Arya News - Kichijoji’s transformation into a youth-culture hub began with jazz cafés, live music venues and creative communities. The district’s enduring appeal is explored through its independent shops, artists and popular culture that shaped its identity.
KICHIJOJI, TOKYO – Kichijoji in Tokyo’s Musashino is a bustling commercial district teeming with young people, lined with department stores, restaurants, clothing stores, and variety shops. With its trendy image, the town is a regular favorite in rankings of “best places to live.”
What originally brought young people to this single district in the Tama region, located outside the 23 special wards?
What attracts the younger generation is cutting-edge culture. To find out when Kichijoji first began to take on its cultural identity, I visited “Bar & Brasserie Funky,” a jazz bar near the north exit of Kichijoji Station.
Originally a jazz cafe that opened in 1960, it was run by Iori Noguchi (1942-2001), who operated numerous restaurants in the area. Iori first came to Kichijoji in 1959. His wife, Mariko, 72, said, “Iori’s first impression of the town was that it was ‘a chaotic and cluttered place.’”
At the jazz cafe private conversation was strictly prohibited, and guests listened intently to the loud music. In those days, when records and audio equipment were expensive, customers could request songs. Mariko said that whenever new overseas releases arrived at the shop, students from Musashino Art University in Kichijoji as well as from Seikei and Hitotsubashi Universities — all located along the JR Chuo line and Keio Inokashira lines — would flock to the cafe.
Funky transformed into a Western-style pastry cafe in 1978 — when jazz’s popularity among young people was waning — due to a relocation, but was revived in 1993. Last year, it reopened as a jazz bar. Mariko often hears people saying that Iori’s opening of many stylish, innovative shops “inspired the next generation of young people to open their own shops in Kichijoji.”
In the late 1960s, folk music became a nationwide craze. In 1970, Musashino kayakuko guwarando opened as one of the pioneers of live music houses. With performances by popular musicians such as Wataru Takada, Shiba, and Kenichi Nagira, it became a hub that attracted young people from across the country until it closed in 1985.
After the student movement gained momentum against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, “during an era when youth culture — a counterculture rebelling against the old system — was flourishing, Kichijoji emerged as a new hub to replace Shinjuku,” said Haruki Murase, 82. He had opened the hall and published the book “Anokoro Kichijoji niwa Guwarando ga atta” (Back then, there was ‘guwarando’ in Kichijoji) last year.
After participating in the student movement at Waseda University, Murase opened a restaurant on the third floor of a mixed-use building behind what is now the Tokyu Department Store in Kichijoji. He packed soundproofing material into the windows and floors, played music at high volume and served food and alcohol. A cup of coffee cost ¥150, and “nekomanma” — rice topped with bonito flakes — cost ¥180.
“Almost every night, Wataru [Takada], Shiba and the others would just start singing on their own and we’d keep the party going until morning,” he said.
Manga artist Shinji Nagashima, illustrator Mizumaru Anzai and artist Genpei Akasegawa were also regulars. “They were a group brimming with the spirit to create a new era, united by a shared sense of dissonance with the times,” Murase recalled.
His partner Yumiko Nagai Murase, 79, added, “It was a place with a powerful allure, thanks to the atmosphere created by the people who gathered there.”
Kichijoji’s current nationwide popularity cannot be explained solely by its legacy of youth culture. “The TV drama ‘Oretachi no tabi’ [our journey] had a major impact,” said Koichi Sato, 73, owner of the Showa-era retro restaurant Kayashima and former chairman of the local merchants’ association.
The drama aired on Nippon TV from 1975 to 1976, starring Masatoshi Nakamura, Taisaku Akino, Ken Tanaka and others. It was set in Kichijoji. “With Inokashira Park and the Kichijoji Sunroad shopping district as backdrops, the lively portrayal of college students’ youth was broadcast nationwide,” said Sato. “I think many people came to Tokyo drawn to Kichijoji and ended up settling in this neighborhood.”
Today’s Kichijoji is different from what it once was — it’s no longer a place where young people can easily open their own shops. Longtime residents lament that large stores and chain stores have proliferated, while unique independent shops have declined. However, Sato said, “There are still plenty of charming shops. I really hope people will come here and enjoy the town.”