What is bosozoku?
As Wikipeda describes the word Bosozoku:
B?s?zoku (???, “violent running gang”) is a Japanese subculture associated with motorcycle clubs and gangs.
So, Bosozoku style cars should best be described as the cars driven by the Japanese gangs. This is partly true of course, but a lot of people actually like the Bosozoku styling as well eventhough they are not a member of a gang…
The zoku part in the word indicates it is about a gang. A lot of people use Boso as a word to indicate this style to not refer as the gang cars but the use of the word Boso would not make sense: violently running cars??
A lot of people also use the zokusha designation which is widely used in Japan. Sha means car so literally it translates into gang-car. So in other words zokusha is the best describing word for the bosozoku style cars.
The Bosozoku style is often referred to with a lot of different names:
- Shakotan
- Yanky style
- VIP style
- Kyusha style
- Grachan
Shakotan
Example of the Shakotan style
Shakotan literally means “low car” and is used mainly for indicating extremely lowered streetcars with wings and big exhausts tips. The manga/anime of Shakotan Boogie features two brothers driving extremely lowered cars. One of them being a white Toyota Soarer Z10, hence the popularity of that particular car under Shakotan fans. This style is the mild variant of the Bosozoku style.
Yanky style
Example of the Yanky style
During the 70s and 80s in Osaka area the street fashion became to wear colourful Aloha shirts and pants and this caused the wearers being called Yankees. Most of the “bad boys” were wearing the Aloha fashion and hence the Bosozoku became equivalent to Yankee style. The writing of this style is officially with double ii, so Yankii.
Also one of the cars in Shakotan Boogie was a blue (later on painted yellow) Nissan 240 S30Z with widened fenders and “Yanky Mate!”, probably same as the Yankii fashion, in big white letters on the hood. People who copied this styling started called it Yanky style. Basically it is the same style as Shakotan with the exception of the wide fenders but mostly people call the moderate styled cars Yanky style. Please note the “Y” misspelling. 😉
VIP style
VIP style is more or less a crossover between Shakotan and gang cars: extremely lowered luxury vehicles (lots of bling!) are filled up with as much novelties as possible and ride on big rims. Sometimes very close to Bosozoku style, however IMO the Bosozoku style is more or less the low budget version of VIP style. Also VIP style tends to use only newer cars while the Bosozoku style uses the older cars from the 70s till early 90s.
Kyusha style
Example of the Kyusha style
Kyusha style literally means “Japanese old classic car” which in a lot of cases mean it is an old car modified with some (smaller) fender flares, lowered and nice rims under it. So it should not be the same as Bosozoku style.
Grachan
Example of the Grachan style
Grachan or Garuchan comes from the 70s and 80s Grand Championships on Fuji Speedway. The Bosozoku used to have big meetings on the parkinglots of these events, hence the name. These cars should also match the same bodyshape styling as the cars running on the circuits, with big wide fenders like used on the Super Silhouette styling. So this style should be part of the Bosozoku Style.
Bosozoku style
Example of the Bosozoku styling
So we conclude with the Bosozoku Style: in my opinion the Bosozoku style distinguishes from all the styles above; the wild styling of the cars combining all styles above! So it lowers the cars extremely like the Shakotan, it uses big fender flares from the Yanky style and resembles wild bodyshapes from the Granchan style and adds the wicked exhaust styling from the motorcyles!
Comments
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[…] Avid readers of Speedhunters and Japanese Nostalgic Car are familiar with the Japanese outlaw groups called 暴走族 (Bōsōzoku) and their tastefully modified vehicles. Most common base for building such vehicles are 1980’s JDM rear wheel drive sedans and coupés. However, if the owner has identified potential for an idea, just about any car might be used as a starting point and customized in one of these particular styles. […]
Hello! I’m emailing from the UK. I’ve trying to get in touch with some girl Bosozoku groups in Japan for a very low-fi but cool song music video that we wanted to shoot on the 31st July. Can anyone help me or know anyone who might be interested?
Thanks!
Tina
I live in Okinawa and I hate these pussy fucks on the bikes! Most of these little bastards are highschool drop outs and steal the bikes they ride. It should be open season on these fucktards. I’d love to beat the shit out of all of them.
Brent, just do it I lived on OKI in the late 80’s and we use to deal with these asshole
They aren’t gangs!! Gangs are tough and scary! These assholes are annoying lil fucks with no job and nothing else better to do that rev their piece of shit engines as they go 20-30 km when people who work are trying to sleep. If I see one of these bikes I’m kicking the fucking thing over and daring the bitch pussy riding it to say anything. I’ll crack his head too
They actually used to be terrifying (to each other at least) they’d tie members of rival gangs on their bikes or cars and drag them through the road killing them, or cross through them holding pipes and wrenches. I think now it’s just a way for youths in Japan to escape or feel more important, which is honestly very sad.
yeah and end up in prison for aggracated assault japanese inmates would love to fuck up a gajin like you
Bosozoku https://youtu.be/JIP7d1Xbdok
Rice the fuck out lmfaoo
Thanks for the explanations. I think Kyusha is so close to what the guys like Nakai San, Kei Miura, Liberty Walk, etc perform. The Bosozoku is so exaggerated and flashy and under-performing.
I am so interested in Japanese culture and I follow up your carlife too.
this is really cooll