The Cultural Significance of the Supremes in Japan?
Hello everyone, I was very interested to read about the popularity of the Supremes in Japan, as I found this fascinating for several reasons, as Japan to this day has a very low rate of immigration like most east asian countries, and xenophobia is a huge problem in Japanese society.
And yet, in the sixties, with the horrors of world war 2 felt by both sides to each other, from the bombing of Pearl Harbour to the firebombing of Tokyo and the bombs being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we have three young black women performing to the delight and adoration of the Japanese people, experiencing yet another overnight revolutionary shift in their civilisation, this time the Swinging Sixties during the post war economic miracle. It speaks volumes about the global appeal and enduring popularity of the Supremes, but also of their social significance, in this sense, their trans-pacific appeal was helping bridge two nations that had been on opposing sides during the bloodiest conflict in the history of the human race, a war that they had themselves been born into or after in a world recovering from the fallout [[literally in the case of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.)
In this sense, the Supremes could be considered American ambassadors of goodwill to Japan, a harmony that brings harmony if you will!
But I was also very interested in what the effect Supremes and other american and british artists of the era would have had on Japanese culture, its music in particular.
I'm a huge fan of an anime called Sailor Moon, specifically the version from the early 90s. One of the reasons is I love the soundtrack, which is influenced by old time Hollywood movie soundtracks and late 80s, early 90s American and Japanese pop music. A common occurence is use of feminine choruses undercut with soft masculine crooning.... very very similar to the background vocals in Diana Ross's Chain Reaction.
I am going to research a bit more, but I would be very intriuged to learn more about the cultural impact the Supremes have had on Japan in the Sixties, and maybe if it paved the way for future generations of Japanese fans of african american music and culture, [[they are huge fans of Beyonce for example.) Simiarly I am wondering if the Beatles were similarly partially responsible for Japan's long anglophilia obsession and for contributing to modern depicions of masculine beauty: Japan has always held more feminine looking, sensitive, graceful, youthful looking males as the pinnacle of male attractiveness, seen in things like the titular character of the Tale of Genji, or the popularity of onna-gatta, male actors who portrayed female characters in kabuki.
I'm interested in seeing what things were directly influenced by the Supremes as something new, and what things resonated with an audience that already had a long history of liking it. Since drums have been used in ancient ceremonies in Japan since the dawn of its civilisation [[they are probably the first instrument we ever invented as a species) and continue to be used as part of sacred Shinto festivals and rituals, as well as be a prominent part of things like kabuki and noh theatre, I imagine the heavy precussion such as drums and tambourines in Supremes songs helped bolster their appeal to the Japanese audience. I also imagine Diana Ross corresponded well to many popular depictions of Japanese beauty [[and the others to a lesser extent but Diana exemplifies it the best) as she was very much the Betty Boop/Twiggy flapper style of beauty that is what influenced Osamu Tezuko to create the large, doe eyed characters of modern manga. All three girls were America's sweethearts by this point, and with their youthful but innocent glamour, sweetness and sophistication, they naturally resonated with many Japanese sensibiilities of ideal womanhood despite being the most un Japanese looking women ever, but they exemplified this vision of idealised feminine beauty and sophistication by donning the extremely elaborate wigs and garments of maiko, apprentice geisha.
Oh here's a song from the Sailor Moon soundtrack. I really like it for having a mix of multiple elements going on but working, sounding very retro [[from several different decades) but very new at the same time, despite coming out over 20 years ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQnHz6Nr7W8
Here's another.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp-LmGp4uA4
