Japan is riddled with not just bands, nor not just girls in bands, but all-female bands as well. And no, we’re not talking about female idol groups where they just sing and dance, we’re talking about females actually playing instruments, creating music, and performing them on stage.
While it doesn’t seem like a foreign or impossible thing, I doubt most people could even name 3 western all-female bands because they’re really not that common, and are almost never popular. The amount of female musicians (as in those playing instruments) is actually quite low, so if they are in a band, they are usually just the singer.
And don’t get me wrong, I’m totally aware that there are all-female bands, in the past and even now, but the point is, you don’t hear about them. I was checking out this article on top All-Female bands on Spinditty. The top band, The Runaways, has 1.4 Million monthly listeners. Pretty good! The next, Kittie, has 300K, a big drop. Then Civet, has just under 6K.
There are some odd groups, like The White Stripes which is comprised of one male one female. And You do have some popular foreign bands, like French group Superbus, but all in all, all-female bands is just not something you see trending. Boy groups have always ran the rock industry and when an all-female group came out, they were seen as nothing but pieces of meat to appeal male audiences.
But let me tell you, while many will believe rock is dead and that girls don’t care to play instruments, Japan certainly tells a different story. Not only are there many all-female bands up and running today, but they are some of the biggest groups in the industry as well. Some even going around doing world tours.
Why is that thought? Well that’s what this article is all about 🙂
1. Japan Loves Music (Especially Rock Music)
“Well, every place loves music” Well, yes and no. What I mean by this is that Japan loves instruments and live music. In the West, or even in Korea and Kpop for example, the majority of songs are now electronically produced. Pop, Dance, and Hip Hop are the biggest genres, and they don’t rely on real instruments.
In Japan though, rock and alternative music has always been trending, and even pop music still incorporate real instruments. Thus, when one goes to live events, you’re going to keep seeing more band and musicians, and this helps influence the next generation to pick up instruments as well.
Rock is especially big because it is more expressive and rebellious, while also energizing and motivating. In a place like Japan where everyone is quite docile and obedient, following the rules and their culture out of pressure and habit, many don’t have opportunities to express themselves or go wild. That’s why Taka from One OK Rock said rock will never die, and rock is nothing without live bands.
And if you didn’t know, Japan produces a lot of instruments. Some more well known brands include Yamaha, Casio, Ibanez, Roland, ESP, Suzuki and much more. Japan has a lot of their own traditional instruments like the Taiko, Koto and Shamisen. Album and concert sales are high and that’s why they manages to maintain their status as the 2nd biggest music industry despite the outside world barely consuming their music.
One thing many J-music fans will notice is that their live performances are just as good if not better than the recordings. Japan has always been quite against lip-syncing, and I’m sure live instruments just add to the emotion of the song. I also personally really love the energy these performers give. Full of energy (Genki!), moving and dancing a lot, and just giving each performance their all. They live for the stage.
2. There’s More Support For Upcoming Musicians
Continuing from the above, Japan is a country that loves music and is always open and supportive to new music and new artists. Music is a stable subject since kindergarten and even preschool. Clubs like Kyoto Tachibana’s Brass Band are taken seriously and praised, so there’s no shame in a child saying they want to be a musician.
It’s not like the West where kids who like music are shamed and called ‘band nerds’. Too many potential musicians were discouraged by parents and told that career path was impossible or unrealistic.
As I was reading some backstories of guitarists for this article, I have yet to see one person say their parents didn’t support their dream. In fact, usually their parents were musicians too, whether seriously or casually. Often, they were able to use the guitar of a friend or family member as they were learning.
When it comes to public performances like busking, people nearby will stop, watch, listen, as you can see in the above videos. If they over hear that a band is performing nearby, they’ll take the time to check them out. This helps to spread the news of newer artists. Seeing them live helps create a strong fanbase as well.
I’m always amazed at how many tickets a band can sell despite debuting less than 5 years ago, but it goes to show just how much Japan supports their musicians and thus maintaining a profitable music scene which encourages even more musicians to pursue their dreams.
Lovebites above formed in 2016 and released their debut EP in 2017. This is the turnout to their concert in 2020. Assuming they sold out this venue, that’s 2500 seats! That may or may not sound like a lot, but to put it into perspective, when I saw One OK Rock the first time at Rebel venue in Toronto in 2019 which has about the same number of seats, they did not sell out, despite being an active band for almost 15 years at that time.
One OK Rock did sell out this year, but imagine having to scale back that much considering they can sell out big stages in Japan, the biggest being Tokyo Dome which hosts 55,000 people. 2500 people really isn’t that much in Japan when you consider how many people love and support live music and local acts, and I think that’s beautiful!
3. Successful Girl Bands Create More Girl Bands
While rock bands in general are still a thing, females in rock band aren’t. A lot of us need that inspiration or role model that we can look to, to believe it’s possible and to pursue that career seriously. There’s a reason why women are still a low percentage in fields like science and technology. It’s not because they’re not interested, but it can be intimidating being the only girl in a male dominated field.
For potential female musicians, if they never see females in a band before, very few would have the guts to be a pioneer. When girls are ‘musicians’, they are usually just the singer. Or maybe playing a more feminine instrument like piano, flute, or violin. ‘Girl Bands’ refer to girl groups like Spice Girls, Fifth Harmony, and BlackPink, and not actual rock bands. We don’t see female being prominent musicians playing at big venues or concerts.
That’s not to say none exist, I can certainly name a few, but there aren’t really any notable ones. No one that really made worldwide headlines and became a household name to the extent that The Beatles, Queen, AC/DC, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kiss, Bon Jovi, or Nirana. Even for bands that came after the rock trend died, you may not listen to them but you’ve definitely heard their name before, ie Green Day, Linkin Park, Foo Fighters, or Imagine Dragons.
But in Japan, they’ve had some big acts over the years, and some have been alive and active for over a decade now like Zone, Scandal, and some were pretty big when active like Stereopony and Girlfriend. Seeing all-girl bands breakout and make it places is really encouraging for other girls who may have wanted to play a band instrument but felt alone in their desires.
Right now, there’s quite a few very big notable all-female Japanese bands, so big that they’ve been touring worldwide, groups like Band Maid, Trident, Aldious, LoveBites, Tricot, Gacharic Spin, and Bridear. And those groups will help inspire the next generation and we’ll only see more in the future.
4. Anime Promotes Female Musicians & Bands
You know what the biggest music anime in Japan is? It’s K-On!! The anime is about 4 girls, later 5, who join the light music club at school and become a real gigging band. Yui, the main character, didn’t play an instrument but picks up guitar and turns out to be somewhat of a prodigy. Well, she has her dumb and slow moments and she’s forgetful, but you wouldn’t know that when she’s on stage. This show was such a hit that it increased guitar sales in Japan!
On top of K-ON!! there, is Bang Dream, with a similar premise, and other shows where a girl or a couple girls are part of a band like Nana and Fuuka. There are also animes that may have male main characters or featuring a male band, but there may be a rival band with female musicians.
Seeing female musicians anywhere can help inspire the next generation to pick up an instrument and be part of something bigger than themselves. Being a solo musician is cool and all, but nothing can recreate the magic of playing with others.
I, for one, while I always had a band dream, watching K-ON!! in 2014 was what actually pushed me to make that dream happen for real, and I had my first band attempt covering some of their songs the following year. It took a few more tries, but it’s definitely what got my fire going.
5. Music Industry Strategy
Okay, don’t think I’m completely blind to reality. One potentially big reason why we may be seeing more big female bands debuting is because agencies and labels see the potential for fans and money. There’s a lot of boy groups out there which can appeal a lot to the female market, but now we need more girl groups that appeal to the male market.
As long as the group can actually play and make some good music, why not take a shot? I’ve spoken to a lot of male Japanese rock fans online, and I find most of them seem to be really invested in the girl rock groups. While they do like and admire the girls themselves, they do really love their music, sound, and playing chops. It’s new and refreshing!
And even if you’re a girl like me, like I said above, it’s inspiring seeing girls do well in such a male dominated market. Yes, there are really big female artists, but most of them are singers, and some rappers as well, but we don’t see them playing instruments and rocking out on stage. Even if you’re not a fan of their music, you’ll still want to support them.
While not in Japan, the video below has the first All-Girl Pakistani Band called Tag. In their intro, they said a producer came to them and had the idea to create an all girl band. They noticed that there’s only boy bands and female vocalists. When they debuted, they said the reception was great! Just being an all-girl band got people watching and talking.
You think any regular boy group would get to be on TED? Probably not. This group has a boost and gets a lot of attention simply because they are unique. They even mentioned how girls have reached out to them as their mothers saw them and realized they could be musicians, thus not just inspiring the next generation, but allowing them to pursue their dreams. This realization already happened in Japan decades ago.
Conclusion
All in all, I can only see more and more all-female rock bands coming out of Japan as the years go by. Not only is the market there for them, but as each one successfully debuts and manages to build a fanbase, that will only inspire more females to create their own bands.
In the West, again, I’m aware there are smaller all-female bands. Some are doing pretty well, but for those under a label, many seem to be promoted off their sex-appeal, and while that’s great for attracting a male audience, we’re in a day and age where women don’t care to be exploited or be the target of the male gaze.
Now, for foreigners who aren’t very accustomed to Japan, one may assume Band Maid was created to appease fetishes, but that’s far from the truth. Maid culture and Maid cafes are still big in Japan. They are very innocent and cute in nature, and the girls love being maids. They’re just like regular waitressed, but they dress up, and may dance or play some games with you, anything to make their guests happy.
Japanese girls are still pretty conservative and you’ll almost never see any cleavage. Skirts are completely normal for girls. They wear uniforms in school, and usually in their careers as well. As I remember reading once, ‘everyone has thighs, so why is that fetishized?’ We may not be used to it, but they are.
And if you didn’t know, the idea of maid costumes for the band was the girls idea, not a producer or someone from their agency pushing that concept onto them. The leader and creator of the band worked at a maid cafe and wanted to combine it with her love for music. If anything, costumes are a lot of fun, especially if you can play a character while on stage!
A lot of these girl bands are just like boy bands. They love music, especially rock or alternative music, and they decide to gather some people to make a band, create some music, and get out there. They know good music is what will lead to long lasting success and they want to be recognized for that first. As long as a girl band can gain a lot of female fans, the cycle will continue.
If you liked this article and want to learn more about Japanese and anime music, be sure to check out my other articles on my J-Music Resources page!
Hi. Nice article. I believe though that if no instruments are played by the members, it’s called a group. So The Spice Girls would have been a group, not a band.
I read somewhere that The Runaways tour of Japan was an instigator for the formation of Japanese all female bands.
Hey Martin! I definitely agree that non-musicians are or should be called ‘groups’, but sadly, boy band/girl band tends to be used for groups like Backstreet Boys or Blackpink, even though they don’t play instruments. I think the concept may come from the idea of people ‘banding’ together, but I wished the distinction would be more clear cause it would certainly help with researching ^^” I just looked up most popular girl bands on Google, and on its automated results, it gave me Spice Girls, TLC, Destiny’s Child, Fifth Harmony, etc *sigh* haha All-girl instrument bands are rare, so I get it. That or it depends on the ring, like boy bands and girl groups, cause when I looked up most popular boy bands, I still got BTS, One Direction, Jonas Brothers, NSYNC lol
And thanks for the fact! I didn’t know that, but I’ll certainly look into it. I know Japan has adopted a lot from Western groups and influences, but I haven’t had the chance to realllly dig into their origins outside of jazz being big in the foundation of their music theory 😛 It’s always funny and interesting seeing what Western acts Japan loves the most as well, like Avril Lavigne and Marty Friedman.
Actually in Japan the term “Girls-Band” is specifically used for a band who play instruments.
The term gained popularity in Japan during the band boom of the 80s along with the term “Girls-Rock” which was used for female fronted rock music but also included all-female rock bands, although girls-rock use got broader over time and is sometimes used even for artists who barely have any connection to rock music.
Not sure where you get your belief that if members don’t play instruments, it’s a group. Not true. A group is, well, a group (of people). Confusion started to set in years ago when a group of just singers were called a band. Boyband, girlband. Now when I was a lad a band was a load of musicians.
The term “Boy band” entered use in the late 80s and refers to what were previously known as “Vocal Groups”, with their female equivalent being “Girl Group”, the term “Girl Band” referring to female vocal groups is very recent.
In Japan however the term “Girls-Band” entered use in the 80s and refers solely to instrument playing bands.
The Japanese rock bands, Male, female or a mix, are extremely talented. The guitarists are impressive for example. Male or female, and there does seem to many of such skill as if they are churned out in a factory. Many of these bands are obviously massive in Japan. Maybe you do not see many of them in the West due to cost of distance, and they don’t sing in English (no radio play then!) Not that it matters because often you cannot understand what some singers are saying anyway!
But let’s face it, it’s far more interesting highly skilled attractively ladies performing than some hairy blokes.
For sure! I’ve written a few other articles that may be worth checking out, like the one focused on Kyoto Tachibana Band, which goes into detail about Japan’s musical education and respect for musicians. In the West (I’m from Canada, but I’ve watched enough American media to know their views as well), musicians in schools are considered geeks and dorks, and usually, the arts are the first to get cut. Being an athlete is way more respectable. I also really love Japan’s openness to different styles and genres, and how people will support small and upcoming artists in venues and online. And of course, considering Japan is the 2nd biggest music industry in the world, there’s enough love to go around. If you see someone doing a style you always loved and making it in the industry, you’ll feel like you can do the same and it’s easier to put yourself out there.
Sadly in the West, I find that all-girl bands (and bands in general) don’t last. We’re too focused on singers, rappers, and electronically made music. And I’m sure it’s a lot easier for people to work independently or as a duo at most. Too much people = too much problems since we don’t have the same community focus as Japan does. Everyone wants to shine and egos can get in the way. Or sometimes, they were put together by an agency, so they may have never liked the genre or style to begin with. It’s been sad that rock died back in whatever decade. Some 2000s bands may still have their faithful following, but otherwise, Imagine Dragons is probably the only band that has topped charts in recent years.
Anyways, the article wasn’t to dismiss male or mixed bands in Japan, but rather to compare and contrast why all-female bands are pretty much non-existent in other parts of the world but are everywhere in Japan. If a girl group does debut in the West, they may get attention for a little while, but most will figure it’s some kind of fad and dismiss their talent. Girls are always dismissed or compared to male musicians over here, and even disrespected or assaulted by hosts and venues. It’s not really a scene most girls are attracted to unless they’re a true punk who is angry at the world haha.
I didn’t even think I liked rock when I heard the messages in the music over here, aggressive and depressing, but Japan really opened my mind to the positive or encouraging side of rock music, and I love that all-girl bands are also truly respected as musicians and not just sex-icons to be fawned over. I definitely feel people who really love rock, math rock, jazz, funk, electronic (ie Vocaloid) and other unique or dismissed genres tend to be drawn to the country someway or another 😛 Though, the all-girl bands certainly attract more fanboys, guys who actually want to follow and support artists similar to Kpop fans.
All-female bands in Japan have been there from the start when bands first got popular in the 60 there were all-female bands.
However similarly to the west these bands tended tobe viewed as novelty acts by the mainstream.
This continued all the way to Japan’s 2nd band boom in the 1980, which saw an explosion of bands playing anything from new wave to punk to heavy metal to old school rock n roll.
Most all-female bands at the time were active in the underground music scene, Show-Ya was among the first to peek into the mainstream using their success to start NAONnoYAON a music event specifically for female artists.
It was Princess Princess with their abtly named album “Here We Are” who first firmly stormed into the mainstream in 1988.
Their massive growth and success changed the industry prompting mayor labels to sign and promote all-female bands at a level never seen before.
Princess Princess who disbanded in 1996 remain Japan’s most succssful all-female band a feat they acomplished with their own music and increadibly hard work.
Oh wow! Thank so much for the thorough background!
I had yet to see or hear anything about Princess Princess in all my years of being a Jmusic fan, and even girl group fans didn’t mention them when I asked for groups that led the way.
I’ll certainly look more into them and their impact on the industry ^_^
Have you ever noticed a lot of western all-female band articles neglect to mention the Bangles?
I assume it’s because most writers aren’t really interested in the most successful bands or perhaps assume everyone knows them already.
Princess princess disbanded before the internet thus aren’t known to foreigners.
The only all-female band from the 80s that’s known with foreigners is Show-Ya thanks to their ongoing activity and collaborations with various younger bands, such as those appearing at NAONnoYAON.
Another thing that’s really interesting about all-female bands in Japan is that most of them have a fairly even gender split among their fanbase, actually the hard rock/metal bands seem to have more female fans.
A friend of mine recently visited Japan and went to see a number of smaller metal bands, he reported that he was one of only a handful of men at the venue with the majority of the audience being women.
Female bands also reported in interviews they actually get love letter from both male and female fans.
Sexy costumes aren’t solely to appeal to “male gaze” as confident sexy women appear to be equally popular with female fans.
A possible influence for sexy dress among female rock artists was Cherrie Currie of the Runaways who performed in Japan wearing a sexy corset during their 1977 performance. (In fact the Runaways were only popular in Japan at the time of their activity, they didn’t gain recognition in the west until after the 2004 documentary and the 2010 film)
Oh, the example of Cherrie Currie and her corset costume is actually the video you used in the article.
Some other western all-female bands you might like are Fanny who were very much a pioneer in the west and had to fight an uphill battle just to exist in the early 70s. and Phantom Blue a HR/HM band from the late 80s, who despite their talent and skill apparently never made a penny from their music.