Oshi-Katsu Chronicle: The 1930s — A 20,000-Strong Fan Club, the Tokyo Ondo Craze, Futabayama's 69 Wins
In the 1930s, “talkies,” films that play an actor’s voice and music in sync with the picture, spread across Japan. The thrill of hearing your favorite actor’s voice inside the work, something silent films couldn’t offer, began here.
Stars of the revue built huge fan clubs, and radio carried sumo and baseball games. In the second half of the decade, though, the effects of war grew stronger, and limits reached songs and films as well.
Films Get a Voice, and Magazines Carry Star News
In August 1931, Shochiku’s Madamu to Nyobo (The Neighbor’s Wife and Mine) opened. Regarded as Japan’s first full-fledged talkie, it was named the year’s No. 1 film in the Kinema Junpo top ten. (Shochiku’s film production history, in Japanese)
Sound recording and playback made actors’ lines and singing voices part of the movie.
- First full talkieMadamu to Nyobo opens in August
- Mizunoe-kai formedAbout 20,000 members
- Pink Dispute and Tokyo OndoA strike, and 1.2 million records
- Tokyo Takarazuka TheaterRecord publication needs a filing
- Pro baseball leagueRecord production peaks at 29.68 million
- Film LawFutabayama's 69-win streak ends
Growth and restriction arrived in the same decade.
Outside the cinema, people read magazines on stars and films. Eiga Sekai was renamed Eiga no Tomo (Friends of the Movies) in 1931 and is said to have reached 200,000 copies at its peak. Shin Eiga, Eiga Fan and others also launched, making the 1930s a high point for prewar film magazines. (Records on Eiga no Tomo, in Japanese; National Film Archive of Japan, in Japanese)
Male-Role Star Takiko Mizunoe, and a Fan Organization of About 20,000
Takiko Mizunoe of the Tokyo Shochiku Gakugeki-bu, Shochiku’s revue troupe, cut her hair short in 1931 and won fans playing male roles. The “cropped hair” (danpatsu) of the day is what we would call short hair now. She was also known by the nickname “Turkey” (Taakii). (Records on Takiko Mizunoe, in Japanese)
That fall, the fan organization “Mizunoe-kai” (the Mizunoe Society) was launched. Its members lived in Japan and also in Korea and Taiwan, then under Japanese rule, and are said to have numbered about 20,000.
Takiko MizunoeNicknamed "Turkey" (Taakii)
- Cropped hairShe cut her hair short in 1931
- Male rolesPopular at the Tokyo Shochiku Gakugeki-bu
- About 20,000 membersIn Japan, Korea and Taiwan
- Fan eventsThe 3rd Taakii Festival, October 1935
- Labor leaderHead of the 1933 organizing committee
A fan club, its festivals and its star's labor role all radiate from one person.
Big Theaters Open, While Performers Demand Better Treatment
In 1933, members of Shochiku’s revue troupe went on strike for better treatment, in a labor dispute known as the “Momoiro Sogi” (the Pink Dispute). Takiko Mizunoe served as head of the organizing committee, a popular star confronting the problems of her working conditions. (History of the Shochiku Revue, in Japanese)
Girls’ opera performances continued after that, and large theaters opened in Tokyo.
- January 1934Tokyo Takarazuka Theater
- Opened in Yurakucho with 2,778 seats, so fans could keep seeing Takarazuka performances in Tokyo too.
- July 1937Asakusa Kokusai Theater
- Capacity 3,600. It became the home of the Shochiku Girls' Opera and welcomed large audiences.
(History of the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater, in Japanese; History of the Shochiku Revue, in Japanese)
In 1936 Takarazuka also launched Takarazuka Graph, a monthly magazine with photographs and more. (History of the Takarazuka Revue, in Japanese)
“Tokyo Ondo” Spreads Through Records and Dance Lessons
“Tokyo Ondo,” released in July 1933, is reported to have sold 1.2 million copies at release. It grew out of “Marunouchi Ondo,” performed at the previous year’s Bon dance in Hibiya Park. (Records on “Tokyo Ondo”, in Japanese)
- 01Marunouchi OndoPerformed at Hibiya Park's Bon dance, 1932
- 02Tokyo OndoReleased by Victor in July 1933
- 03Records sell1.2 million at the time of release
- 04Dance lessonsEmployees bring phonographs to teach steps
- 05Bon dance groundsPeople dance together
Records carried the tune. People carried the steps.
Among popular songs, Ichiro Fujiyama’s “Sake wa Namida ka Tameiki ka” (Is Sake Tears or a Sigh?), Dick Mine’s “Dinah,” and Noriko Awaya’s “Wakare no Blues” (Farewell Blues) also became hits. (Ichiro Fujiyama, in Japanese; Dick Mine, in Japanese; Noriko Awaya, in Japanese)
Domestic record production hit 29.68 million discs in 1936, the prewar peak, then fell in 1937 and 1938. (Izumi Okubo, Japan Business History Review vol. 49, no. 4, in Japanese)
- 29.68 million
- Domestic records made in 1936, the prewar peak
- 1 million+
- Radio subscriptions in 1932
- 69
- Futabayama's straight wins, 1936 to 1939
Sources: Izumi Okubo, Japan Business History Review (records, in Japanese); Video Research (radio, in Japanese); Japan Sumo Association (winning streak, in Japanese); Records on Futabayama (Wikipedia, in Japanese)
Following Futabayama’s Streak and Pro Baseball, at the Ballpark and on the Radio
The sumo wrestler Futabayama won 69 straight bouts from the January 1936 tournament to the January 1939 tournament. More fans queued overnight for tickets, and a tournament grew from 11 days to 13 and then to 15. (Japan Sumo Association, in Japanese; Records on Futabayama, in Japanese)
The streak ended in January 1939 with a loss to Akinoumi. Announcer Shinken Wada’s radio call, repeating “Futaba is beaten!”, is still remembered. (Jiji Press, in Japanese)
In baseball, the Japan Professional Baseball League was founded in 1936 with seven teams, the forerunner of today’s pro baseball. Eiji Sawamura of the Tokyo Giants was named most valuable player of the 1937 spring season. (Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: history of baseball, in Japanese; Eiji Sawamura, in Japanese)
Radio subscriptions passed one million in 1932. (Video Research, in Japanese)
As War Approaches, Limits Reach Songs and Films
Even as records spread, publishing them required a filing from July 1934. A list of records banned from sale or distribution is also on record. (National Diet Library, in Japanese)
When the Sino-Japanese War began in 1937, the stage became tied to the war. Takarazuka gave morale-boosting performances at military hospitals, and toured Germany and Italy in 1938 and the United States in 1939. The overseas tours doubled as artistic missions. (Chiaki Watanabe, Ritsumeikan Bungaku no. 690, in Japanese; History of the Takarazuka Revue, in Japanese)
Under the 1939 Film Law, making and distributing films required permission, and directors and actors had to register. Popularity and an audience eager to see or hear a work were no longer enough to get it to them. (History of Japanese film, in Japanese)
Key Events of the Decade
- May 1931Takiko Mizunoe cuts her hair short and becomes popular as an otokoyaku (male-role) starStage
- Aug. 1931"Madam to Nyobo" is released, Japan's first full-fledged talkieFilm
- Sept. 1931Ichiro Fujiyama's "Sake wa Namida ka Tameiki ka" sells over 1 million recordsMusic
- Autumn 1931The "Mizunoe-kai" fan club is formed, growing to about 20,000 membersStage
- 1932Radio subscriptions pass 1 millionMedia
- June 1933Shochiku's revue performers stage the "Momoiro Sogi" (Pink Dispute) labor action, and about 46 are arrestedStage
- July 1933"Tokyo Ondo" is released and sells 1.2 million records at the timeMusic
- Jan. 1934The Tokyo Takarazuka Theater opens, with 2,778 seatsStage
- July 1934Revised publication regulations make records subject to prior notificationBusiness
- 1934Dick Mine's "Dinah" becomes a big hitMusic
- Feb. 1936The Japanese Professional Baseball League is founded with seven teamsSports
- June 1937Noriko Awaya's "Wakare no Blues" sells over 1 million recordsMusic
- July 1937The Asakusa Kokusai Theater opens, with a capacity of 3,600Stage
- Jan. 1939Futabayama's 69-win streak is stopped by AkinoumiSports
Words of the Era
- Momoiro sogi (the "Pink Dispute")
- The popular name for the 1933 strike by Shochiku's revue troupe. Performers raised their voices as workers
- Turkey (nickname of Takiko Mizunoe)
- Nickname of Takiko Mizunoe. It spread as the name for a bobbed-hair, male-dressed otokoyaku star
- Danso no reijin ("beautiful woman in men's dress")
- A phrase for otokoyaku stars. It became basic vocabulary for talking about girls' revue
- Shin min'yo (new folk songs)
- Songs like "Tokyo Ondo" that record companies created in the folk-song mold and spread nationwide
Shin min’yo (“new folk songs”) are not old songs handed down from long ago, but newly composed songs that take the form of folk songs. “Tokyo Ondo” also spread as one of them.
The next installment, the 1940s, traces the road from wartime cancellations to postwar theater reopenings and the birth of new radio programs.
FAQ
What kind of decade were the 1930s in oshi-katsu history?
It was a decade when talkies and radio spread at the same time, and a star's appeal came to be told through the voice as well as the face. In the second half, controls under the Sino-Japanese War squeezed that voice.
What was the "Mizunoe-kai"?
It was the fan organization of the male-role star Takiko Mizunoe, launched in the fall of 1931. With members in Korea and Taiwan as well as Japan itself, it is said to have reached about 20,000, and a "3rd Taakii Festival" was held in October 1935.
How well did "Tokyo Ondo" sell?
It was released by Victor in July 1933 and is said to have sold 1.2 million copies at the time of release alone. Record-company employees carried electric phonographs around the country to teach people the dance.
What was the Pink Dispute (Momoiro Sogi)?
It is the popular name for a strike by members of Shochiku's revue troupe for better treatment, held from June to July 1933. The male-role star Takiko Mizunoe bore the brunt of it as head of the organizing committee.
How did Futabayama's 69-win streak end?
It ended with a loss to Akinoumi at the January 1939 tournament. The radio commentary repeated "Futaba is beaten!", and cushions and even hibachi braziers are said to have been thrown from the seats of the Kokugikan.
