Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • And I'm Walter, your host.

  • If you grew up in L.A. like I did,

  • then you kind of understand just how big of a deal

  • Chicano and Chicana culture is out here.

  • And it's a way for people like myself to both honor

  • the lives that we have here and the lives our parents

  • left behind in Mexico.

  • When I first heard that there were

  • people copying Chicano culture in Japan, it seemed surreal.

  • I really had no idea that this world

  • could exist outside of L.A.

  • So I decided to go and find out

  • how this spread so far away and why.

  • Our first stop: the lowrider scene in Nagoya.

  • Lowriders are iconic to the Chicano community

  • in Los Angeles, and were created in the 1940s.

  • They came to represent rebellion, resilience

  • and beauty.

  • And so I'm curious about how these cars got here.

  • That's Junichi.

  • He's one of the godfathers of the Japanese lowrider scene,

  • and founded one of the oldest car clubs in Nagoya.

  • Junichi's been in this role for more than 30 years.

  • For questions about lowrider culture and Chicano culture,

  • he's someone who people in Japan really look up to.

  • [cheering]

  • My first introduction to lowriders

  • were actually people in my neighborhood.

  • My best friend and I growing up,

  • we used to build these little lowrider model cars.

  • All we wanted to do in life was just own

  • these lowrider cars.

  • Being here has me thinking about all of the cultures

  • Japan has taken on at different points.

  • So it's not surprising that there

  • are thousands of people here that

  • are into Chicano culture.

  • For our next stop, we're heading

  • to Osaka, the cultural capital for Chicano fashion and art.

  • Miki Style!

  • Miki Style is a D.J., and he runs

  • a shop called La Puerta that imports clothes from L.A.

  • What's your most popular shirt?

  • DGA.”

  • Why do you think people love this shirt so much?

  • Miki Style reminds me of someone

  • who I went to middle school with.

  • You know, like, shaved head, baggy pants, baggy T-shirt.

  • He goes to L.A.

  • He buys clothes, and he buys gear.

  • And he brings it back to Japan and has a thriving business.

  • So when I thought about cultural appropriation

  • and how oftentimes there is money

  • being made from a certain culture

  • and a certain community, he potentially fit into that.

  • Even though Miki says he respects the culture,

  • it was weird seeing so much of the allied Chicano gang scene

  • represented in his store.

  • So I wanted to meet Night tha Funksta, an artist

  • based in Osaka whose artwork focuses on the positive aspects

  • of Chicano culture.

  • MoNa a.k.a. Sad Girl is one of Japan's most popular

  • Chicano-style rappers.

  • She's released four albums, and her international fan base

  • has taken her to perform in places like L.A. and San Diego.

  • She's Mousey.”

  • Mousey.”

  • Sia.”

  • Sia.”

  • Maiko.”

  • Maiko.”

  • Wella.”

  • Wella.”

  • Wella.”

  • Which one of these women still dress like this?”

  • Nobody.”

  • Nobody?

  • Just you?”

  • Just me.

  • Just me.”

  • [laughs]

  • And what do you think is the future of Chicano fashion

  • and culture here in Japan?”

  • One, two.

  • Check one, two.”

  • Sounds great.”

  • This story attracted me because it was asking

  • a question about belonging.

  • Here you had a group of people really

  • committed to copying Chicano culture,

  • but also deeply Japanese.

  • And so for them, it wasn't a question

  • ofeither/or,” but more so, “and.”

And I'm Walter, your host.

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it