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Drifters on the Togue in Japan

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Street Drifting

Drifting is an integral part of automotive culture in Japan. Many enthusiasts are heavily dedicated to the sport and fine tune their cars to use solely for the purpose of drifting. In the recent years, there has been a global commercialization of the automotive activity, and it has earned its place as one of the most popular forms of motorsport. However, there are a select number core enthusiasts in the region who do not accept the modernization of the activity, and cling to its roots and heritage. For them the racetrack is simply just the fully operating public road and drivers utilize the space to deliberately lose traction and slide their cars sideways across the pavement. They believe this represents the core culture behind drifting, and refuse to engage in the modernization of the motorsport. 

Drifting was first made popular in Japan in the 1970s and was eventually popularized in the 1990s in the West which led to how it is perceived today. In the early stages, racers would go up to popular mountain passes and industrial areas late at night, and experiment with breaking traction and doing drifts. Street racers such as Keiichi Tsuchiya adopted techniques from early drifters as and added their own techniques. Drifters would be out through the entirety of the night practicing their skills and learning new ones. These drifters would often go unbothered for hours at a time by the local police, which allowed them to even host competitive battles among one and another. Following the popularization of the activity in both the United States and the UK, the film and game industry rapidly took advantage of the aesthetic created by Japan and began to capitalize off of it. The introduction of the movie, Tokyo Drift, sparked a great interest in drifting culture throughout the nation which eventually led to harsher penalties and laws which banned the activity on public streets. Following this, drifting was introduced to the circuit and racetrack in a competition and grass root format. These contests quickly became popular and modernized with specific drivers having sponsorships from mainstream companies such as Red Bull and Toyo Tires. Although this was a major push in the progression of the motorsport, many core enthusiasts feel these competitions do not accurately display their interests and the culture behind drifting. 

In the modern day, drifting competitions such as Formula Drift and D1GP are highly popular events that even receive attention on national television networks. Drivers in these competitions are backed by sponsors and multi million dollar venues are created solely for these events. Amongst all this however, there are still groups of core enthusiasts who engage in the motorsport on a more raw level. Even with imposed strict regulations, these drifters are motived to practice their techniques on public roads and passes. In their eyes this keeps the culture alive that originated decades ago, and they refuse to engage in the motorsport from a commercialized standpoint. These drifters are classified as Hashiriya, meaning “outlaw street racers”. They meet up in groups at pre selected locations, and are very careful to avoid the attention of the police and general public. Similar to the early days, drifting is done solely in the late hours of the night and these groups will transition thorough multiple spots on a given night. This is no Fast and the Furious, there are no models with racing flags or an onlooking audience cheering them on. It is simply nothing more than a group of enthusiasts with a passion for the culture attempting to push the limits of their skills. 

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Itasha Culture

Anime holds an extreme significance to the culture of Japan and creatively interprets many different aspects of life in Japan. The culture and values instilled in different animes and manga are internationally looked upon, and anime is the great entertainment influence in the country. In Japan, you sometimes see cars with characters and symbols from various popular anime and manga series drawn creatively on the bodywork. These creative and customized cars are known as Itasha and encompasses an entire subculture within Japan. An Itasha can be any vehicle covered in manga, comics, stickers or anime. This subculture originated in the 1980s with character plush toys and stickers and became a phenomenon in the last few decades when anime culture became popular on the internet. A lot of Itasha are created as a hobby and as a part of the car owner’s interest in a particular anime or manga series. By doing this, the owners can showcase their affection and use their car as a drawing board. Itasha provides a way for owners who are bored of their car to develop a new interest in it through customization. There are various designs that can be considered Itasha. Some variations cover the entire car with designs while others have images in specific places such as the hood and bumpers. Some people chose to cover their whole car with an image or decal in the form of stickers or paintwork. Along with the Itasha car culture, there is a subculture dedicated to similar designs on motorcycles and bicycles known as Itansha. Itasha culture has become so popular in Japan that there have been several large scale events and shows dedicated to showing off the culture and the people that partake in it. In 2018, over 1000 Itasha gathered in Tokyo for a car event and anime convention. There was live music, talk shows, and cosplayers of several different animes. Many companies set up booths and drew in attention related to art and business. Every car and bike owner were able to show off their creations as well as interact with other people that had similar interests and styles. Since this event, there have been several others held around Japan with large turnouts and people. Itasha culture also has a strong presence in motorsport culture and is a unique feature in the industry. Race cars covered in Itasha decals can be seen in international and regional races and showcase the sub culture in Japan. Many professional teams are supportive of the culture due to it being a great opportunity for sponsorship decals as well as expansion of their fanbase. Japan as a majority has widely accepted the Itasha culture and it has been expanding rapidly over the previous decade. The decorative style of Itasha has been used to market several new products in stores and even apparel sold it stores and malls. Vehicle electronics such as navigation and voice audio can be customized with character voices from manga series. However, the acceptance of Itasha is not universal and there are some groups that are not completely fond of it. There is a substantial clash between original car enthusiasts and the enthusiasts of Itasha. These original car enthusiasts do not support the clash between Japanese pop culture and car culture for a variety. Mainly, they do not believe that covering a car with stickers and images is a legitimate modification, and they often ridicule people to do so. These enthusiasts are accustomed to modifying their cars with wheels, suspension, and body kits and feel Itasha culture to be almost comical compared to theirs. 

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Wagnan Racing

Any true sports car enthusiast out there has heard of the term “Wagnan”. Wagnan refers to a stretch of highway located in Tokyo, Japan. Several legendary icons have street raced on this legendary stretch of pavement. A integral part of the Shuto Expressway, this route is so famous for racing that it has had video games, a television series, and an entire manga based around its existence. Wagnan is simply more than a place or stretch of highway, it also encompasses an entire lifestyle of street racing and high adrenaline. Jdm inspired vehicle from across the globe wear the Wagnan badge of honor proudly and this culture has been around for decades. 

Wagnan Racing is characterized by a high speed race, and usually starts from a rolling start. Racers wont let off till about 200 miles per hour, and it is a general rule of thumb that a racer should bothering entering unless their car is capable of such speed. Some famous runs have been documented online with millions of views and one that comes to mind is of Smokey Nagata in his V12 Toyota Supra. The most famous Wagnan Racing group is known as the Midnight Club. Operating from 1987 to 1999, the Midnight Club was the most notorious and highly respected street racing clubs to ever come forth on the Wagnan highway. The Midnight club greatly encompasses the culture and values behind Wagnan racing and why it was so popular. The club was built on a strong set of ethics and beliefs to prevent any members of the club endangering any members of the public or other racers. Races were usually conducted in the late hours of the night and even though drivers would achieve break neck speeds, there were rarely any accidents or commotion. Once you were accepted into the club, you were considered an apprentice for the first year, and would need to attend every meeting to achieve the status as a Mid Night Racer. The Mid Night Club met an untimely end when a local Bosozoku biker gang decided to interfere with a few members on the night when they were racing. Due to the high speed nature of both organization, a quarrel broke out which led to a chase into a heavily populated part of Tokyo. An unfortunate accident occurred which led to several injured civilians and two deaths of Bosozoku members. Since the event, the Mid Night Club dismantled due to their core system of beliefs and Wagnan racing was limited. 

Many popular online adaptions were created that showcased the high spirited culture of Wagnan Racing. The most popular being the tv series and manga, Wagnan Midnight. The show focuses on the main character, Akio Asakura, who is a normal high school students with an interest in cars. One day he finds an abandoned 240z in a junkyard with a rich history behind it. He works to restore the car and then goes out at night in it to race on the Wagnan and challenge the fastest cars the highway has to offer. Throughout the course of the show, he meets several different characters from various backgrounds and professions, who all share a similar interest in the racing on the Wagnan. This show showcases the spirit and culture of Wagnan Racing and has become a high popular and influential show that shows the world just how important it was to some people. Wagnan Racing is still very alive in the modern world, but with police cracking down on new laws and speed limits being imposed, it is not as mainstream and publicly broadcasted as it once was.  

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Group of Bosozoku Motorcyle Riders

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Bosozoku Culture

The Japanese youth culture of Bosozoku has cultural history originating from the 1950s and is still engrained in the modern culture of Japan today. Bosozoku represents a youth culture of over forty thousands members and encompass various different motorcycle gangs with humble beginnings in the industrialized sectors of the country. What makes the Bosozoku stand out in particular is their distinct style and behavioral standards. They have been assigned a title as young rebels without a cause, but many overlook them as carriers of tradition and legacy. 

Towards the conclusion of the second world war, Japan was in ruins. Although effort was being made to revive the commercial and industrial industries of the country, the society that was once prevalent remained extinguished. Ex military specialists that were left behind banded themselves together in a group known as the Kaminari Zoku, or thunder tribe. Used to a life of danger and extremes, they toured around their cities on weekends and replicated the chaotic life they were used to. In the 70s, there was an influx of the young generation into the Kaminari Zoku which increased their numbers greatly as well as introduced new ideas of a society. This rapidly grew and the new unified groups were labeled the Bosozoku or violent running tribe. 

Fast forward into the recent decades and the Bosozoku has made a great effort to maintain traditional values and culture while the society around them becomes modernized and evolved. A specific social hierarchy and social network is set in place and members are told how to act and behave. A common moral shared amongst the group is a hatred of police and regulations. However it is considered immoral amongst the group to cause harm to the public or members within the group. Over time the Bosozoku developed multiple past times for causing chaos and disturbance. The most common theme among the group is riding around in groups on motorcycles throughout the city. Often times, the members of the Bosozoku choose to add modifications to their bikes to stand out amongst themselves, and this is what they are most characterized for in the present day. Different groups of bikers are considered a gang and there is violence and fighting between gangs. The different styles embodied between the various groups make up the subculture that makes the Bosozoku so prevalent in Japanese culture.

Leaders of Bosozoku tribes are identified by wearing jackets covered by stylish Japanese script. These specific jackets are passed through generations of leaders and represent stability of culture through a society that is continuously evolving. The motorcycles also ridden by the Bosozoku were symbolic and had more meaning than just going fast or racing. Hundreds to even thousands of members participated in weekly cruises around the city in order to show off their designs and modifications to the wider population. Bikes were fitted with modified exhausts, oversized accessories, and giant handle bars. In addition to motorcycles, some variants of Bosozoku gangs chose to build cars in a similar fashion. Their main focus was placed on older Japanese sedans such as the Hako Skyline and Toyota Cressida. These cars would be fitted with over the top aero pieces and would be painted in a variety of colors. Along with the motorcycles, members would cruise around in the cars showing off the rich heritage and culture of the Bosozoku. All in all, even though the heritage of the Bosozoku started off being characterized as violent biker gang causing chaos to the city, there are benefits to this organization of individuals. As Japan moves to being modern and up to date with the rest of the world, the Bosozoku carries Japanese tradition and culture for the rest of society to see. As their morals and traditions are passed into future generations, it is easy to see why they are respected throughout the world and are praised for their style and unity. 

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Car Auction in Japan

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Prices Rising in 2022?

For many car enthusiasts around the world, the pinnacle of automotive engineering resides with Japanese cars. Specifically, Japanese cars from the 90s. Growing up playing video games such as Grand Turismo, Need for Speed, and Forza Motorsport led to almost an obsession with these different tuner genre cars. Ultimately this obsession transpired into us as young adults seeking a way to experience those same cars on a firsthand level, with one challenging obstacle. Cars such as the Nissan Skyline Gtr, Toyota Chaser, Nissan Silvia, and Mazda Rx7 were almost only exclusively produced in the Motherland of Japan. Which means in order for many of us to obtain one these gems, we would have to purchase them overseas and import them by ourselves. Now from a personal standpoint, saving up enough money to simply afford one of these cars to begin with is a difficulty in itself. Once you factor in shipping costs, language barriers, and inflation that dream car of yours slowly starts to become that much more unattainable. 

Import services that act as a medium are available in the United States. These importers are able to assist the buyer with finding the specific car they are looking for and then establishing a budget before the search is began. Cars in Japan can be purchased through private sales, used classifieds, or from auctions. In the last decade, the exportation of cars out of Japan to other countries such as Australia, Europe, and the United States has hit records numbers. The sole reason for this is a legislation passed known as the twenty five year rule. The twenty five year rule states that any car produced at least twenty five years ago or older is eligible to be imported into the United States. This time period encompasses nearly all of the highly sought after cars that many people dream of importing. Japanese imports have been coming to the United States at a very high volume in the past decade. In the beginning, people who chose to bring cars over right at the twenty five year mark were able to find what they were looking for at a very fair price. Importers were easy to work with and although they charged a premium for their services, the customer was always satisfied and received their ideal dream car.  

In recent years however, the market for these cars has took a turn for the worse. Following the pandemic our country experienced in early 2020, many trade and shipping ports were closed in the United States. This led to a complete halt in the importing of Japanese vehicles and enthusiasts who had already purchased their cars were forced to wait an indefinite amount of time for them to arrive. This halt in exports from Japan drove the market exponentially high for these Jdm vehicles already in the United States. Sellers started advertising their Nissan Skylines and Toyota Chasers for comically high prices, and would eventually sell them to a desperate customer. Dealers in Japan and private sellers took notice of the high demand for these cars following the pandemic, and raised their prices. Fast forward to present day and the market has inflated to absolutely ridiculous prices for any Jdm vehicle. For reference, I purchased my 1992 Skyline Gtr in the summer of 2019 for seventeen thousand. A similar example of the car I bought in todays market would easily cost me anywhere from fifty to sixty thousand. Any import vehicle from Japan in today’s market is selling for three to four times its value from a few years ago. Prices in 2022 continue to rise making it that much harder for enthusiasts to purchase their ideal dream car.