We started the new year in Osaka, Japan. Konnichiwa! The celebration was great, the food and the sake fantastic, but the Japanese are not very familiar with streetart and graffiti. It is very regularized, officialized, well-signposted, marked and labeled. Streetpaintings which are out of the prevailing rules and raster, get cleaned away fast or cubically painted over. Which is kind of another invitation for some more already framed wish-wash or spray can art…
But as well in Japan there is streetart, because streetart is everywhere, even in Oman we could find some graffiti. You just have to search for it. In Osaka there is the alternative neighborhood America-Mura, also called Amemura next to the metro station Shinsaibashi. Here the city looks totally different, there are lots of second hand shops, fully stickercoverd walls, painted stick figure lamp poles and cool bars, restaurants and clubs.
The suburb is much more laid back and easy going, the streets are more colorful and especially on the evenings, when the shops close down their roller, you can find a lot of nice artwork on the frontage. In one of the streets there is the big “Peace on Earth” mural painted by Osaka artist Seitaro Kuroda in the year 1983. Other current sprayer in the clear and quite small scene are YIPS, VERYONE, WAZ, ZENONE, JOE, CASPER, MSY, PUSHU, COOK, DON, COSAONE, NEK, KICHI.
Overall the reactions in Japan to train paintings and graffitis on house walls are disgust and precision – like in other countries as well. But the way how they try to prohibit in Japan is unique. You can find specialized warning and forbiddance sings for about nearly everything nearly everywhere, graffiti prohibition included and the schoolkids adjusted special paintings with requests of neglect. Not enough… they even painted the buses and trains themselves…
In Osaka there is as well a graffiti shop! The Crackers! We visited this little dependance, spoke with the owner and sprayer YIPS and took some nice photographs. YIPS presents some of his artwork in the shop and sells these little mini-graffiti-collages, furthermore spray cans, markers, magazines and all streetart equipment you would need. On Wednesdays the shop is closed, on that day it´s Graffiti-Time! The guys go painting. YIPS showed us on the screen his recent piece. Meanwhile there are a lot more legal areas for spraying and some more artists could do legal works. It´s still not a part of the architecture of the metropolitan cityface of Osaka (except America-Mura 🙂 ).
Check out as well the Streetart Map of Osaka here on Vagabundler with location of several spots, interviews and galleries:
INFOTHEK
CRACKERS
Adress: Japan, 〒550-0014 Osaka Prefecture, Osaka, Nishi Ward, Kitahorie, 1 Chome−23−4, 550 0014 丁目
Opening Hours: 13 – 21 Uhr – mittwochs geschlossen
Website: http://www.crackers-osaka.com/
Email: crackers_osaka@yahoo.co.jp
Phone: +81 80-3108-1019
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CRACKERS.osaka/
MORE PICS & TEXT
Pics Graffiti Osaka: https://jacquelinemhadel.com/category/japan-2/osaka-street-art/
Pics Graffiti Osaka: https://www.fatcap.com/city/osaka-shi-1.html
Pics Graffiti Osaka: https://endlesscanvas.com/?tag=osaka-graffiti
Artikel Graffiti Osaka: https://www.kansaiscene.com/2015/01/gritty-street-art-grind/
VIDEOS
The Good Fellas – Japan – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg_AIMY2KtM
Veryone – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pS9ZwyEFZ0
Graffiti Time-Lapse #24: Osaka Japan with VeryOne – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X9w40CEQAs
Graffiti Time-Lapse 25: Osaka Yard Work – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6M1G_362ss
MORE ARTICLES ABOUT JAPAN
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>>> Interview: Artist BAKIBAKI <<<