Review Summary: Long Live The Emperor!
Michinomiya Hirohito was born on the 29th of April 1901 into the Japanese Imperial Family. On Christmas Day 1926, He officially assumed the throne from his Yoshihito and became the Emperor of Japan. In the years following his crowning, Japan began to further establish its imperialist hold on Asia, invading China and setting up several puppet governments and starting the second Sino-Japanese War which resulted in the deaths of nearly 20 million people, including 300,000 civilians alone during the Rape of Nanjing. At the start of the Second World War, Hirohito allied Japan within the Axis Powers Of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. With the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, Japan officially surrendered to the Ally Powers resulting in the end of World War 2. Hirohito was not tried for war crimes and continued to serve as emperor until his death in 1989. Under his leadership, Japan recovered swiftly and strongly, rising to become the second highest economic power in the world and establishing itself as a pacifist nation.
A few months after Hirohito’s death, infamous noise group The Gerogerigegege (onomatopoeia for the sound of vomiting and having diarrhoea at the same), led by resident madman and cross dressing scat fetishist Juntaro Yamanouchi released their second album, entitled Shōwa (Hirohito’s official posthumous name). The album is a 40 minute recording of a couple having sex, bookended by a lo-fi rendition of the Japanese national anthem. There isn’t much to say about the music contained within this record, so instead I’m going to discuss the context of this release and Japan’s current politics instead. Japan was, and continues to be a strongly patriotic nation. Despite the nation’s pacifistic constitution which vows they will never act as instigators, many politicians currently wish to change this. Current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has long stood for altering the constitution and allowing Japan to regrow its military power again. Abe is currently a member of Nippon Kaigi, an ultranationalist Group known for their downplaying (or straight up denial) of the Nanjing Massacre and the existence of comfort women, and for their heated defense over disputed territory between Japan and China. The group are profoundly monarchist and many think extremely highly of Hirohito. Even to many citizens, Hirohito is something of a symbol of prosperity and triumph in dark times. Which is what makes the Gero album so hilarious. Along with being released mere months after his death, the record sleeve contains no mention of the band, which could possibly mean some raggedy old nationalist picked up this album (probably not, given how the group would only press limited copies of their releases) thinking it was glorious nationalistic music and *** his pants upon hearing the scandalous sounds within. Hell, even releasing an album like this at all, in a country still strongly proud of its roots, is utterly insane. And it’s absolutely beautiful
Juntaro is a grade A troll and Showa is one of his many acts of mad genius. He even repackaged the record and sold it as a Ramones bootleg album, again with no mention of the band or the contents on the sleeve, probably fooling more in the process. Despite the fact this thing probably sold around 12 copies, the sheer fact that the man released this so close to Hirohito’s death and when the country was largely mourning is absolutely amazing. It must’ve been mortifying to whatever soul picked it up back then, and judging by the other review on this site, it’s still rustling feathers to this day. Existing as a bizarre joke and an elaborate *** you to Japan’s jingoistic beliefs, Shōwa is a truly unique and hilarious album. One you’ll listen to one and never again.
