The founder of The J family, Mr. Kitagawa, recently passed away.
Takuya Kimura wrote in public mourning on Weibo: "Johnny Sang, who has been insisting on leading to the present, hopes you can have a good rest."
©️ Takuya Kimura mourns on Weibo
It is said that in the ward before the old man was seriously ill and dying, The artists of Janis would take turns to take care of him, editing 11 hours of song lists for him to play all day, and two days before his death, he also put bamboo in the ward and wrote down what he wanted to do together.
Kitagawa, who is deeply loved in this way, is called "Grandpa Hi" by domestic fans, and it is he who single-handedly created the love bean model that is now spread throughout The Asian entertainment culture, and uses the light called "idol" to bring love and dreams to countless boys and girls.
As he said in his last words: I continue to cultivate talents who can inherit their own will, so that they and their employees can bring happiness to everyone in the world through entertainment.
©️ Kita River
The real meal of the J family must be clear, what this "idol empire" created by the old man means to the rice. Knowing the question "What is the experience of Jenis (J's house)?" The next answer summed up, "Love a person to send a group, love a group to send a society!" "It's no exaggeration to say that the J family always seems to have such a strange magic.
©️ Self-knowledge
From the Shonen Team and Hikari GENJI in the Showa period to SMAP, Arashi, KAT-TUN, Seki8, KinKi Kids, and Hey in the Heisei period! Say！ Jump... The J family produced countless representative groups with era marks.
Kitagawa also devoted his life to the "star-making" work of selling dreams and efforts. The godfather of Japanese entertainment media, the founder of the boy band model, the creator of the definition and aesthetic of Asian love beans... There are too many great labels on his body, even the endorsement and standard of the culture of an era.
But for many children who grow up with love beans, the old man is also a very good old man, because many of the people we are in love with are selected by him.
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Kitagawa's full name is Johnny H. Kitagawa, and the J family's name actually comes from Johnny in the old man's name.
His life as a person can also be regarded as quite legendary.
Born in Los Angeles at an early age, his father was a temple abbot, he grew up immersed in American culture as a child, and he also worked at the Takarazuka Theater in California, where he knew the theater and the stage very well.
After World War II, the Kitagawa family returned to Japan, and near the U.S. military dormitory in the Yoyogi U.S. military occupation zone in Tokyo, he formed a 30-member junior baseball team and named it after himself "Johnny".
©️ Kitagawa (next to Hideaki Takizawa)
This became the prototype for his first boy band.
In the 60s, there was no concept of love beans at all, let alone love beans, and even the entertainment activities at that time were extremely scarce.
At this time, a male choir named スリーファンキーズ (3 Funkies) first appeared, and the young girls' reaction to this was actually very enthusiastic, which became the opportunity to inspire Kitagawa to establish a boy band.
Soon after, he selected four people from the baseball team, Makoto, 飯野おさみ, Nakatani Ryo, and Aoi Shigehiko, and directly used the name of the baseball team to form one of the earliest male idol groups, Johnnys.
©️ Johnnys
In 1965, Johnnys appeared on the stage of the Red and White Song Festival in Japan, and the four people wore tuxedos and top hats, as if they had crossed over from the movie [West End Story], singing and dancing, and engraving the word "idol group" in the hearts of the audience with such a flexible image.
Kitagawa did it, and his inspiration for male idols was in such a cabaret as [West End Story], where men not only had to sing on the stage, but also show off their dancing styles, how gorgeous and how to come, how to come to youth.
©️ Stills from [West End Story].
Although Janis was actually founded in 1975, and the real name was not until the 80s, Kitagawa's concept and vision of an idol boy band was actually initially formed in the Johnny period of the 60s.
For the audience at that time, men singing and dancing and twisting their butts may only think of rock stars such as "Elvis Presley", who are people on the clouds, and ordinary men are not in the same anthropocene.
But kitagawa's boys, even further than the "Elvis Presley" class, not only sing and dance, but also have to do a few backflips from time to time.
This even continued until later to the current boy band, dance skills are the foundation, backflips, side flips and other difficult moves are not to mention, this is the daily life of J family men.
In the 1980s, with the Japanese economy at its peak and most flashy, Kitagawa and his Janis made a single effort to make the idol trend begin to sweep throughout Japan.
©️ Tanokin Trio (Tano Chika)
From the early 1980s, when he accumulated popularity through the TV series "Mr. Kinhachi of 3 Years B Group", to the popularity of the group Genji, which had accumulated popularity through the TV series "Mr. Kinhachi of the 3-Year B Group", to the group Light GENJI, which was marked by roller skating, the golden age of Janis swept the Japanese entertainment industry through wave after wave of idol boy bands.
Tanejin and Shibuki team both started from the face brushing on the drama; Guang GENJI debuted with a famous roller skating image, and the performance form of singing and dancing while roller skating attracted countless fans, and the O list results in the active period did not fall out of the top ten;
©️ Shibu persimmon team
©️ Light GENJI
In addition to the record, the junior team also focuses on dance and stage plays, the three are all famous dance masters, a magical combination that can be backfliped by all members, and the stage play "PLAYZONE" starring them has become a well-known brand after years of public performances, a song "what's your name?" " was sung throughout Asia through the Chinese version of "Green Apple Paradise" by the Little Tigers.
©️ Junior Team
©️ Imitate their little tiger team
Then to the SMAP led by Takuya Kimura in the 90s, starting from variety shows, let the beautiful teenagers lose their baggage and focus on funny in the show, but achieved good results.
And then to V6, Arashi, KAT-TUN, Off 8, KinKi Kids, Hey! Say！ Jump, Taki & Wing, NEWS... What Kitagawa has been doing is to transcend the times above the times.
©️ SMAP, which started out as a variety show
©️ Later transformed into the all-round SMAP
©️ Arashi Arashi
At the height of television entertainment, he got the boys to actively enter the field of television dramas and variety shows; when the music program was active, they were regular users of the music program; to the roller skating that followed the young trend, the ninja who integrated into traditional Japanese culture, and the different combinations succeeded in differentiated routes.
Kitagawa has done many miracles: opening training schools during the idol ice age to train young children; almost single-handedly building this "star-making" empire; making people mention Janis, willing to put their own children's resumes into it...
He is also the holder of several Guinness World Records certifications: the person who produces the most concerts in the world, the person who produces the most number of number one singles in the world, the producer who has the most sales winners, and so on.
But behind his success, he is also known for his harshness.
In the 13-year NHK film "Janis's World: The Pinnacle of Japanese Pop Entertainment", even though the old man is in his 80s, he is still dedicated to being active in front of and behind the stage.
Sitting in the hall of the theater listening to the audience's reaction, and then responding to the audience's feedback on the script, "Your most basic attitude must be that you are doing something that everyone likes, and I think that if you are bored for even a minute, I will refund you the ticket price, which is my most fundamental idea."
©️ From Janis's World: The Pinnacle of Japanese Pop Entertainment
His harshness is also in the management of artists. Control the artist's portrait rights and video data, for a long time, the official website of the TV series is not even allowed to use the artist's photo, fan meetings and other activities are very few, marriage is even more taboo.
Genis President Kitagawa often said to entertainers, "It's okay to get married, but the condition is to leave Janis." His older sister (Vice President Kitagawa) also said in an interview: "Kitagawa often compares fans to hair, which gradually decreases with age. ”
The J family has many pioneering management systems that are also known for being strict.
For example, the Jr. system, that is, Johnnys Junior, refers to the Janis artist who has not yet officially debuted, and the J family will absorb about 200 Jr newcomers every year, most of whom are personally selected by Kitagawa, aged between 8 and 15 years old.
©️ Johnnys Junior before his debut
After that, the children receive years of professional training, from acting to hosting to singing and dancing to instrumental music to form, etc., which have been fully formed into an industrial process of selection.
Before Jr's newcomer debuts, they will generally act as a dancer, background and other responsibilities on the stage of their predecessors to gain stage experience and popularity, and among these people, only those who are extremely good will eventually get the opportunity to debut.
This star-making model of the cultivation system later became the prototype of the now popular "trainee system".
Koichi Domoto once said in an interview: "We started training from a young age, we learned how to become brave and strong, I have never been praised by Kitagawa, he always said that I was the worst, but other people in the firm told me that he was praising me." He observes everyone and tells them what improvements are needed to achieve the best. ”
Of course, Kitagawa's legendary life is actually mixed with controversy.
For example, since the end of the last century, Kitagawa's "pedophile" tendencies have been circulating, and in 1999, the Weekly Bunchun also reported Kitagawa's obscene behavior towards his male artists, of course, and finally ended with a lawsuit until the Supreme Court.
There are even conspiracy theorists who cite a lot of evidence and write thousands of words to prove that Kitagawa is the "culprit" who castrates and de-maleizes Asian men.
It's hard to say whether these controversies are true or false, or if they are somewhat true or false, but it is true that his life and his Janis have created one brilliant dream after another for countless generations.
The teenagers who sparkled on the stage are real, the beauty and emotion they have brought is real, and the tears they have shed are also true.
©️ Golden Generation Jr.
He himself was touched by these children: "Every child has his own story, every child has a natural talent to master life, and I am happy to be able to encourage them." 」 ”
"I'm just watching behind the scenes, and that's what I think of as my role in life."
What would happen to Janis without Kitagawa, what would happen to Janis who grew old, who left, and who disbanded, is really hard to imagine, but it may also be inevitable that an empire represented by Kitagawa will temporarily decline.