RIP SAKEVI Yokoyama

80年代前半、渋谷のセンター街が（三本杉のやくざを除いて）モヒカンと鋲ジャンに占拠されていた時期があった・・・

下北沢移転前、ライブハウス「屋根裏」はセンター街にあった。確か1本目の右の路地を入ったパチンコ屋（のちにゲーセン・ミト屋）の上だったと思う。間違っていたらどなたか訂正して欲しい。

中学生だった私は、自分で破いてダメージ加工を施したはずのジーンズがいつの間にか祖母に繕われており、罪悪感を感じながらも再び破る。原宿デッドエンドの憧れのパンクお姉様を真似たTシャツを着、黄色いデップを容器の三分の一ほど使って髪を立て、マーチンは買えないから工事現場から盗んだ安全靴の紐を結ぶ。
月刊ドールや宝島の巻末の広告を頼りに、都営浅草線で眼をギョロギョロさせ搭乗者を威嚇、五反田駅でトルコ風呂とラブホテルとワタナベボクシングの看板前で同級生のYと合流、渋谷駅に着いた頃には恐竜にでもなったつもりでいざ「屋根裏」を目指すが、たむろするモヒカン・トロージャンを確認すると、恐竜だったはずの少年二人はトカゲの如く萎縮し恐怖で入場できず、素通りして結局レコード屋と東急ハンズと大盛堂書店地下の洋書と軍装品のアルバンに行って家路につくのだった。
そして地元馬込駅に無事着いた安堵とともに髪の毛に塗りすぎたデップが溶けておでこがベタベタであることに初めて気づく。

ナゴムレコード的ニューウェーブの夜なら屋根裏の階段は楽々登れたが、当時のハードコア、特にギズムとグールのライブは別格で、それこそ命懸けであり、とてもではないが反抗期の中学生が入場できる雰囲気では断じてなかった。他にも鹿鳴館や豊島公会堂など、ハードコア・サンクチュアリが多数存在し、当時は名前を聞いただけで寿命が縮んだ。
ギズムといえば、ステージの客と喧嘩はおろか電のこをぶん回し、火炎放射器で応戦、他のバンドが演奏中にステージをジャック。そんなアナーキー＆バイオレンスというコンセプトに少年は震え上がり、スピーカーの前で正座をしながらカセットに録音した「ハードコア不法集会」を一生懸命聴いていた。

SAKEVI氏が亡くなり、自分の青臭い青春時代を懐古すると同時に、ひとつの時代の終焉を感じてやまない。一瞬だけでも、当時のハードコア・シーンを肌で感じたことができたのは幸せだと思う。
にら子供の元メンバーのイシヤ氏の著作「ジャパニーズ・ハードコア30年史」と「右手を失くしたカリスマ MASAMI伝」を去年帰国の際買いそびれてしまったことをものすごく後悔している。

In the early 1980s, during the first half of the decade, Shibuya's Center Street was dominated by Mohican trojans and studded jackets (except for the Yakuza at Sanbonsugi). Before relocating to Shimokitazawa, the live music venue 'Yaneura (meaning Attic)' was located in Center Street. I believe it was above the pachinko parlor (which later became a game center called 'Mito-ya') after turning into the first right alley. If I'm mistaken, I hope someone can correct me.

When I was in junior high school, I had torn and distressed a pair of jeans myself, but somehow they were repaired by my grandmother, and I felt guilty as I tore them up again. I wore a T-shirt imitating my favorite punk shop girl at 'Dead End' Harajuku, used about a third of a yellow pot of DEP hair gel to make my hair stand up, and tied the laces of stolen safety boots from a construction site because I couldn't afford Doc Martens.

Relying on advertisements of punk magazines like 'Monthly Doll' and 'Takarajima,' I stared wide-eyed at passengers on the Toei Asakusa Line, intimidating them. I met up with my classmate Y in Gotanda Station, in front of the Turkish bath, love hotels, and the sign for Watanabe Boxing. By the time we arrived at Shibuya Station, we had transformed into something like a dinosaur. We were ready to head to 'Yaneura,' but upon spotting the gathering of mohawked Trojans, the two boys who were supposed to be dinosaurs shrank like lizards, too terrified to enter. We ended up walking by and, in the end, went to the record store, Tokyu Hands, and the underground foreign book section at Taiseido Bookstore, along with Alban (the military surplus store), before heading back home.

And with a sense of relief upon safely reaching my local Magome Station, I finally noticed that I had applied too much hair gel, and my forehead was sticky from it melting.

The stairs to 'Yaneura' were an easy breeze to climb such on Nagomu Records' New Wave nights packed with young girls and nerdy dudes, but the Hardcore scene at the time, especially bands like Gism and Ghoul, were in a league of their own. Attending their shows felt like a matter of life and death, and there was absolutely no way a rebellious middle schooler like me could fit into that atmosphere. There were other Hardcore sanctuaries too, like the Rokumeikan in Meguro and Toshima Kōkaidō, and merely hearing their names back then felt like it was shortening my lifespan.

When it came to Gism, they didn't just fight with the audience on stage; they swung around chainsaws, fired flamethrowers in retaliation, and even hijacked the stage while other bands were playing. This concept of anarchy and violence left the young boy(me) trembling, and he would listen intently to 'Hardcore Illegal Assembly,' which he had recorded on cassette, while sitting formally in front of the speakers.

With the passing of SAKEVI, I find myself nostalgic for my own green youth while also sensing the end of an era. Even if it was just for a moment, I feel fortunate to have experienced the Japanese Hardcore scene of that time firsthand.

I deeply regret not buying Ishiya (former member of The Nira Kodomo), his books '30 Years of Japanese Hardcore' and 'The Charismatic MASAMI Who Lost His Right Hand' when I returned Japan last year.

#sakeviyokoyama #gism #japanesehardcore #横山SAKEVI #japanesepunk #beastarts