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Gospel Music Explosion - in JAPAN??!!
Published with permission from GospelCity.com.
Recently, stateside gospel music fans have become aware of a overseas black gospel music explosion that has a distinctly Oriental flavor.
The black gospel music boom Japan is currently
experiencing has exploded in a big way. It is causing folks on both
sides of the Pacific to stand up and take notice.
A popular Japanese magazine article declared, "Gospel music, which is known by Japanese people for its unique African-American rhythm and exuberant shout singing, is becoming a tremendous phenomena now in Japan."
The secular Japanese public, as well as the Christian community and the mainstream media in Japan, have discovered the power of gospel.
BRIEF HISTORY OF GOSPEL IN JAPAN
Gospel music was introduced to Japan during the late 1950's when Mahalia
Jackson was invited to perform here. Various configurations
of the Clara Ward Singers began to perform in Japan during the mid-fifties.
During the following two decades, there was a constant trickle of gospel performers who made it to Japan's shores and kept the interest in gospel music alive.
THE SIXTIES THROUGH THE EIGHTIES
In 1985, the musical, "Mama, I Want To Sing" was brought to
Tokyo and for nearly a decade, the show made a bi-annual run in Japan.
This played a major role in kicking off the current popularity of black
gospel in Japan.
There were numerous spin-off "Gospel In The Night" concerts featuring Vy Higgensen and other configurations of performers that were produced as a continuation of the run of "Mama-- ".
CURRENTS TRENDS - THE NINETIES
The popularity of the "Sister
Act" movies, starring Whoopi Goldberg, have, without
a doubt, had the strongest impact on introducing the gospel choir to
the general population in Japan.
Even now "Sister Act" is periodically rerun as a special TV movie of the week. Furthermore, "The Preacher's Wife" with Whitney Houston, has helped raised the consciousness of gospel music to all Japanese age groups.
Young and old alike have wholeheartedly embraced
it and taken it to new levels. Nowadays, singing black gospel is totally
fashionable.
Gospel artists both famous and not so famous make regular trips to Japan. The Mississippi Mass Choir was featured in a series of concerts in the early 1990's.
Daryl Coley, The Sounds of Blackness, and the London Community Gospel Choir are just a few of the artists that annually perform in Japan.
The legendary Fairfield Four performed a series of concerts in northern Japan during 1998. Hezekiah Walker, as well as the Edwin Hawkins Singers, has performed at the Blue Note, a jazz venue that has aggressively sought black gospel artists.
Take 6 tours at least once every year and was prominently featured in a Japanese automobile commercial about four years ago. In 1998, Bobby Jones and his Nashville Super Choir did a six-city tour.
In spite of this, Christian-based gospel choirs in Japan still represent
merely the tip of an extremely large iceberg. That is how big gospel
has gotten here.
Rucker Gospel Ministries has played a major role in taking gospel
to the rank and file populace. Over an eight-year span, upwards of 5000
people have taken part in Gospel Ministries' workshops.
G.M.W.A. songwriter Steven Roberts, James Cleveland soloist
Cleo Kennedy, Walter Scrutchings, Minister Isadore Jackson, and
Thanksgiving, Praise, and Worship from Birmingham, Alabama have
served as clinicians for Rucker Gospel Ministries workshops.
THE BUSINESS OF GOSPEL IN JAPAN When gospel tours, workshops, CD and video sales are taken into consideration,
we can see that gospel music in Japan has become million-dollar business.
GRAW Magazine, which made its debut in 1999, is devoted to news
and information concerning the gospel music scene in Japan.
Back in 1997, an article in the English language daily newspaper,
The Japan Times, referred to the popularity of gospel music as "a
new rage that's now a boomlet with boom potential."
We can say now in 2001, that the "boom potential" has been completely
realized. Many in America may take gospel music for granted, but for
the Japanese, gospel music is a treasure.
Gospel is truly the music for which the world hungers. The future for
gospel in Japan is a bright one indeed!
Gospel music "classrooms"
abound in Japan. The overwhelming majority of these classes are not
faith-based, but lately Japanese churches have discovered the power
of evangelism through gospel music and have begun to incorporate it
into worship services.
Currently, gospel can be found in the major CD shops alongside blues,
jazz, hip hop, and R&B. It is not unusual for a gospel concert ticket
to run $40 in Japan.
The Internet is rife with Japanese language pages
devoted to gospel choirs and groups. There are also numerous Internet
links between the Japanese Christian community in the States and the
gospel community in Japan.
For more information on Ron Rucker and his ministry in
Japan, visit http://www.ronruck.com/.
