The Bosozokus were a casual group in the slums of Japan in the early 1950s with distinctive looking engines. This group wanted to express their freedom, gain status and be part of a community, especially by traveling on motorcycles.
What they do and their ideas are so loved and embraced that they have grown into a strong youth culture with over 40,000 members. So, how was this culture born, what exactly was its purpose? Let’s take a closer look.
About 70 years ago, there was no such thing as Japan as we know it.
Instead of the technological power of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, there was a Japan that was in ruins at the end of the Second World War, trying to erase the traces of the Hiroshima disaster. Although the industrial and commercial sectors of the country were being regenerated by investments, rebuilding a society almost completely destroyed by the war was difficult.
Among the remnants of the war were ex-airmen and kamikazes. This community, which used to be highly respected in the society and used to a life full of dangers, was looking for its old exciting days. So they got together and formed a group called Kaminari Zoku (Thunder Gang).
This community, which is the ancestor of Bosozoku, would meet on weekends, travel from city to city on their motorcycles that they modified in their own way, and they would satisfy their longing by reinforcing their friendship. As these older brothers got older, the youth of the 1960s and 70s began to take their place.
The influx of youthful energy into Kaminari Zoku increased the numbers of community members.
This youth movement instantly transformed the group of connected bikers into a national community movement. The generation that followed Kaminari Zoku consisted of young working men between the ages of 17-20.
This generation was more traditional and disliked nothing. By the late ’70s, the first generation was gone and the gang was completely under the control of the new generation. As time passed, the world changed, and as the world changed, people changed too. As a result, the structure of the gang has also changed a lot.
The new members were more violent and more illegal. They were also doing larger organizations. In addition to giving their motorcycles an interesting look with the modifications they made, they were wearing exaggeratedly large exhausts to make their sound louder.
These violent youths were confusing the traffic, aiming to intimidate with sticks and flags in their hands. Sometimes they fought with people. When this was the case, this youth started to be talked about all over the country and in the press.
While televisions and newspapers were talking about this gang, they were referring to it as “boso”, which means violent and fast in Turkish.
The word “Zoku” means gang. Over time, the gang began to be known as a “violent speed gang” and the gang immediately adopted this name. They referred to themselves as Bosozoku now. While Bosozoku was mostly popular with young men, some women were also attracted to the culture.
As the rest of Japanese society flourished and opened up to the world, the Bosozoku focused on preserving traditional values and codes of conduct. Although their purpose was the same, they formed the Bosozoku group, which spread almost all over Japan.
Each group had different rules. For example, while one group was willing to openly break the law and cause chaos, it was seen as immoral for the other group to harm the public.
Territory wars between factions, kidnappings and even killings were not uncommon. Defending your own group when one group was threatened by another was a matter of life and death.
As we said, since the Bosozokular are a traditionalist group, this group had its own unique style of clothing as well as motorcycles.
Opposing the westernized suits and ties that had taken hold of Japan, Bosozoku adopted a uniform style called Tokkōfuku, modeled after military pilot overalls, paying homage to his predecessors and creating a personal style all their own. Each gang wore outfits of different colors and patterns.
The leaders of the gangs wore a long jacket covered with the traditional Japanese alphabet. The jacket was transferred when the leader changed. In this way, traditions were passed on to new generations.
Bosozoku was not overly concerned with speed or power when modifying his vehicles.
They had only one purpose, and that was to show off. Equipped with modified exhausts, oversized fairings and giant sissy-bars, the bikes were adorned with flashy paintwork, stickers and flags. Sometimes there was more than one horn on a motorcycle; The personal songs of the gangs were used on these horns.
Over time, cars were added to the motorcycles and things started to get out of hand. In the early 80s, they became a group that roamed in tens, hundreds and sometimes thousands of people, not only in cities but also in rural areas, blocking roads, damaging the environment and clashing with the police. But just as everything has an end, they too had an end.
Since the early 90s, known as the ‘lost decade’ in Japan, the economic problems started to cause problems for the Bosozoku.
Increasing unemployment and economic problems began to reduce the gang’s arbitrary spending income. As a result, modifications to motorcycles and cars became a luxury that few working class could afford.
At the same time, the authority given to the Japanese police to arrest suspected members at the crime scene ensured that gang members were arrested in the slightest incident. On top of that, government and public repression that began in 2004 nearly destroyed the Bosozoku culture as a whole, while ending individual gangs.
Although the interests and preferences of today’s Japanese youth have changed, the Bosozoku culture still exists. For example, in Ginza, known as the heart of fashion in Tokyo, you can see renewed versions of the glittering and flashy Tokkōfuku jackets. Also, on rare occasions, interesting and extravagantly modified motorcycles and cars continue to make their way on the roads of Japan.
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