New York City Bosozoku

Osa-san’s Sense of Ride

After World War II, life in Japan changed dramatically. The country was physically devastated, occupied by the US military until 1952, forced to abandon its previous Imperial form of government, and forbidden from rebuilding certain industries previously associated with the war machine – notably aviation.  Many industries that had supplied the military since the mid-1930s scrambled to find new uses for their manufacturing know-how, and re-tooled for new options like providing inexpensive transportation, especially motorcycle production for urban transport.  During the 1950s, Japan experienced a dramatic surge in motorcycle production that progressed from a small, domestic industry into a global leader. This growth was fueled by the country’s post-war economic recovery, foreign and domestic investment through government loans, allied with an explosion of demand for affordable transportation. Initially, hundreds of small companies entered the motorcycle market, but according to the book Japan’s Motorcycle Wars, the dominant brands had previous experience mass-producing engineered items for the Japanese military, and were already big companies.

Early Japanese motorcycles were designed for practicality and reliability that focused on basic transportation needs. As the industry grew, manufacturers like Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki invested in innovation, improved engine performance, build quality, and design. From a production of just 200 motorcycles in 1948, Japan’s output climbed dramatically and reached nearly 1.5 million motorcycles per year by 1960[1]. Post war Japanese culture put stress on young people to focus on achievement and personal sacrifice, and to this day remains brutal in its demands: respect for history, place, and elders, with an emphasis on performance in school, all of which breeds what for many feels like a suffocating conformity. For some, the pressure to conform is too much, and some kids push back. Over the years, dozens of youth fashion subcultures have provided spectacular, performative alternative lifestyles: Free-ter, Fruits, Goth, Cosplay (costume plus play kosupure), Bandage Cult, Rockabilly and Bad Boys have acted as behavioral relief valves.

During the 1950s, groups of young men and girls in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya pieced together a new urban motorcycle-based subcultural identity they called Bosozoku (Violent Running Tribe).  While initially similar to other ‘rebel’ motorcycle subcultures around the world growing at the same time, the Bosozoku evolved over time with a distinctive style of costume and car / motorcycle modifications, which is still extant today, although the the criminal elements originally central to the subculture have faded: the Bosozoku were initially a recruiting ground for Yakuza criminal gangs, and occasionally engaged in violent activities.  Their cars and motorcycles were customized for speed and style, generating an industry of bolt-on performance parts used in their vehicle customization.  Eventually, by the 1990s, these customs grew increasingly extravagant, with highly raised handlebars, elongated seats, and outrageous exhaust systems modified to amplify engine noise. Group members wore outfits mimicking what kamikaze pilots had worn on their last flight. Political attitudes of Bosozoku skewed towards nativist, nationalistic values. Competing, roving bands of teenage Bosozoku blasted through urban areas at 3am, flying red battle flags, completely disrupting the night, and pissing off the civilians.

Osa-san, a New York enthusiast of Bosozoku motorcycle style, tells his story: “I was born in Nagoya, Japan in the Midori-ku section. In New York I ride with a small group of Japanese guys and we all have older style Japanese motorcycles. We have a team leader and we have a team mechanic who has a motorcycle garage, and if we have any problems we can work with him. This is New York and we are all working hard to make money to pay the rent, but we have our minds on our motorcycles. We customize our bikes in certain ways. We have been doing this for six or seven years (at time of interview).”

“The major cities in Japan like Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya have groups of motorcycle gangs. These gangs are called Bosozoku[2]. They race around these cities and are known for making a lot of noise. Their engines are known for that high-pitched racing sound. These guys like the sound of their bikes and it is like a badge of honor for Bosozoku. Normal people in Japan are very quiet. They don’t make a lot of noise. Noise is seen as a dirty thing. So, Bosozoku like to make noise. This is countercultural statement. These guys race around the city streets in a place like Tokyo and make a loud statement about their life. Now in New York, we ride around downtown streets in the East Village or in Brooklyn or Coney Island and we make this same Bosozoku noise like in Japan– WHAAAaaa ma ma ma ma ma…. this is Bosozoku. One time we were on St. Mark’s Place and the police noticed our group and this making of noise. They walked over to us and started talking with us. Then they noticed we were all speaking Japanese. We were polite but nobody spoke English. Police looked at each other and just walked away.”

“In Japan the Bosozoku guys are the ones that did not do so well in school. They did not study a lot and then they did not do so well on their exams. These young people just hung around and maybe they got some job doing something. They finally got the money to buy a motorcycle. After they got the motorcycle a lot of these guys join the Bosozoku. It depends on the person, but [for example] they find a job doing construction work. They can make a lot of money doing this. They probably get paid cash for their labor. So, the money they make they put it into their motorcycles. So, then they have a life of going fast, hanging out, finding girls. They hang out in bad areas of the big cities. Like in Tokyo, these motorcycle guys hang out all night in Kabuki-cho. Gambling, sex bars, crazy clubs. So from fourteen or fifteen years old to maybe twenty they are Bosozoku. After that some of those people stop riding in the streets like that. Then a percentage of these young guys go into the Yakuza. They do jobs for the family. They get a job on their motorcycle taking certain packages to certain places.”

“Here in New York we don’t behave like this. We ride our motorcycles and we make noise but we don’t take packages around to places. We work as designers or as sushi chefs in Japanese restaurants. We are legal Bosozoku. We are already old now and not young guys anymore. My team leader is already thirty-eight. So we are getting old. So no more of that crazy, crazy life. Now we just customize our motorcycles and we are just riding. Maybe we still make a little noise. Basically, the guys in my group are collecting 1970s and 1980s Japanese motorcycles. No American, no European; just Japanese. Older Kawasaki two-stroke motors. These motorcycles are almost considered vintage at this point. The bike I ride now is an original Yamaha SR500 but I have changed everything. It took me two years to finish customizing this motorcycle. I bought it in 2001 just before 9/11. We have twelve people in our group and we all do our own work on our motorcycles.”

“Japanese motorcycles have made a reputation for themselves. Honda made a four cylinder piston system and this changed everything. If people want to make a fast bike the four pistons are very powerful but also smooth. This arrangement changes the torque. The members in my group, we ride Japanese motorcycles because we like Japanese motorcycle. I like Harleys too but they are expensive. I like riding in the city because it attracts people. They hear my motorcycle; it’s loud and then they see it. It looks racy and kind of custom. It’s not normal. My pipes are a little high. People like it. I work on my motorcycle and nobody else touches my motorcycle. I do it myself. If there is something wrong, it is my responsibility. I try to be safe. I check over my bike. This is important to me. I constantly look at the different parts of my motorcycle and think about improving them. Like my brakes- Recently I looked at my calipers; they are from ‘76 and this is pretty old. The rotors and master cylinder were old. I couldn’t stop if it was raining. I did not want to ride this way in a place like New York. There are enough problems riding in New York. I do not need new problems of not stopping.”

“It is important for me to ride in New York City. This is an important city. People respect this place. I tell people that I ride the streets of New York and they respect this. For me this is a good feeling. I like riding in Japanese cities too. Riding in Tokyo is pretty crazy but riding in New York is a different kind of crazy. For me there is something more futuristic about riding in New York. It is a really old city but still it’s like a progressive place. Late at night when you ride through the high buildings of midtown this is a little crazy. This is like riding through an Akira (Katsuhiro Otomo) animation. Post-apocalyptic neo-Tokyo. That is the type of feeling I get when I ride at night through mid-town. New York is a very beautiful city to ride a motorcycle. At night on Madison Avenue around forty-sixth street it is very quiet. The buildings are very tall and it is dark and I can hear my motorcycle echo off the buildings down the streets. My motorcycle has a special sound. This is not just noise. This is different for me. My motorcycle sound is controlled. A lot of motorcycle people just make loud noise. I don’t think this is that cool. I like when the sound is controlled.”

“My motor is made for off-road so it’s pretty loud. I have a SuperTrapp exhaust for better performance. I can control how much air goes out. This type of thing is important for a racing machine. Every day the temperature and humidity changes so I can change the way the system works. My carburetor responds differently every day. For me, this keeps it more interesting. Of course, some days the air is heavy, some days not. This changes the way the air comes into the engine, mixes with the gas and burns. I don’t change the mixture every day but I am sensitive to this and how it affects my motor’s performance. The needle and jet settings. I don’t think Japanese motorcycles are more sensitive, just different. Any motorcycle is sensitive to these things. But I do notice that riding in New York is different than riding in a place like Tokyo or Nagoya. The motor behaves differently because the atmospheric conditions are different. The ride is different. I am not talking just speed; I am talking a sense of ride. This is different. In New York I like being sensitive to my motor and I like being sensitive to my ride.”

New York City is an incredible place. The scale of the city accommodates and nourishes a cultural mix that is shocking in its diversity and integrity. Like a mirror caught in the endless Droste effect, each creative layer is distinct but also dependent on the others.

[1] The Global Impact of Japanese motorcycle manufacturers, Francis Rozange, 2024.

[2] Bōsōzoku (暴走族, lit. ’Reckless driving group’) is a Japanese youth subculture associated with customized motorcycles. The first appearance of these types of biker gangs was in the 1950s. Popularity peaked at an estimated 42,510 members in 1982. Their numbers dropped dramatically in the 2000s, with fewer than 7,297 members in 2012.

^[1] Later, in 2020, a Bōsōzoku rally that used to attract thousands of members only had 53 members, with police stating that it was a long time since they had to round up that many people. (from Wikipedia)