Origin as single performers in Osaka Musical street performers have a long history in Japan, with a range of practices, from the founder of
kabuki,
Izumo no Okuni, to the
mendicant monks of the
Fuke school of
Zen Buddhism. The first recorded instance of street performers forming a for the purposes of advertising appears in
Osaka during the 19th century (late
Edo period and early
Meiji period), with the first known generally thought to be a candy seller in Osaka named Amekatsu, who, around 1845, used singing and a noise making toy to attract attention to his own portable candy stall. Amekatsu, who was known for his strong voice, became well known in the city, and thus began to advertise for other stores as well as his own, doing so wearing a large hat, straw sandals and a
belt with small bells attached to it, using a wooden noisemaker to draw people's attention. Amekatsu was succeeded by a former bath attendant, Isamikame, who also used to shout (lit., "East-West", equivalent to "come one, come all"). Subsequently, such advertising street performers were called in Osaka up to
World War II. He soon received competition from another advertiser called Maemoto, and they split their business, with one covering the
Uemachi region and the other covering the
Shinmachi region of Osaka. After Maemoto died in 1891, his brother, also called Maemoto took over the business, and he was soon joined by his son and daughter, probably the first female . Maemoto is also famous as being the first person in Osaka to die from
electric shock in 1893. Other well-known performers from this time are Tanbataya Kurimaru, a former
sweet chestnut seller, and Satsumaya Imosuke, a former
bean seller. These two also occasionally added a second performer to their band.
Group performers in Tokyo At the beginning of the Meiji period, was still unknown in Tokyo, with advertising still mainly done via curtains (), billboards (), and
flyers (). Stalls also advertised for themselves by making noise and wearing colorful clothes, a widely known example of the time being the extremely colorfully dressed
pharmacist named Iwashiya. During this time,
newspapers and posters also started to appear in Japan, and were subsequently used for advertising. The military also started to popularize western style
marching bands, and at the same time public
bands started to appear. In 1885, an advertising agency in
Tokyo, Hiromeya (wide eyes), hired musicians for advertising. Hiromeya was founded by a former from Osaka named Akita Ryukichi. He soon found out that a one-person band was not as popular in Tokyo as in Osaka, and hired larger bands of more than 10 performers for advertising purposes, following the popularity of military and public bands. His band also provided entertainment at festivals and parties, and also created background music for
silent films. He was also hired by the
Kirin beer company, whose advertising campaign spread out to Osaka. In Osaka, this form of group bands was yet unknown, as only individual performers were hired for advertising. The police also had to stop some of the larger performances in Osaka, as they hindered traffic, partially due to the -tall beer bottle the group was equipped with. The Hiromeya business grew, and they were even asked to perform at the burial of
Emperor Meiji in 1912. The business still exists nowadays, although they now do mainly decorations.
Evolution of the modern Tanbataya Kurimaru and Satsumaya Imosuke in Osaka were inspired by the bands of Hiromeya during the Kirin advertising campaign. They enlarged their groups and equipped them with drums and even fancier clothes, often matching the products of the advertised shop. However, they neglected rhythm and quality of the music over volume, and occasionally got arrested by the police. Some bigger engagements lasted for up to six months and reached
Kyūshū and
Shikoku. The technological advances opened up many other ways of advertising that competed with the , who had already been competing with newspapers since 1910. By 1920, advertising by
hot-air balloon and
airplane had begun in Japan, with both carrying large advertising banners through the air; at around the same time,
neon signs began to appear in Tokyo. With the appearance of
sound film in Japan in 1929, about 3,000 street advertisers in Japan lost their jobs. A strike in 1930 had no effect on this and did not improve the situation. In response to the economic environment, the groups reduced their size to 4 or 5 people, and became known as . For many this was the last straw before unemployment and poverty, and hence the were considered to be of very low social status. The
Great Depression in 1930 reduced the ' in Japan even more, and during
World War II street performances were forbidden altogether.
The golden age The had a revival again between 1946 and 1956, and between 1950 and 1960 there were up to 2,500 active in Japan. They often performed on
black markets. Many stores also moved from a street stall to fixed locations, generating business for , as did the rise of the
pachinko business. One well known group in Osaka was Aozora Gakudan, founded by former actor Saeki Yosan. This group played with up to 18 members, and many other joined the group. The introduction of
TV and
radio advertising had only a small effect on the , as these new mediums were too expensive for the small shops that used the services, and not targeted enough for the customers living nearby the stores.
Decline Since the 1960s the number of has declined again, accelerated by the
1973 oil crisis with the subsequent
recession. Around 1970, street performances were also banned in many large cities, as they hindered the traffic. In 1985 there remained around 150 , with an average age of about 60 years. Public performances were also banned for several months during the illness and the death of emperor
Hirohito in 1989. ==Present==