Chindon'ya
Chindon'ya (チンドン屋), also known as Japanese marching bands, and known historically as tōzai'ya (東西屋) or hiromeya (広目屋/披露目屋) are a type of elaborately-costumed street musicians in Japan who advertise for shops and other establishments.
In modern-day Japan, chindon'ya are a rare sight, having been usurped by advertising in media such as magazines, television, and the Internet.
Musical street performers have a long history in Japan, with a range of practices, from the founder of kabuki, Izumo no Okuni, to the komusō mendicant monks of the Fuke school of Zen Buddhism.
The first recorded instance of street performers forming a chindon'ya for the purposes of advertising appears in Osaka during the 19th century (late Edo period and early Meiji period), with the first known chindon'ya generally thought to be a candy seller in Osaka named Amekatsu,[citation needed] who, around 1845, used singing and a noise making toy to attract attention to his own portable candy stall.
Amekatsu, who was known for his strong voice, became well known in the city, and thus began to advertise for other stores as well as his own, doing so wearing a large hat, straw sandals and a belt with small bells attached to it, using a wooden hyogoshi noisemaker to draw people's attention.
At the beginning of the Meiji period, chindon'ya was still unknown in Tokyo, with advertising still mainly done via curtains (noren), billboards (kanban), and flyers (hikifuda).
Stalls also advertised for themselves by making noise and wearing colorful clothes, a widely known example of the time being the extremely colorfully-dressed pharmacist named Iwashiya.
His band also provided entertainment at festivals and parties, and also created background music for silent films.
The police also had to stop some of the larger performances in Osaka, as they hindered traffic, partially due to the 2 metres (6 ft 7 in)-tall beer bottle the group was equipped with.
[citation needed] Tanbataya Kurimaru and Satsumaya Imosuke in Osaka were inspired by the bands of Hiromeya during the Kirin advertising campaign.
[citation needed] In response to the economic environment, the groups reduced their size to 4 or 5 people, and became known as chindon'ya.
The Great Depression in 1930 reduced the 'chindon'ya in Japan even more, and during World War II street performances were forbidden altogether.
In recent years, however, there seems to be a very small increase again, as they can draw on their historic roots to evoke nostalgia, which has improved the social status of performers.
They expand their traditional roles even further and even provide a sort of religious services based on old folk rituals, though they are not in any way priests.
Another group, Adachi in Fukuoka Prefecture, was formed five years ago and is still doing business, including new attractions, such as playing the saxophone while riding the unicycle, displaying juggling, and balloon modelling performances.
Women may be dressed in the traditional style, wearing brightly colored kimono and a traditionally-styled wig, as well as heavy oshiroi makeup.
[citation needed] "Chindon'ya" is also a colloquial derogatory term meaning "an elaborate showy parade or scene made specifically to divert attention away from some scam", as in 'Nani Kono Chindonya' ("What the hell are they trying to pull?")
