​Shigetoshi Furutani

The work archives the manners and customs of Japanese teenage motorcycle gangs called “Bousouzoku” which were most prevalent during the 70’s and 80’s. The animation presents various iconic Bousouzoku images and themes. Particularly, the word “夜露死苦” (more commonly “よろしく”) pronounced “yoroshiku” meaning “hello”, “Nice to meet you” or “best regards”. “夜露死苦” (seen on the left and right hand side of the piece) was created by gathering  characters with dark or a negative connotations, such as “夜” meaning “night”, “露” meaning “scantily”, “死” meaning “death” and “苦” meaning “hard”. “yoroshiku” was often used by the gangs at the end of sentences, for example “I never lose a fight! yoroshiku!”.

Despite their appearence, “Bousouzoku” were the primary social problem of the era, they spawned several cultural trends such as “Tokkoufuku”, a special outfit with messages embroidered on it, or ‘Call’  a rhythm made by skilfully operating the throttle and clutch. And perhaps most notably, the accentuated exterior of the motor bikes themselves, commonly customised with larger bodies and kitsch colours. “Bousouzoku” were unprecedented in their originality.