A dying breed of big fifties revivalists the Tokyo Rockabilly Club have attained cult icon notoriety for their highly distinctive combination of Elvis hair, yakuza tattoos and predisposition to publicly jive to 50s rock ’n’ roll. Their classic greaser look is inspired by the Japanese street culture, known as “rokabiri-zoku” (the rockabilly tribe), that is modeled on the American rock ‘n’ roll movement of the mid-1950s.

Image source: Michael John Grist

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If you have ever watched “PythagoraSwitch”, a Japanese educational television program, then you have probably seen the popular “Algorithm March” segment performed by Kazunari Yamada and Hidenori Kikuchi of the comedy group Itsumo Kokokara. The “Algorithm March” is a canon-style song where participants march in a line and the follower must imitate the leader. The songs lyrics describe the actions that should be taken by the leader after each step they take.

It became an internet meme but my favourite variant is “Algorithm Chores” by the New Zealand group Extreme Clean Team. Check it out.

Here are the originators, Itsumo Kokokara, performing the “Algorithm March” with ninjas.

“Yatta!”, a Japanese exclamation meaning “We did it!”, is a 2001 parody song by a fictional Japanese band called Green Leaves (はっぱ隊 Happa-tai). The song is a send-up of the boy band craze and is portrayed by some of Japan’s most well-known comedians wearing nothing but underwear with a large green leaf on the front.

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