Today, many people outside of Japan are interested in Japanese manga, anime, and idols.[1] It's a shame, however, that very few of them are interested in the idols of the 1980s. Compared to today's idols, such as AKB48, its sister groups, and Sakamichi Series, the idols of the past would only look uncool, old-fashioned, and low-grade. However, if you trace the origin of AKB48, you will find Onyanko Club, the biggest female idol group of the 1980s.[2] Although Onyanko Club was only active for a short period of time, its explosive power was too great, and it was like Dragon Ball of the idol world.[2][3][4] Besides, Onyanko Club became popular at the same time as Dragon Ball.[2] I don't think it's a good thing that only one of them is now being ignored. As long as Wikipedia is a comprehensive encyclopedia, it should not make distinctions between eastern or western, old or new, mainstream culture or subculture.
Since this is the English Wikipedia, I'd like to add English sources if possible. However, when it comes to Japanese idols of the 1980s, there are few English sources that are detailed enough to be worth mentioning. So, I will use Japanese sources, but most of those magazines and books are published by major publishers with clear origins. Aside from other topics, when it comes to Japanese idols and its related topics, they fully meet Wikipedia's requirements of fact-checked, independent, and reliable sources. If they were idols today, there would have been plenty of articles written in English. By the way, it was quite common in Japanese newspapers and magazines in the past for the journalists who wrote the articles not to give their signatures. The trend was common to both major and medium-sized media outlets. Therefore, when referring to sources of information, I'd like third parties to understand that in many cases it's not possible to name the journalists. Instead, the editors are basically listed, so I can mention them. Articles related to Onyanko Club on the Japanese Wikipedia don't have sources attached to them very often. Many of them are just descriptions of information that the writers themselves learned from TV, books, and magazines in the past, relying on their own memories. Therefore, I was very careful regarding this point when I wrote the articles in English. Basically, almost every sentence of the articles I wrote in English has one or more sources that I consider the most appropriate at this point.
To tell the truth, I was originally not particularly interested in idols per se. However, not long ago I chanced upon some footage of the very earliest Onyanko Club on YouTube and I became interested in the members of the smoking group who got fired from Onyanko Club for the Shūkan bunshun smoking scandal.[5][6][7] I'd known about the smoking group for a long time, but of course I wasn't interested in them at all. I'd only seen them in not really good photos.[8] However, when I actually watched the footage of these girls, they looked incomparably more lively than in the photos. In particular, Kayoko Yoshino's overwhelming sense of joviality and indecency amazed me, to be honest.[9][10][11] Even though she was a student at Niiza Kita High School back then, she made a series of obscene remarks in front of the TV cameras with lewd expressions on her face without any hesitation at all. [9][10][11] Not only that, but she looked quite a bit like one of the most beautiful girls in my grade, with whom I was classmates in elementary and junior high school. She looked like a funny face in the poorly made photos, but in the footage, she looked totally different.[8][9][10]
In the year 1985, Kayoko Yoshino, very beautiful and extremely cheerful, and Eri Nitta, mediocre and unremarkable, with a haniwa-like face, were both seniors in high school living in Dasaitama.[8][12] Nevertheless, one had become a synonym for Onyanko Club, while the other was soon kicked out of the group and missed out on becoming a popular idol.[6][7][12] Similar cases probably have been happening to some extent in various places around the world for a long time, but it is still an indescribably cruel situation. Anyway, I'll continue to add sources to the articles.
- ところで、アゴが特徴的とも言えそうな榎田道子は、「オールナイトフジ女子高生スペシャル」に出演した時の自己紹介で2年7組と言った際に、2年の「に」の部分にアクセントが置かれていたことを司会の片岡鶴太郎に訂正されていたけど、かなりの美人で際立って陽キャな吉野佳代子が2年5組と言った際や、ハニワっぽい顔立ちの新田恵利が2年1組と言った際にも同じアクセントだったので、これは埼玉特有のアクセントなのかもしれない。[9][10][11]
- あるいは、東武東上線沿線に住む女子高生の間ではそのようなアクセントが当時流行っていたのか。[10]
- 一方で、同じ埼玉のはずの一見ヤンキー風な佐藤真由美が2年B組と言った際に標準のアクセントだったのは、都内の私立高校に在籍していた影響か、あるいは埼玉の高校だったけど 標準のアクセントを使うように普段から心掛けていたのか、さらには別の理由からなのか、その点は定かでない。[9][10][11]
References
edit- ^ Hamaguchi, Hideki (2022-05-11). "クールジャパンとは？ 世界に発信される日本の魅力とその課題" [What's Cool Japan? Japanese Attractiveness to the World and its Challenges] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Nikkei. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
- ^ a b c Hamaguchi, Hideki (2020-08-29). "おニャン子クラブ、運命の日から35年。ブレイクして「壊したもの」と「残したもの」" [Onyanko Club, 35 years have elapsed since that fateful day. What they "destroyed" and what they "left behind" with their great achievements] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Shufu to Seikatsu sha (主婦と生活社). Retrieved 2022-06-28.
- ^ ino 2003, p. 18-19
- ^ Horikawa, Tokumitsu, ed. (1986-08-01). "ヒットチャートに見るおニャン子パワー その現状と未来" [Onyanko Power in the Hit Charts: Its Present Status and Future]. 投稿写真(Post Photo) (in Japanese). No. August 1986. Tokyo, Japan: Kōyūsha (マガジン・マガジン). p. 57-59.
- ^ ino 2003, p. 22
- ^ a b fujiki 1997, p. 84-85
- ^ a b "おニャン子クラブ黒歴史 未成年喫煙写真流出で欠番となったメンバーたち" [The Dark History of Onyanko Club: the members who were treated as missing numbers due to underage smoking photo leak]. Livedoor (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
- ^ a b c Akasaka, Shigeru, ed. (1985-07-01). "おニャン子クラブのみなはん" [All the members of Onyanko Club]. DUNK (DUNK) (in Japanese). No. July 1985. Tokyo, Japan: Shūeisha. pp. 81–83.
- ^ a b c d e Kataoka, Tsurutarō (host); Saitō, Yuki (host); Hiura, Mariko (host) (February 23, 1985). "セーラー服を脱いで美少女ピチピチ生放送！" [Live broadcast of fresh and cute girls who have taken off their sailor suits]. オールナイトフジ女子高生スペシャル (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan. Fuji Television.
- ^ a b c d e f Kataoka, Tsurutarō (host); Saitō, Yuki (host); Hiura, Mariko (host) (March 16, 1985). "青い果実！ ピチピチ美少女いいたい放題生放送" [Immature fruits! live broadcast of fresh and cute girls saying whatever they want]. オールナイトフジ 女子高生スペシャル. Tokyo, Japan. Fuji Television.
- ^ a b c d Matsui, Akira, ed. (1985-05-01). "オールナイトフジ高校生スペシャル" [All Night Fuji High School Special]. 写真時代ジュニア(Photo Times Junior) (in Japanese). No. May 1985. Tokyo, Japan: Kōyūsha (白夜書房). pp. 7–9.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
ino-p5051was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
- Fujiki, TDC (February 16, 1997). 芸能界スキャンダル読本 [The Reading Book On Entertainment Industry Scandals] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Takarajimasha. ISBN 4-7966-9299-1.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - Ino, Ryōsuke, ed. (November 18, 2003). おニャン子クラブと永遠のグループアイドル [Onyanko Club And Eternal Group Idols] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Takarajimasha. ISBN 978-4796636919.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)