Chindon'ya

Musical street performers have a long history in Japan, with a range of practices, from the founder of kabuki, Izumo no Okuni, to the komusō mendicant monks of the Fuke school of Zen Buddhism. The first recorded instance of street performers forming a chindon'ya for the purposes of advertising appears in Osaka during the 19th century (late Edo period and early Meiji period), with the first known chindon'ya 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 hyogoshi noisemaker to draw people's attention. Amekatsu was succeeded by a former bath attendant, Isamikame, who also used to shout "tozai" (lit., "East-West", equivalent to "listen up" or "come one, come all"). Subsequently, such advertising street performers were called tozaiya 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 chindon'ya. 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.

At the early Meiji period, such advertising was still unknown in Tokyo, and advertising was mainly done on curtains (noren), billboards (kanban), and flyers (hikifuda). Stalls also advertised for themselves by making noise and wearing colorful clothes, an at the time widely known example being the extremely colorful dressed pharmacist Iwashiya. During this time, newspapers and posters also started to appear in Japan and were 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 tozaiya from Osaka 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 also caused by the 2 meter 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.

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 out to Kyūshū and Shikoku.

The technological advances opened up many other ways of advertising that competed with the chindon'ya. Since 1910 they had to compete with newspapers. Around 1920 balloons and airplanes carried large banners through the air, and around that time neon signs appeared in Tokyo. With the appearance of sound film in Japan in 1929 about 3000 street advertisers in Japan lost their jobs. A strike in 1930 had no effect and did not improve the situation. In response to the economic environment, the groups reduced their size to 4 to 5 people, and became known as chindon'ya. For many this was the last step before unemployment and poverty, and hence the chindon'ya were considered to be of very low social status. The great depression in 1930 reduced the chindon'ya in Japan even more, and during World War II street performances were forbidden altogether.

The chindonya had a revival again between 1946 and 1956, and between 1950 and 1960 there were up to 2,500 chindon'ya active in Japan. They often performed on black markets. Many stores also moved from a street stall to fixed locations, generating business for chindon'ya, 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 chindon'ya joined this group. The introduction of TV and radio advertising had only a small effect on the chindon'ya, as these new mediums were too expensive for the small shops that used the chindon'ya services, and not targeted enough for the customers living nearby the stores.

Since the 1960s the number of chindon'ya 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 chindon'ya, 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.