaru shamisen [folk shamisen of Northern Japan] to improvise continuously,
rather than to play a single line to sample and loop. As Krush explained,
Sometimes Ill adjust what the soloists have played to make a hook. But if you loop it and
tamper with it too much, theres no point in having brought in a live instrumentalist. When
I call in a soloist, Im trying to capture something that doesnt exist in my world; I want to
get that persons special essence [aji, flavor] in my track. I want to capture that groove, so
I dont cut it. (DJ Krush, pers. commun.)

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Out of these improvisations, Krush constructed a series of tracks connected melodically through recurring motives another manifestation of wa. In the opening track
Still Island, the strings play a recurring theme (Figure 3).
Morita Shzo improvises a melody based on this theme on the shakuhachi,
emphasizing the D-E -D motive heard at the beginning. This motive recurs throughout the album, appearing in Road to Nowhere, The Beginning and Univearth; in
addition, the tritone at the end of the theme is heard obsessively in Nosferatu.
Furthermore, the entire Still Island theme is improvised upon by jazz pianist Ken
Shima in Stormy Cloud. As a result of these recurring motives, the album gains a
sense of unity in a manner often seen in Western musical works.
Recurring Japanese timbres provide a second unifying factor for the album. In
addition to Still Island, Moritas haunting melodies on shakuhachi are heard in The
Beginning, Univearth and Song 2, and sampled for Kill Switch. Another
often-occurring timbre is taiko, on which Nait improvises extensively on
Univearth. Taiko also provides a matsuri [festival] rhythm in Distant Voices, and
taiko-like powerful drumming can be heard on The Beginning, Kill Switch and
Beyond Raging Waves; the latter song also features an improvisation by tsugaru shamisen master Shinichi Kinoshita against a pre-recorded synthesiser and drum. In Slit
of Cloud, a lament is sung in miny [folk song] style to ancient poetry:
Yakumo tatsu
Izumo yaegaki
Tsumagomi ni
Yaegaki tsukuru
Sono yaegaki o
[Many clouds rising,
Many layered clouds raising a manifold fence,
Hiding my bride from sight.
Clouds are forming a manifold fence.
Oh, that manifold fence!]
(Susa no Onomikoto, in Kojiki [712]; translation from Marra [2007, p. 27])
Miwataseba hana mo momiji mo nakarikeri
Ura no tomaya no aki no ygure
[Looking out past where there are
cherry blossoms or crimson leaves,
To the grass-thatched huts by the bay
Clustered in the descending autumn dusk.]
(Fujiwara no Sadaie, in Shin kokin wakash [1216]; translation from Heine [1997, p. 57])

Miny reappears in sampled and looped form in Passage. Finally, sounds of nature, an
important aspect of Japanese aesthetics, occur frequently in the album, with taiko, piano
and synthesisers evoking rain (Still Island, Road to Nowhere, Stormy Cloud) and
insects (Still Island). All of these sounds are integrated with hip-hop beats.

Figure 3. Still Island theme.

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Krushs use of Japanese instruments has opened the way for other Japanese DJs
to explore these sounds. DJ Kentar has performed live with tsugaru shamisen and
taiko players and scratched out the Sakura melody on two turntables. Similarly,
DJ Ono of Tha Blue Herb uses a shakuhachi loop in Jidai wa kawaru (The Times
They Are Changing, 2000).

Parodic reinterpretations
Having grown up in the ancient capital of Nara, Evis Beats has a strong affinity to
temple sounds; in the track Hannyashinky Rap (Amida, 2008), a loop of shmy
[Buddhist chant] develops into a rap of spiritual thoughts. Much of his use of
Japanese music is parody, particularly those tracks he made for the Osaka hip-hop
group Infumiai Kumiai. The central rhythm of their Oatsui no ga osuki ([The
Lady] Likes It Hot, Jangaru, 2003) is the 6/8 rhythm of matsuri music, with a distorted
shamisen looped throughout the song. The matsuri motive is picked up by Infumiais
rappers, who rap humorously about picking up girls during summer festivals and
interject typical matsuri-associated calls (Ho, ho!). For Evis Sound (Jangaru,
2003), Evis sampled a miny, deriving the beat from the shamisen accompaniment
and looping the call yoi yoi at a distortedly high pitch.
Eviss concept of Japanese also includes Western-based or syncretic Japanese
music from another generation. Happyakuman (Eight Million, 2008) features a
matsuri-like rhythm and loop, which he obtained not from matsuri music, but from
the theme song of the television anime, Obake no Kytar (Q-Tar the Ghost),
which aired from 1966 to 1985. His track for Shingo Nishinaris Shosenpai no kata
kara no okotoba (Words from My Mentors) is a parody of a dy [Western-style
childrens song], with a marimba playing a simple tune; picking up this reference,
Shingo rapped the opening words to the well-known dy Yyake koyake (Glow
of Sunset).

Adopting historical genres

The rapper-producer Shing02 (n Annen Shingo, b. 1975) has taken DJ Krushs work
with Japanese instruments a step further in incorporating them into a concept piece.
The son of a Mitsubishi Corporation executive, Shingo was raised in Tanzania,
England, suburban Tokyo and northern California, where he finished high school
and earned a degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the
University of California at Berkeley. He currently splits his time between Los
Angeles and Japan, and he raps in both Japanese and English.
As a long-term resident of California, Shing02 is conscious of his Japanese identity and the Asian-American experience, which is manifested in his work. In his 1998
song Pearl Harbor he narrates the battle from the vantage point of a young Japanese
pilot participating in the attack, describing the strict obedience he has been taught,
the precision of executing orders and the acceptance of probable death, with an antiwar message appended.
In his album Waikyoku (2008), Shing02 asserts his Japanese identity in a different way. This concept album, whose title means warped song, contains vignettes of
a distorted society or mind. As shown on the back cover of the CD (Figure 4), the title
to each song has been carefully chosen to be one to three kanji [Chinese characters], so

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Figure 4. Shing02, Waikyoku (2008), back cover. Used with permission from Mary Jay Recordings.

that when put in sequence, they form a symmetrical design. The layout of the music,
too, is symmetrical. The first half of the album is composed of songs generally about
frustration and aggression, musically illustrated through looping tritones in Jk
(Muzzle of a Gun), the busy bass line of Katsub (Earnest Desire), and fast tempos. The second half is about human warmth and relationships, e.g. Kushi to kanzashi (Comb and Hairpiece) and Nagusame (Comfort).
At the centre of the album are Parts I and II of Bijou, a metaphorical chronicle.
The track is performed on the satsuma biwa [lute], whose narrative repertory draws
from The Tale of the Heike, an epic of feudal wars in the 12th century. Typical themes
of this repertory are impermanence, the fall of the mighty, destruction and pillage,
and death in war.
Bijou I and II are about a mysterious princess who crosses a forbidden border
zone and visits a hunter, bringing war and destruction in her wake. The title is a pun
on the French bijou [jewel], for the pendant she wears, and (bij, beautiful
beast), into which she transforms to disguise herself. Both Parts I and II open and
end in the manner of a satsuma biwa narrative, as performed by Nishihara
Kakushin, who is a former student of biwa master Tsuruta Kinshi and a punk
rocker. Shing02 then recites the story in the manner of a dramatic poetry reading,
taking on the character of different characters, on top of hip-hop beats coloured at
key points by a shakuhachi. The story itself, with its theme of needless death in
war, is in keeping with the essence of biwa narrative. Shing02 acknowledged that
the piece was inspired by another featuring biwa and shakuhachi November

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Steps (1967) by Takemitsu, whom he humorously calls the DJ Krush of his time.
Thus, in Shing02s work, Japaneseness goes beyond a sample of a traditional instrument or a beat, to a modern-day version of a traditional genre.
Hence, Japanese DJ-producers have incorporated Japanese soundscapes in various ways. Some of them including traditional instruments, incorporating Japanese
aesthetics like ma, or performing a take on a genre have also been attempted in concert music and jazz. Others, like distorted sampling or prolonged juxtapositions of
different tempos, are products of hip-hop-related technologies and are innovations
in the rendering of musical nationalism. But how does national identity come into
play in the virtuosity-based setting of an international competition?

Japanese DJs in global competition: Japanese DJs and the DMC

Championship
When Japanese DJs compete in international contests, they eschew obvious references to Japanese music, yet they believe they exhibit a Japanese style. A case in
point is DJ Kentar, who in 2002 became the first person from Asia to win the
DMC DJ World Championship the most widely recognised international competition for electronic dance turntablists. Founded in 1985 by Tony Prince, it is held
annually in London. To qualify, contestants must place at the top of competitions
held by DMC branches in their home countries. In the 2008 competition, 33 countries
from six continents were represented; 10 DJs made the cut to the final round, where
they each performed a six-minute solo routine.7
It is difficult to watch Kentars performances without being awestruck. The
speed and split-second precision with which he juggles sounds on multiple turntables is nothing short of breathtaking a virtuoso performance that has resulted
from several hours daily practice (DJ Kentar, pers. commun.). In the opening
part of his winning performance in the 2002 DMC DJ World Championship, he skilfully times the words on one vinyl record against the bass line on the other, repeating
the words, The subject we are going to be talking about today is, in smaller and
smaller segments, before finishing with the punch line, style (0:30).8 He then
scratches two records to form four-measure phrases of varying bass rhythms and
arpeggios (1:02). Changing disks, he takes a simple horn line, repeating progressively
shorter sections of it into rhythmic four-measure patterns, punctuating the end of
these sequences with scratches (2:002:39). Next, he scratches two records simultaneously, scratching a kick-drum sound with one hand and a horn sound with
the other a rarely seen, risky feat, as the metre must be maintained solely by the
DJs scratches (2:403:12). He then generates several different tempi out of two percussion disks (c. 4:004:58). Next, he takes two reggae disks (complete with the quintessential Jamaican vulgarity bumbaclot) and generates a skank, gradually
transitioning to a fast-paced electronic dance sequence (c. 176 bpm). The performance
finishes with the pre-recorded tagline, No wall between the music, which is
Kentars motto. For that performance, Kentar earned the highest score ever
recorded in the history of the DMC DJ World Championship.
An unusual feature of Kentars performance is the variety of music he used. By
No wall between the music, he means that a variety of musical genres, including
those from Japan, could be mixed to make good music. In that performance, he
played house, reggae, hip-hop, drum n bass and rock, illustrating their common

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features through the juxtapositions in his six-minute set. Kentars motto argues
against narrow definitions of popular genres, in favour of a more inclusive ideal, harkening back to the origins of hip-hop as a sample-based sound:
Hip-hop originated as a free kind of music, where you could freely sample all sorts of music
rock guitar, soul, electronica. I want to make music with that kind of attitude, combining drum
n bass, reggae, hip-hop, R&B, soul, etc., through my own filter to make something original.
(DJ Kentar, pers. commun.)

As the Director of the DMC branch in Japan since 1996, who has attended every
DMC World Championship and worked with many Japanese DJs, Ozaki
Tomohiko is an authority on the styles and reception of Japanese DJs. He describes
Kentars eclecticism itself as Japanese, in a way that recalls Japans self-image as the
master assimilator of foreign cultures. As Ozaki puts it:
Japan can bring in many musics, absorb the best parts of them, mix them well, and put them
out as new products. [Kentars performance] showed that you can take the basic elements of a
drum kick and a hi-hat to make any sort of rhythm hip-hop, reggae, drum n bass, or house.
Kentar showed the relationships among the musics. I was really glad that he was able to
claim the championship with this very Japanese approach [nihonjin rashii kanji]. (Ozaki
Tomohiko, pers. commun.)

Indeed, North American fans of Japanese rock have told me that they like these
artists eclecticism and bravery in venturing out of the box in a genre. Similarly,
Ozakis impression at the DMC championships is that the non-Japanese audience
expects Japanese DJs to be unusual: these fans have told Ozaki that they buy the
DVDs of the Japanese DMC Championships rather than those of the UK or World
Championships, because they find Japanese contestants to be more creative, musical
and distinctive in character than those in other contests.
Since Kentars victory in the 2002 DMC World DJ Championship, several
other Japanese have also won top honours in DMC competitions. In the DMC
World Battle Championships, where two DJs spar by trading 90-second performances, DJ Akakabe won the title in 2004, as did DJ Co-ma in 2006. In addition, the
duo Kireek (DJ Yasa and DJ Hi-C) have won the DMC World Team Competition,
where a group of two to four DJs perform together, for five consecutive years
from 2007 to 2011. Nonetheless, since Kentars victory in 2002, the Japanese have
been unable to recapture the coveted top prize of the single DJ championship,
often occupying runner-up positions: DJ Izoh ranked third in 2005 and second in
2011; DJ Yasa (of Kireek) ranked second in 2006 and 2007; and DJ Co-ma ranked
third in 2008 and 2011, and second in 2009 and 2010.9
There are two issues that may put the Japanese at a disadvantage. One is the
judging process at DMC. Unlike, say, a gymnastics competition, where difficulty,
execution and artistry are accorded a certain number of points, there are no specific
criteria for judging the DMC competition. Typically, judges assess technical skills on
beat juggling and scratching, originality, musicality and stage presence, but each
judge has his or her own preferences (DJ Shiftee, pers. commun.). Judges write
down the name of the DJ they rank first, second and third. Each first rank is accorded
three points; a second rank, two points; and a third rank, one point. The sum of the
scores from all the judges determines the winner.
Furthermore, the judges are drawn from finalists in other DMC competitions
(i.e. the finalists in the battle and team competitions are judges for the singles

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competition, and vice versa). Additional judges are included in the panel but, as the
competition is based in London, many of them are from the UK or Western Europe.
As a result, Europeans make up the majority of the 17 judges.
As the contestants and judges are peer DJs, they tend to know each other and
socialise at the championships; afterwards, they stay in contact, exchanging emails
and samples. According to DJ Shiftee, the American DJ who won the DMC World
Battle Championship in 2007 and the DMC World DJ Championship in 2009,
There is a lot of socialising. Particularly after the battles, the bar is very rowdy. It
doesnt hurt to be friends with people who can end up judging you (DJ Shiftee,
pers. commun.). But while Kentar and his manager (and brother), who have relatives in Michigan, are competent English speakers, those Japanese DJs who are not
confident about their English do not socialise so much with the other DJs, putting
them at a disadvantage in forming global networks. For example, DJ Co-ma who
continues to work as a rice farmer in the northern prefecture of Niigata can be relatively reserved. Ozaki claimed that at DMC some Japanese would pick up fast food
dinners and eat alone in their rooms while the Europeans partied. Given the unstructured nature of judging and the human tendency to favour ones friends, it seems
likely that a lack of personal connections or being outside the dominant European
sphere would put Japanese DJs at a disadvantage. The opinion of DJ Shiftee, who
served as a judge for the DMC World finals in 2010, was that DJ Co-ma should
have won in 2010 rather than placing second again. As Ozaki explained:
DJ Izoh cant speak English and is very shy about speaking with the foreign DJs even though
hes a nice, outgoing guy in Japanese. I think he would do well to spend a year in New York.
Then hed be able to talk to the other contestants, and theyd realise hes a friendly guy. At the
2005 World DJ Championship, he performed a great routine in the single championship but
came in third. I told the judges I didnt understand the scoring, since the audience was so
enthusiastic about his performance. That was one disappointment where I really felt sorry
for the guy.
But language isnt always an impediment to communication. Take Kireek. One of the DJs
cant speak English one bit, but given his Kansai-guy abandon, it doesnt keep him from
partying with the French DJs until seven in the morning, making them laugh until the tears
roll down their faces. Kireek has won the team competition four years in a row because
theyre both great DJs, they give off a great vibe, and they form a warm rapport with the
audience. Theyre also good friends who perform together all the time; they even breathe
synchronously. But I think the rapport theyve built with the international DJ community
doesnt hurt. (Ozaki, pers. commun.)

Secondly, the regions differ in what performance styles are judged to be good.
According to Ozaki, The Europeans focus more on skills, like the number of times a
DJ scratches. On the other hand, Japanese turntablism is about making it easy to listen
to the performance and understand it. Japanese audiences like to hear quotes they recognise, mixed in a new way (Ozaki, pers. commun.). DJ Izoh agrees, The Japanese tend to
be more individualistic (DJ Izoh, pers. commun.). According to DJ Shiftee, the
European style is a hard electronic sound centred on scratching and drumming and a
de-emphasis on beat juggling; the British style features cutting-edge, bass-oriented
music, with emphasis on scratching; the American style is more rooted in traditional
hip-hop, with classic beat juggling; and the Japanese style is highly individualistic,
centred on beat juggling with an eclectic mix of music (DJ Shiftee, pers. commun.).
If these observations that the Europeans focus more on scratching technique
while the Japanese concentrate on individual style based on beat juggling are true,

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then they would represent a fundamental difference in what is considered noteworthy in DJ contests between these two regions. In judging domestic competitions,
the Japanese tend to favour originality over sheer technique as do Americans (Katz
2010, p. 136). At the Shibuya No. 1 DJ Championship in December 2008, I was surprised when one of the contestants with an excellent scratching technique failed to
place in the top three. On the other hand, a DJ who had used a Disney track,
which I personally found corny in the hip-hop context, was awarded second place.
According to DJ Co-ma, That DJ was the most original guy in the competition.
What counts is originality. DJ Izoh chimed in, If a contestant does something that
is very similar to what I, DJ Co-ma, or other champions have done before, its not
original. You must have your own original style (DJ Izoh and Co-ma, pers. commun.). The skilful contestants routine was not seen as sufficiently original.
This premium placed on originality seems at odds with recent trends at DMC.
In 2006 DJ Netic won the DMC World Championships with a routine based on beats
from the French producer Le Jad. Several competitions since then have been dominated by the French electronic music boom. In 2007 the German DJ Rafik also won
using Le Jads breaks, even though he is said to have made mistakes during his performance. In 2008 every one of the finalists except for the Japanese DJ Co-ma used
samples by Le Jad (DJ Co-ma, pers. commun.); in 2009, six out of nine finalists used
this same sound (DJ Shiftee, pers. commun.). Its gotten to the point where if you use
another sound, it really sticks out. . . . It wasnt just the Europeans; the Brazilian and
Singaporeans also used it (Ozaki, pers. commun.). By not conforming to the majoritys sound, one wonders to what extent Japanese contestants may be penalised for
their eclectic musical choices which defy the imitator stereotype.
In addition, the Japanese sensibility of austerity and simplicity seems to be the
opposite of the current vogue in European dance music. Echoing Krush, DJ Co-ma
cultivates the Japanese sense of ma, thinking in rests rather than filling every space
with sound. On the other hand:
The European sound is to fill every bit of that six-minute routine gasha, gasha! so theres no
ma, theres no pulling back. It tires me out, listening to it. The ma helps you pace yourself.
Because you make space, the mountain that comes next is entertaining. The Japanese prefer
that style to save it, save it, and bang! (DJ Co-ma, pers. commun.)

Ozaki and the Japanese DJs have said that they sense no ethnic discrimination at
DMC World, whose past champions include Caucasian Europeans and North
Americans of Jewish, African-American, Latino and Filipino backgrounds.
Nonetheless, I find Ozakis statement that a stunning performance conquers all to
be revealing:
Before Kentar, it wasnt a situation where a Japanese could become number one. The feeling
was that the Japanese were interesting players who could rank in third to fifth place. But
Kentars performance was so overwhelming, so phenomenal, that it got the entire audience
very excited. Theres no way that the judges could have ignored that level of response.
People would have questioned them as to why Kentar wasnt given first prize. It would
have reflected badly on the judges. Kentar won with a panel of European and American
judges. So if you give a performance that knocks people over, your nationality doesnt
matter. (Ozaki, pers. commun.)

In my opinion, Ozakis comment actually confirms the fact that Japanese DJs are
operating on an unequal footing: they feel their achievements will be ignored unless

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Noriko Manabe

they perform at a significantly higher level than others. As previously mentioned,

Kentars performance was so exceptional that he received the highest score ever
in the history of the competition. Very few contestants from any continent could
reasonably be expected to match that level of performance; in fact, several champions
have made mistakes during their performances. Furthermore, Ozakis comments
reveal an acceptance of this need to over-perform.

Conclusion
Japanese DJs and producers, with their wordless beats, should be able to compete in
the global marketplace without being hampered by language, yet the strategies that
some have followed imply that the international markets are not a level playing field.
Like Japanese classical, jazz and rock musicians before them, some hip-hop artists
sense that some non-Japanese (and Japanese) see them as inauthentic, due to their
nationality, and imitators, given the national stereotype. Some producers have
responded by incorporating the traditional Japanese soundscape, underlining the
image of Japans uniqueness and perhaps giving the Western marketplace what it
expects from non-Western artists; it also replicates a successful strategy followed
by Takemitsu, Akiyoshi and artists of other genres before them. Some turntablists
have aimed for eclecticism, underlining Japans image of the master assimilator,
while contradicting the stereotype of being imitative and unimaginative.
Ivy has surmised that to many Japanese, traditional Japan represents a past
that is lost in modernity (Ivy 1995, p. 10). To some extent, I sense this desire to recapture a lost ideal in DJ Krushs evocation of Japanese aesthetics and Shing02s versioning of biwa narrative. I find it interesting that Tokyo-based Krush, who often tours
abroad, and California-based Shing02, who has lived abroad for much of his life,
take this interest in Japanese aesthetics, while Nara-native Evis Beats, who grew
up in an environment where traditional music is heard more commonly, prefers a
humorous approach to sampling Japanese music. Indeed, not all manifestations of
autoexoticism are the same, and it is enlightening to consider, through musical analysis, the ways in which Japanese aesthetics such as ma and imperfection are conceived
and moulded into an international genre.
The case of Japanese DJs at the DMC World Championships raises additional
issues regarding international markets and national style. In pursuing originality
which both counters stereotypical expectations and plays on the hip-hop ideal of
representing oneself as a foremost goal, I wonder to what extent some contestants
have deviated too far from expected norms by refusing to conform to current trends.
This difference may be symptomatic of a more basic problem of communication,
where some Japanese players may be left out of global loops simply because of differences in language. Perhaps success in wordless genres is not completely independent
of words, after all.

Postscript
In September 2012, DJ Izoh won the 2012 DMC World DJ Championship with an
overwhelming margin over the second-place winner, DJ Precision of the United
States (http://www.dmcdjchamps.com/news-view.php?n=NDg0). However, the
YouTube video of his winning performance (http://youtu.be/qdkq8ZFot74) attracted
a number of negative comments. Many of these comments were aimed at DJ Izohs

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use of a computer and pre-recorded discs, which are now the norm at DMC World;
in contrast, the video of DJ Vajra, the American winner in 2011 who used the same
setup, attracted little such criticism (http://youtu.be/HHJJxvPHVqs). One commentator
even mentioned DJ Izohs Asianness as a sign of DMCs deterioration. Such
comments demonstrate that even if global contests have become more open to all
nationalities, the global marketplace remains an uneven playing field for Japanese
or Asian DJs.

Acknowledgements
The author thanks the SSRC/JSPS Fellowship for funding this research; Hosokawa
Shhei for acting as host at Nichibunken; Ishida Miho for transcribing interviews;
Peter Manuel, William Rothstein, Mark Spicer, and Jane Sugarman for their comments on a prior version of this paper; the guest editors and reviewers for their suggestions; and the DJs/producers for their time in interviews.

Endnotes
1. Henceforth, I will use the term traditional
Japanese music to refer to this image of
Japanese music before Westernisation. In actuality, many Japanese would identify Westernised
or syncretic music, such as shoka (school songs)
or enka [sentimental song], as traditional or
Japanese.
2. Japanese names are presented with the family
name first.
3. See Hosokawa (1999) regarding Hosono
Haruomis exoticist albums prior to Yellow
Magic Orchestra.
4. All translations from the original Japanese are
mine.
5. Japanese hip-hop fans greatly admire C.L.
Smooths collaborations with Pete Rock. Their

6.
7.
8.
9.

T.R.O.Y. (They Reminisce Over You) remains a

club favourite.
The shakuhachi had previously been used by
Peter Gabriel (Sledgehammer, 1986), among
others.
Rules of the competition can be found on the
DMC website at http://www.dmcdjchamps.com/
rules.php.
Time indications follow the recording of DJ
Kentaro s performance on the video, DMC
Presents: 2002 DMC World DJ Championship.
As a matter of comparison, American DJs, whose
concepts of style also differ from Europeans, have
won the World DJ championship four times over
the past 10 years. A full list of past winners is at
http://www.dmcdjchamps.com/champions.php.

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Discography
Amida (Evis Beats), Amida. 2008
DJ Krush, Meiso. MoWax, MW039CD. 1995
DJ Krush, Kakusei. Sony Japan, AICT25. 1998
DJ Krush, Zen. Sony Japan, SRCL 4995. 2001
DJ Krush, Jaku. Sony Music Works, COL5175782. 2004
DMC Presents: 2002 DMC World DJ Championship Video. DMC Records, VWF02. 2002
Infumiai Kumiai, Jangaru. P-Vine, PCD-5852. 2003
Shing02, Waikyoku. Mary Joy Recordings, IDCM 1045. 2008

Selected interviews
DJ Co-ma and DJ Izoh, December 2008
DJ Kentaro, December 2008
DJ Krush, June 2008, September 2009, October 2010, March 2011
DJ Ono, January 2009
DJ Shiftee, September 2010, November 2010
Evis Beats, January 2009
Infumiai Kumiai, April 2008
Pete Rock, May 2008
Shing02, June 2008, September 2008

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