Japanese Beauty - Interview with COMA-CHI
COMA-CHI is respected as one of the first female Japanese rappers to break into a traditionally male-dominated genre from the early 2000’s, but in recent years she has returned to her spiritual roots, exploring aspects of Japanese history and culture through music on her latest album “Jomon Green” and her collaboration with Uyama Hiroto on the EP “Japanoia”. Royce Leong of Tokyo ON catches up with her in a candid discussion of her career, Japanese society, touring Australia and the Japanoia EP.
<Artist journey>
Tokyo ON: When you started your career, what music were you listening to? What got you into rapping and hip-hop?
COMA-CHI: When I was in high school, around age 15-16, Lauryn Hill was really popular in Japan, and since high school is the time of life when you're most easily influenced by culture and role models, Lauryn Hill and Mary J Blige had a big impact on me - hip hop, soul. Erykah Badu as well. So at first, I started singing with a bit of hip hop style, like Mary J Blige, but I began to really like rap, I got into Nas, Common...conscious rappers like Talib Kweli, Mos Def. So I thought I would give rapping a try, and that's how I started.
TO: At that time in Japan there mustn't have been many female rappers.
C: Yeah at that time if a girl in Japan picked up the mic and tried to rap, people would laugh at them. So it was hard to build a fan base at first, back then people in Japan had this image that girls doing rap was lame.
TO: Even though Lauryn Hill was popular in Japan?
C: I think that in general, Japan is a patriarchal society, compared to American culture let's say. Women in America are more assertive, in general conversation, especially black women. So women can state their opinion, and people would listen and say "you're right." Nowadays, you have Yuriko Koike as Tokyo governor, but before that, female politicians were frowned upon, even female comedians weren't popular when I made my debut. Japanese people tend to feel uncomfortable when women are assertive and try to express themselves - it was almost taboo.
TO: So was it challenging for you to break through this?
C: Well I'm someone who really likes to do what others don't, so I didn't think it was a challenge per se, I actually enjoyed it. I was determined to rock the boat and change things, it gave me motivation. It wasn't about having a rebellious spirit or anything though.
TO: And now these days you have plenty of female rappers in Japan like Awich, Chelmico, Pinoko, Akko Gorilla. How do you feel about that?
C: Things have really changed! It's fantastic that women now can speak their mind and express themselves freely, and audiences are receptive to it. I feel that Japanese society is changing bit by bit.
TO: Your music has changed a lot over the years, from a more urban pop sound to becoming earthly and spiritual. Were there any particular reasons or catalysts for these changes?
C: When I was doing pop music, I was on a major label with staff other than just myself, so we decided together what songs I would do, and it wasn't 100% my personal sense. Actually, my first album that I put out before signing with a major label, "Day Before Blue," is a lot closer to "Jomon Green" in substance. My roots are actually closer to that sound. But then I did the MC battle, and I began to receive lots of offers to feature on tracks. Once I started getting a lot more recognition I was picked up by a major label, and in order to expand we decided to go into a more commercial direction to build the COMA-CHI concept. So I experienced that once, in developing COMA-CHI together we went somewhere that wasn't necessarily my "sense." At that time, rather than being creative or fun, I was surrounded by a lot of people who were more into numbers and making money, and I was caught up in it. And so my desire to express myself, my passion started to wane. I realised then that I just wasn't suited to that whole "building COMA-CHI together" major label thing. I wanted to get back to using my passion to create songs like I was in the beginning, so I quit the major label.
Right at the time I quit, in February 2011, we then had the Tohoku earthquake in March. I was given an opportunity to perform in the disaster-stricken areas, close to where the nuclear accident happened. Although using electricity is something very fundamental, I suddenly felt uncomfortable about the very idea of using electricity. We'd been living without knowing how electricity was produced, but it was so dangerous that many people died, people couldn't return to their homes, the air was now polluted all because of using electricity - it was a huge shock to me. So since we were invited to perform in a situation without being able to use any electricity at a gym of a school, we musicians had to do it with just acoustic guitar, drums, organic sounds. That experience really opened up the path to a more organic sound. That's why when I recorded "Golden Source," I really emphasized natural, acoustic sounds. It brought out my spirituality again, which was always present within me, even on "Perfect Angel," which is probably my most popular song, that "angel" refers to a real angel (not a person). From then on, you can tell from my lyrics that I became more spiritual. Regarding my sound, it's probably an extension of that spirituality, of nature, and so I arrived at "Jomon"* as the theme for this album. That's where the inspiration for the sound and image comes from this time. I'm not as particular about fully using organic sounds as I was on "Golden Source," my discomfort with using electricity has settled somewhat, but I still haven't forgotten it. From now on, even just a little I don't want to depend on that stuff, I want to go in a more natural direction. The sound as well, I've also started to use DAWs again. Taking all that into consideration, I feel that my album "Jomon Green" balances the major label world and my current state of spirituality.
*Jomon Period - the prehistoric period of Japanese history from approx. 14,000 to 300 BC
TO: So it seems your decision to start a label was a creative one, and not a business one. Were you nervous at all about it?
C: No I didn't feel nervous...I felt that I just had to do it. For passion's sake. And then of course the Tohoku Earthquake happened and yes that was very stressful and scary for different reasons, but that became part of my inspiration and motivation too. I don't really like to express negative emotions like fear or anxiety, I prefer to change that into something positive and get energy from it.
TO: You once had a track on Soundcloud called “This is Japan” (no longer available) in response to Childish Gambino’s “This is America,” containing some criticism of Japanese society. But you also added a disclaimer that this was just "for fun." Actually, if you remember, when RADWIMPS released HINOMARU, which asked some questions about Japanese pride, they received some heavy criticism. Why is it so difficult to openly express these kinds of things here?
C: There has always been a situation in Japan where if you go public with any political or social criticism, you get attacked. Even when I released a song against nuclear power in 2012 (Say "No"!), people mocked me.
TO: In places like America, you can freely express what you think including social criticism, but Japan is quite different.
C: It is different. There are two sides to the coin, and on the good side, it's very co-operative. People emphasize harmony or "wa" (as in the "wa" of Reiwa), they try to keep "wa" and not disturb it, and that helps motivate and bring people together. I think that's a wonderful culture. On the negative side, you arrive at a point where it feels unacceptable to express anything that would break that "wa." I personally think that "wa" is the creation of a particular framework. In a sense though, "wa" is under a strict hierarchy with people at the top, and people supporting it like a mikoshi*, "wa" is created and raised up by everyone. I think that's the definition of "wa" in Japan right now. That harmony is all well and good, but is that really beautiful? Returning to Jomon, it had harmony but in those days there was no leadership, no defined roles, it was a flat structure. So probably, differences were more acceptable in that society. The differences in people made it possible to do things together. In Jomon, there was an ancient way of resolving differences of opinion called charanke which involves having a discussion in front of everyone in a circle all night, like an MC battle, talking until a conclusion is reached. That seems different to today's "wa." It overlaps with hip hop culture, and maybe that might be a nice future for Japan. Regarding MC battles, I don't mean we should do it to diss each other, but as a way of resolving differences by talking through it like charanke.
*mikoshi - a portable shrine heavy enough to require a group of people to carry on parade
TO: Do you feel Japan is changing?
C: I do. Especially with women's opinions being more acceptable. Despite being having much to say, women are good at listening and trying to understand other parties, I think that's more like Jomon style. It's a huge leap forward that women can speak up in Japan now. Well, at the same time, we have people (especially young people) saying whatever they want on social media and not communicating or meeting anyone in real life, which leads to issues like bullying, that's not great.
TO: Not all changes are positive.
C: Older folks might say this a lot, but considering that we're all living in this world, surely it would be better to go outside, meet people, get in touch with nature and enjoy life. But I'm not against technology at all, it is great that you can instantly communicate with people and upload new songs, just the balance is important. You don't want to rely too much on technology.
TO: Even though we're seeing progress with the advancement of women in Japanese society, I sense there aren't many good female role models in mass media.
C: Not really, no. Especially on TV. It's like you still have to flirt or flatter men in order to succeed.
TO: I was impressed with the PV for your track "Woman" which showed you with other women looking natural and confident in expression. I think that ought to inspire girls who are watching. Are you aware of your potential as a role model?
C: Haha not at all! But I do have a child, and from the perspective of being a rap/hip-hop artist, I want her to see that it's okay to speak your mind freely, to have the courage to share her hopes and joy with others. There aren't many people like me, so from this position I hope to have a positive influence on others.
<COMA-CHI in Australia>
TO: In late 2018 you visited Australia. What was the catalyst for your Australian tour?
C: At first, an Australian label invited me to record a 7", so that's why I had planned to go to Byron Bay. And since I was going to Australia, I decided to arrange some live performances in Sydney and Melbourne. Around that time I was required to shoot a video in Okinawa, so rather than coming back to Tokyo and then Okinawa, which would be cold (in January) and kind of boring, I decided to go to Okinawa via Thailand and do a concert there as well.
TO: What was your impression of the places you visited in Australia?
C: Sydney felt like the standard representation of Australia as a major city, covering the basics. Byron Bay was paradise. It reminds me a little of the Shonan area, as a beach town. Melbourne on the other hand, has a lot of youthful new energy, the culture is really vibrant, in Japan I feel there aren't many places like that. I haven't heard of a place in Japan that's suddenly come alive like that recently. Fresh and new, with great art, it's amazing.
TO: How was the sea in Australia?
C: Oh it was great, Australia is just so big and dynamic, there's a lot of energy, it really comes right at you!
TO: Did you experience any kind of culture shock?
C: Yeah in Byron Bay, it seems walking outside barefoot (without shoes) is actually an option. No one would ever do that in Japan! Even in Okinawa, no one goes out bare foot.
TO: Considering your latest work including Jomon Green, it seems that you have an interest in indigenous cultures. Did you have a chance to learn about Aboriginal culture?
C: A little bit, I went to a few museums and talked with some artists, but I wish I had been able to explore that further. I'm interested in how humans were before basic modern culture developed, I'm really interested in feeling that original energy that once existed in humans as they used to be, that you would have seen in the Ainu (Hokkaido), Ryukyu (Okinawa) people or Australian Aborigines, you can feel it in patterns, art, music. That's what draws me to those cultures.
TO: From your music videos it also seems like you draw a lot of inspiration from nature, particularly the sea.
C: Definitely, I also get a lot of inspiration from nature, I love the sea and the mountains as well. I want to feel the energy of the earth, the land, the sea, I really like it. Of course, the energy from urban areas/cities isn't bad either, and there's many interesting things, but in what I do and create, I get more inspiration from pure, natural elements.
<Japanoia and beyond>
TO: How did this collaboration with Uyama Hiroto for “Japanoia” come about?
C: When I met Uyama, we had a mutual understanding of one another, and this collaboration came together naturally. I think there was a synergy between the musicality of Uyama, who has been involved in making songs with world renown Nujabes, and my desire to express the concept of “Japan’s real beauty.”
TO: Can you tell us what is the meaning of Japanoia?
C: “Japanoia” is a word created from the combination of “Japan” and “paranoia” to describe the feelings of Japanese people toward Japan, the love and nostalgia they have for the country. At the same time, Japan used to be too patriotic/nationalistic, so after the war the people were educated in a way under the US occupation to suppress the development of patriotic feelings so it got all distorted and twisted up. So I thought “paranoia” was a fitting word for those feelings.
It’s also ironic that in Japan, simply showing any kind of love for the country like raising the national flag means people treat you like you’re sick.
TO: Indeed, I’d say paranoia is a pretty fitting word for the situation. But not just Japan, internationally people have become pretty sensitive to national pride given some of the darker aspects of history in places like the US, UK and Australia. I think in any of these countries its become more difficult in recent years to openly express national pride.
C: Yeah. This might become a very consequential topic not just here but overseas as well.
TO: When I listen to “Japanoia”, I feel like I am being encouraged to wake up. What is the message you want people to take away from this EP?
C: I made “Japanoia” with the idea of shaking out the invisible energy that flows in the human subconscious, so it’s okay for everyone to take away a different message. I’d like people all around the world to feel the spiritual and delicate feelings that flow through the roots of Japanese culture. Also, I hope this serves as the catalyst for Japanese people to take more pride in their national culture.
TO: You mention many Shinto kami such as Izanagi, Izanami, Sarutahiko and Uzume in the lyrics, even though many Japanese people don’t know about them nowadays. Have you always been interested in Shinto?
C: When I went to shrines and temples as a child, I always felt like praying to Shinto kami and Buddhist deities, but in the last few years I began to feel that energy much more strongly, so I became really interested and decided to learn more about it.
TO: Although “Japanoia” marks the start of a new period in Japanese history, Reiwa is off to a pretty rough start so far. Are you worried about the future?
C: Actually, I’m not worried about the future at all. I believe what is happening now will be a positive change for the new era.
TO: What have you got lined up for the near future?
C: With “Japanoia”, I have created a way of vocal expression that adds the essence of Japanese folk songs, and I like it very much, so I plan to create more varied songs in this style. When the situation settles down, I want to do lots of shows, not just in Japan but overseas as well!
TO: Do you have any message for all the people you met overseas?
C: Firstly I want to thank all the people who expressed that they like my new music. Despite the lyrics being in Japanese, they were able to catch the vibe, and I appreciate that. And I'm trying to get better at English so I can share my feelings and thoughts in more detail, so please look forward to it.
TO: Thanks for talking to Tokyo ON and we hope to see you in Australia or Tokyo again some day!
Follow COMA-CHI on Instagram and Twitter, and Japanoia is available digitally here. Check out our review of Japanoia here.