Japanese Perspective on HONK! Fest West: A Conversation with Ōkuma Wataru of Jinta-la-Mvta
Marié Abe
This essay discusses the possibilities and limitations of HONK! festivals through the lens of Japanese musician-activist Ōkuma Wataru, who was invited to perform at HONK! Fest West in 2017. Based on an interview format, this piece reflects on his experiences at HONK! Fest West, which was his first exposure to activist street bands outside of Japan. Having encountered his counterparts in North America, Ōkuma offers his insights on a wide range of topics from the modes of street protest in recent years in Japan to the nostalgic impulses behind the politics of revivalism, cultural particularities of public space, militarism and gender, and labor and professionalism in activist settings.
Marié Abe is an Associate Professor of Music at Boston University and an active accordionist. Her research focuses on sound, public space, and social movements in Japan and Okinawa. She is the author of Resonances of Chindon-ya: Sounding Space and Sociality in Contemporary Japan (Wesleyan University Press, 2018).
Marié Abe
This essay discusses the possibilities and limitations of HONK! festivals through the lens of Japanese musician-activist Ōkuma Wataru, who was invited to perform at HONK! Fest West in 2017. Based on an interview format, this piece reflects on his experiences at HONK! Fest West, which was his first exposure to activist street bands outside of Japan. Having encountered his counterparts in North America, Ōkuma offers his insights on a wide range of topics from the modes of street protest in recent years in Japan to the nostalgic impulses behind the politics of revivalism, cultural particularities of public space, militarism and gender, and labor and professionalism in activist settings.
Marié Abe is an Associate Professor of Music at Boston University and an active accordionist. Her research focuses on sound, public space, and social movements in Japan and Okinawa. She is the author of Resonances of Chindon-ya: Sounding Space and Sociality in Contemporary Japan (Wesleyan University Press, 2018).
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Link 5.1: “Peaches in Regalia” by Jinta-la-Mvta at HONK! Fest West
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Link 5.2: Nora Brigade against Fascism
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Link 5.3: Drum Corps led by the activist Ill Commons
