Big in Japan (phrase)
Encyclopedia
Big in Japan was originally a scornful phrase applied to Western rock bands that failed to sell many records in the United States
and/or the United Kingdom
. During the 1960s and 1970s, Japanese pop culture was not yet considered very cool
in the English-speaking world. Thus, though a band might have tens of thousands of Japanese fans, it was not considered truly successful: the band was only big in Japan
.
initially had only mediocre success in Europe and the United States, yet were "Big in Japan", as evidenced by their 1978 tour of the country and the double live album Tokyo Tapes
. Another example is The Ventures
, a band formed in 1959 and touring Japan each year since 1965, having logged over 2,000 concerts there by 2006. "Being 'Big in Japan' turned into a positive sign of their closeness to the hearts of Japanese people, with the band embedded in national and local rock cultures.".
The phrase was used as the name of a UK punk band in 1977-82 (whose name inspired the title of a 1984 hit single
by pop band Alphaville
) and was the name of the lead track on the Grammy-winning 1999 album Mule Variations
by Tom Waits
. The mockumentary
This is Spinal Tap
makes fun of this concept with its ending in which the band gets out of its career slump by performing in Japan.
The phrase began to appear on several major Japanese foreign-rock magazines, especially the Music Life magazine, in the late 1970s, and in most cases, the "big in Japan" artists became popular in Japan because of being featured by Music Life.
In the late 20th, notable "big in Japan" artists included several stadium rock bands from the United States of America, metal
artists from Northern European countries such as Norway
, Denmark
, and especially Sweden
and Finland
, eurobeat
artists from Germany
and especially Italy
, and UK rock artists literally from the United Kingdom
.
Some bands have used their popularity in Japan as a springboard to break into other audiences. Notably, the Illinois
power pop
group Cheap Trick
, which had been known as the "American Beatles" in Japan for their appeal, achieved widespread success with their multi-platinum live album
Cheap Trick at Budokan. The band had previously struggled to break into the mainstream American market with their earlier albums. Furthermore, like Cheap Trick, some bands have lost their "big in Japan" titles because of gaining popularity in their respective homelands. The most notable example is Queen
, along with Bon Jovi
.
Since foreign music declined in popularity, and the magazine Music Life ceased publication due to low circulation in mid-1990s, there has been no reported case of "big in Japan" in the music industry. However, some people in other industries, most notably Bob Sapp
and Takeshi Kaneshiro
, have been described as "big in Japan".
Many Thai
kickboxers in K-1
, most notably Buakaw Por. Pramuk who is also the most popular kickboxer among women in Japan, have been considered "big in Japan", as most of them are successful in K-1 but it is widely believed in Japan that their muay thai
accomplishments in Thailand are usually not very good and therefore they are not well-recognized in Thailand.
It has also been used in sports, for instance, to describe Major League Baseball
players who joined Japanese clubs at the end of their careers, for example baseballer Daryl Spencer
.
, has been used since early 1980s. In general, a small-in-Japan artist holds significant popularity in the Western world (in most cases the United States), and visits Japan many times to promote himself/herself, yet is almost unknown and unsuccessful in Japan despite being heavily featured by Japanese music media. Notable small-in-Japan individuals in 2000s included Britney Spears
, Beyonce, Rihanna
, Alicia Keys
, Jennifer Lopez
, Eminem
, Lady Gaga
, The Jonas Brothers, Amy Winehouse
, Linkin Park
, Lindsay Lohan
, 50 Cent
, The Libertines
, Jessica Simpson
, Connie Talbot
, Miley Cyrus
and Justin Bieber
. On April 26, 2002 when Britney Spears
made her 4th appearance on the morning news program Mezamashi TV
, the anchorman Shin'ichi Karube introduced her as a "typical small-in-Japan singer who should get more attention", and described her as an "incredibly popular American singer, Aguilera
's best competitor, America's young next big thing, whom the program previously introduced but still no one knows in Japan". The singer withdrew from the Japanese market in December 2003.
From the Japanese point of view, the phrase "small in Japan" is also used to describe Japanese celebrities who are unknown, unsuccessful or "forgotten" in Japan but making their ways outside Japan. The phrase has been used to refer to certain musicians such as Dir en Grey
, certain actors such as Ken Watanabe
, certain professional wrestlers such as Tajiri
and Yoshi Tatsu, certain fashion models such as Ai Tominaga
and Tao Okamoto
, and all the Miss Universe
contestants from Japan, most of whom are former unsuccessful fashion models, including Kurara Chibana
and Riyo Mori
.
In one exceptional case, Digital Arts magazine has used the phrase to describe Xbox 360
, a videogame console that was a success all over the world except Japan.
is widely considered a BIJ person. This young American female singer has established popularity among young Japanese women especially those in their early teens since 2008 when she released her first single I Wish You Loved Me
. She has a large popularity for a foreign entertainer in Japan, however is relatively unknown in her home country of the USA. Her songs have even appeared in the mainstream Oricon
charts, and she made several collaborations with Japanese singers such as Beni.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and/or the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. During the 1960s and 1970s, Japanese pop culture was not yet considered very cool
Cool (aesthetic)
Something regarded as cool is an admired aesthetic of attitude, behavior, comportment, appearance and style, influenced by and a product of the Zeitgeist. Because of the varied and changing connotations of cool, as well its subjective nature, the word has no single meaning. It has associations of...
in the English-speaking world. Thus, though a band might have tens of thousands of Japanese fans, it was not considered truly successful: the band was only big in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Original usage
For example, ScorpionsScorpions (band)
Scorpions are a heavy metal/hard rock band from Hannover, Germany, formed in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who is the band's only constant member. They are known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and many singles, such as "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", "Still...
initially had only mediocre success in Europe and the United States, yet were "Big in Japan", as evidenced by their 1978 tour of the country and the double live album Tokyo Tapes
Tokyo Tapes (album)
Tokyo Tapes is a live album by German heavy metal band Scorpions."Tokyo Tapes" was Scorpions' first live album, recorded at Nakano Sun Plaza on April 24 and 27, during the band's Japanese tour in 1978....
. Another example is The Ventures
The Ventures
The Ventures is an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Founded by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, the group in its various incarnations has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. With over 100 million records sold, the group is the best-selling...
, a band formed in 1959 and touring Japan each year since 1965, having logged over 2,000 concerts there by 2006. "Being 'Big in Japan' turned into a positive sign of their closeness to the hearts of Japanese people, with the band embedded in national and local rock cultures.".
The phrase was used as the name of a UK punk band in 1977-82 (whose name inspired the title of a 1984 hit single
Big in Japan (song)
"Big in Japan" is the debut single of the band Alphaville. It is from their 1984 album Forever Young. The title comes from a phrase Big in Japan, which was used to describe Western bands who are popular with Japanese audiences while garnering little attention in their home country.The single was a...
by pop band Alphaville
Alphaville (band)
Alphaville is a German synthpop group which gained popularity in the 1980s. The founding members were Marian Gold , Bernhard Lloyd , and Frank Mertens Alphaville is a German synthpop group which gained popularity in the 1980s. The founding members were Marian Gold (real name Hartwig Schierbaum,...
) and was the name of the lead track on the Grammy-winning 1999 album Mule Variations
Mule Variations
-Related promo CD:As a promotional limited offer, an EP titled Hold On was later released with two of the tracks from the Mule Variations album plus two previously unreleased tracks...
by Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
. The mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
This is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap...
makes fun of this concept with its ending in which the band gets out of its career slump by performing in Japan.
The phrase began to appear on several major Japanese foreign-rock magazines, especially the Music Life magazine, in the late 1970s, and in most cases, the "big in Japan" artists became popular in Japan because of being featured by Music Life.
In the late 20th, notable "big in Japan" artists included several stadium rock bands from the United States of America, metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
artists from Northern European countries such as Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, and especially Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, eurobeat
Eurobeat
Eurobeat is a form of italo-disco/hi-NRG music that developed in the late 1980s.In the United States, Eurobeat was sometimes marketed as Hi-NRG and for a short while shared this term with the very early freestyle music hits....
artists from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and especially Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and UK rock artists literally from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Some bands have used their popularity in Japan as a springboard to break into other audiences. Notably, the Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
power pop
Power pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...
group Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
, which had been known as the "American Beatles" in Japan for their appeal, achieved widespread success with their multi-platinum live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
Cheap Trick at Budokan. The band had previously struggled to break into the mainstream American market with their earlier albums. Furthermore, like Cheap Trick, some bands have lost their "big in Japan" titles because of gaining popularity in their respective homelands. The most notable example is Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, along with Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
.
Other usage
Bob Sapp
Robert Malcolm "Bob" Sapp is an American kickboxer, mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, actor, comedian and former professional American football player. Sapp currently has a combined fight record of 21–21–0, mostly fighting in Japan...
and Takeshi Kaneshiro
Takeshi Kaneshiro
Takeshi Kaneshiro , born October 11, 1973, is a Taiwan-born Japanese actor and singer.-Name:...
, have been described as "big in Japan".
Many Thai
Thai people
The Thai people, or Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Kradai family of...
kickboxers in K-1
K-1
K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
, most notably Buakaw Por. Pramuk who is also the most popular kickboxer among women in Japan, have been considered "big in Japan", as most of them are successful in K-1 but it is widely believed in Japan that their muay thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
accomplishments in Thailand are usually not very good and therefore they are not well-recognized in Thailand.
It has also been used in sports, for instance, to describe Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
players who joined Japanese clubs at the end of their careers, for example baseballer Daryl Spencer
Daryl Spencer
Daryl Dean Spencer , is a former professional baseball player. He was a utility infielder, playing shortstop, second base, and third base in the major leagues from 1952-1963. He played for the New York Giants, San Francisco Giants, St...
.
"Small in Japan"
The derivative phrase "small in Japan", originally used for AC/DCAC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
, has been used since early 1980s. In general, a small-in-Japan artist holds significant popularity in the Western world (in most cases the United States), and visits Japan many times to promote himself/herself, yet is almost unknown and unsuccessful in Japan despite being heavily featured by Japanese music media. Notable small-in-Japan individuals in 2000s included Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
, Beyonce, Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
, Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
, Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
, Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
, Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
, The Jonas Brothers, Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
, Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
, Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan is an American actress, pop singer and model. She began her career as a child fashion model before making her motion picture debut in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap at the age of 11...
, 50 Cent
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
, The Libertines
The Libertines
The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...
, Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Ann Simpson is an American recording artist, actress, television personality, and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and...
, Connie Talbot
Connie Talbot
Connie Talbot is an English child singer from Streetly, Aldridge, in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands. She rose to fame in 2007 when she reached the final of the television talent show Britain's Got Talent, where she was runner-up to Paul Potts...
, Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
and Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager...
. On April 26, 2002 when Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
made her 4th appearance on the morning news program Mezamashi TV
Mezamashi TV
Mezamashi TV is a Japanese news magazine show broadcast every weekday on Fuji TV from 5:25 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. but not on TV Oita because there is "ZIP!" produced and copyrighted by Nippon TV on TV Oita....
, the anchorman Shin'ichi Karube introduced her as a "typical small-in-Japan singer who should get more attention", and described her as an "incredibly popular American singer, Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
's best competitor, America's young next big thing, whom the program previously introduced but still no one knows in Japan". The singer withdrew from the Japanese market in December 2003.
From the Japanese point of view, the phrase "small in Japan" is also used to describe Japanese celebrities who are unknown, unsuccessful or "forgotten" in Japan but making their ways outside Japan. The phrase has been used to refer to certain musicians such as Dir en Grey
Dir en grey
Dir En Grey is a Japanese metal band formed in 1997 and currently signed to Firewall Div., a sub-division of Free-Will. As of 2011, they have recorded eight full-length records...
, certain actors such as Ken Watanabe
Ken Watanabe
is a Japanese stage, film, and television actor. To English-speaking audiences he is known for playing tragic hero characters, such as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in Letters from Iwo Jima and Lord Katsumoto Moritsugu in The Last Samurai, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best...
, certain professional wrestlers such as Tajiri
Yoshihiro Tajiri
, is a Japanese professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment. He is currently competing in SMASH as TAJIRI.-Early years :...
and Yoshi Tatsu, certain fashion models such as Ai Tominaga
Ai Tominaga
is a Japanese fashion model and actress.- Career :She has appeared on the cover of Vogue in her native country and in runway shows for John Galliano, Vivienne Tam, Anna Sui, Christian Dior, Karl Lagerfeld, Gucci, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Dolce and Gabbana, Givenchy, Elie Saab, Alexander McQueen...
and Tao Okamoto
Tao Okamoto
Tao Okamoto is a Japanese model who was the face of Ralph Lauren.-Career:Okamoto's first agency was Elite to which she signed on in 2006. She made her first runway debut on the Emanuel Ungaro and Martin Grant shows in Paris that same year. The next year, she walked her first New York Fashion Week...
, and all the Miss Universe
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....
contestants from Japan, most of whom are former unsuccessful fashion models, including Kurara Chibana
Kurara Chibana
, a Japanese model, born on March 27, 1982, is a native of Naha City . She competed in Miss Universe 2006 and ended up as the 1st Runner-up.-Miss Universe 2006:...
and Riyo Mori
Riyo Mori
is a Japanese dance instructor and model who won the Miss Universe 2007 title in May 2007.-Early life:...
.
In one exceptional case, Digital Arts magazine has used the phrase to describe Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, a videogame console that was a success all over the world except Japan.
Recent example
As of 2011, Tynisha KeliTynisha Keli
Tynisha Keli Soares , known by her stage name Tynisha Keli, is an American R&B and pop singer-songwriter, who has seen her greatest success in Japan....
is widely considered a BIJ person. This young American female singer has established popularity among young Japanese women especially those in their early teens since 2008 when she released her first single I Wish You Loved Me
I Wish You Loved Me
I Wish You Loved Me is the first single released off her debut album The Chronicles of Tk.The single was written by Rico Love and produced by Tha Cornaboyz. The world premiere of the single was released through iTunes, September 7, 2007. It first appeared on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100...
. She has a large popularity for a foreign entertainer in Japan, however is relatively unknown in her home country of the USA. Her songs have even appeared in the mainstream Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
charts, and she made several collaborations with Japanese singers such as Beni.