Les Rallizes Dénudés

Since this is the first post, I should probably explain what this is about. The title, pronounced "koujou", is written in Japanese (though for various reasons I had to resort to using an outdated form of transliteration). It means, "improvement" or "advancement." I would describe myself as Japanophile, but I also consider myself to be a Japanophile who is a bit out of touch with other such individuals of my generation. Since the late 90s, Japanese pop culture has saturated a certain sub-culture in the US (and elsewhere), attracting a great deal of attention to Japan—however, I always considered myself to have a mostly secondary interest in such forms of media, as compared to an interest in the history and language of Japan. More recently, this has translated to interests in other cultural artifacts, such as literature, cinema, and the game of go. My goal with this project is dive more deeply myself into the culture of Japan and to bring some others along with me—that being said, let's get started.

Les Rallizes Dénudés also written as 裸のラリーズ (Hadaka no Rariizu) has an interesting place in the history of Japan during the post-occupation period, but has since occupied a small niche among a small group of enthusiasts. The group was founded as a quartet, but the style and operation of the group has been heavily controlled by it's founder, Takashi Mizutani. The group was founded in 1967, when Mizutani entered Doshisha University—note, that given his entrance to university in this year implies that while he would be too young to remember the early parts of World War II, he would likely remember, as a child, American occupation, and perhaps the more destructive conclusion of the war—during a period of both economic prosperity and increasing Americanization of Japanese culture. While there was a popular acceptance of American culture, for various reasons, there was also a notable critical reaction to American culture, primarily coming from the political left (e.g. Communists), who viewed this is part of a larger imperialism on the part of the United States.

Takashi Mizutani was one such of these individuals, but that is not to say that he did not sympathize with a (former) western power. He was, in fact, a student of French literature, and was an avowed Francophile, as the name of his group reflects. Wheres, the United States Emerged from World War II as a superpower in an economic boom, countries like Japan and France were destroyed, and had lost colonial/imperial territories from their days as world powers. In the years following the war, France would also be home to political battles between the communists (representing the left) and conservative Gaullists (representing the right) as well as the next wave of existential philosophers. These factors, among others, would appeal to individuals such as Mizutani as well as other members of Japanese counterculture.

Musically, Mizutani was influenced by the Velvet Underground—Julian Cope, musician and music writer, argues that their style can be traced specifically to the sound achieved in their song I Hear Her Call My Name and Sister Ray—as well as the music of Blue Cheer, and the image of Japanese rock group, the Jacks. The sound of Les Rallizes Dénudés lies somewhere among the stylings of noise rock and psychedelic rock, and is dominated by the heavy use of feedback, with an otherwise progressive flavor. The group established themselves as avante-garde, as it would not be until a decade later that Mizutani would find a musical atmosphere in which he could find a significant audience; however, by this time, Les Rallizes Dénudés would have fallen into relative obscurity. Part of the mystery and appeal of the group has come from their seclusion. Since the early 1970, Mizutani has lived mostly as a recluse from Japanese society, and the entire discography of Les Rallizes Dénudés is composed of live recordings, most of which exist only as bootlegs. Many tellings of how this group was discovered revolve around obscure Japanese record shops, with labels written by hand. The advent of digital distribution has now made many of these recordings more accessible, and in the early 2000s many such recording surfaced, of widely varying quality.

Much of this obscurity was not entirely by choice, which leads to the telling of what is probably the most infamous part of this story. On March 31, 1970, Japan Airlines Flight 351 was hijacked by members of a terrorist group that would become the Japanese Red Army. Among the hijackers was Moriaki Wakabayashi, the original bassist of Les Rallizes Dénudés. Rumor has it, Mizutani was also asked to participate, but refused. Before this day, the group enjoyed moderate success, and were considered to be visionaries within the counterculture of the time—but this event eclipsed that, and has become much of the reason the group is now remembered today.

At any rate, if you took the time to listen to Romance of Black Grief—which has a more mainstream sound to it—then perhaps you are interested in something that is more characteristic of Les Rallizes Dénudés.

Mizutani, in a flyer for an early performance, was attempting to attract a particular demographic, and to exude a certain image: “For those young people - including you - who live  this modern agonising adolescence and who are wanting the true radical music,  I sincerely wish the dialogue accompanied by piercing pain will be born and fill this  recital hall.” He also adopted the shorter mantra of total sensory assault, as performances were accompanied by the use of strobe lights and mirror balls.

For those interested in this group (or similar Japanese music in general), I suggest finding a copy of Julian Cope's Japrocksampler, which deals mainly with experimental Japanese rock in the post-war period. A blog, entitled The Last One, is also maintained, as a source for recordings, but is only available in Japanese.

読んで、ありがとう。