Studying In Japan

NAGOYA--Hip-hop, with its roots in American black and Latino culture, might seem an unlikely dance to see here in the Aichi Prefecture capital. Yet, young homeboys and girls performing spectacular jumps, high kicks and one-handed spins to the driving beat of hip-hop music are no longer an unusual sight at schools around the city.

Hip-hop is cool in Nagoya.

The music and dance of hip-hop was born in the United States, where in 1970s' New York, gangs of young blacks and Latinos evolved alternative moves in music and dance to protest the prevailing pabulum of mainstream pop and disco that filled the radio airwaves.

Today, hip-hop is a strong cultural and economic force worldwide. And here in Nagoya, youths are using the dance to give shape to their own alternative visions.

Teens and older youths are honing their skills, strength and flexibility, hoping to win recognition in the growing number of hip-hop dance competitions being held here.

Even universities and high schools are adding hip-hop to gym classes and club offerings.

Aside from the fun and excitement this exuberant music and dance generates, its popularity can be traced to unique facets: it promotes nonviolence and forges faith in one's hometown.

In October, about 30 people took part in a class on the meaning and history of hip-hop at Nagoya University's Toyoda Auditorium.

The audience, filled mostly with youths in baggy clothes and members of the general public, heard lectures by two professional dancers.

The Nagoya-based dancers--Katsu, 39, and You-Gee, 33--have taught the class together since it began last summer.

"Hip-hop, which has spread worldwide, was started by members of youth gangs (in New York) who wanted to stop fighting. They instead began to compete on the streets by dancing," one said.

Katsu and You-Gee both honed their hip-hop dance skills in the United States. Since returning to Japan more than a decade ago, they have been working as dancers in and around Nagoya.

"It's amazing now. Many people are dancing hip-hop in sports clubs around the country," one said.

Adding to the Nagoya excitement is the annual Dance Dynamite hip-hop contest, which has been gaining more contestants year by year. When it started in 1991, fewer than 20 people entered, but last year's event saw 449 dancers eager to win accolades. Dance Dynamite is now one of the largest dance competitions in the Tokai region, of which Nagoya is the largest metropolis.

Why has hip-hop become so popular here?

Organizers believe it has something to do with the nonviolent nature of the dancing and the way it encourages local kids to stick with their hometowns instead of bolting for bigger cities.

In the States, hip-hop emerged in the poor inner cities, where immigrant and black youths with longstanding complaints against society decided to shun popular culture and instead create their own music and dance forms.

They no longer tried to hide what they were and where they were from.

Rather, hip-hop's originators proudly proclaimed their existence through music and dance. Hip-hop, rap and other forms of alternative music and dance soon claimed the notice of American youths of all colors.

To some extent, that's what is happening in Nagoya, too.

Chukyo TV Broadcasting Co. (CTV), based in Nagoya, has produced hip-hop dance programs since 2004. Producer Eisaku Kuromiya, 39, said, "Nagoya and hip-hop fit well together."

Kuromiya, born and raised in the city, is proud of his hometown. "I like Nagoya," he says.

And hip-hop encourages people to stand tall and feel proud of their roots, Kuromiya says.

Nagoya is home to musicians who have reached wide acclaim, such as nobodyknows+ and Seamo. Both artists have appeared on the prestigious Kohaku song contest that airs every Dec. 31 on Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) to ring in the new year.

They share similar opinions about the culture of hip-hop.

Seamo, 33, appeared in a video message shown during the university lecture led by Katsu and You-Gee.

"Hip-hop represents hometowns. Tokyo is not the only place that spreads culture," Seamo said.

Hip-hop's reach is expanding into classrooms nationwide, too.

Last spring, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology officially announced new school curriculum guidelines for junior high schools that included descriptions of hip-hop dance and music.

Dance has been an elective subject for physical education classes for years. But starting in fiscal 2012, in junior high schools, dance will become mandatory for first- and second-year phys-ed classes, and an elective for the third year.

In addition, the ministry is considering extending dance in senior high school phys-ed classes.

If that happens, the day will come when students nationwide will be learning hip-hop and other dance moves in their gym classes.

The ministry plan is a sign that hip-hop and other forms of dance have reached an unprecedented level of acceptance in Japan, according to Yuki Kumazawa, 37, a teacher at Tokai Gakuen High School in Nagoya who helps lead an unofficial dance club at the school.

In 2002, Kumazawa set up a network of school dance clubs around the area. According to the Aichi prefectural board of education, 20 schools in the region now have official dance clubs.

Hip-hop has come a long way from its rebellious roots on U.S. inner-city streets.

Kumazawa says that the best way to spread hip-hop's positive influences is for teachers to set up exchanges among students to help them learn the moves.

In 2004, he joined other advisers to organize a dance festival that involved 200 students from seven schools in the prefecture. The program was part of the annual Youth Festival sponsored by the Nagoya city government.

The dance program has continued to be a part of that festival, with last year's festival including 400 students from 18 schools.

This year, the event takes place on Jan. 24. At Nagoya's Toho High School, student dancers started practicing their routines in the gymnasium last month.

Saki Tanaka, 18, a third-year student at Tokai Gakuen High School who helps coordinate the dance troupe, is enthusiastic. "I cannot imagine life without dancing," she said.

Keiko Ito, 45, a teacher at Toho High School and an adviser to the official dance club of the school, recognizes the positive gains from dancing.

"Students grow by learning to express themselves through body movements. I thought someday the time will come when dance is a requirement in education," Ito said.

Ito herself is no slouch on the dance floor. Last July, she placed second in the hip-hop category at a national dance competition sponsored by a nonprofit group

BY HIROYUKI MAEGAWA, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN