2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Photo Exhibits Set to Celebrate Wild Okinawan Rock Star Who Swung Snakes on Stage
Photo exhibitions about the late Katsuhiro Kawamitsu, a singer for the legendary Okinawan rock band Condition Green, are set to open in Tokyo in July and Kyoto in September.
The photos on display will be taken from the book 'Condition Rainbow,' which was published last year by Kawamitsu's partner Norico, a photographer.
Kawamitsu, known by his nickname Katchan in Okinawa Prefecture, died at 78 in 2023. His band was one of the pioneers of 'Okinawan Rock,' a genre that was strongly influenced by American culture in the 1960s, when the prefecture was controlled by the U.S. military.
Kawamitsu's life was deeply entwined with U.S. military bases in the area. He was born on the prefecture's Miyakojima Island in 1944 and moved to Koza (now Okinawa City) when he was 10.
After the war, the parts of Koza near the U.S. Kadena Air Base flourished by entertaining Americans, resulting in dramatic economic growth for the city. At the same time, Okinawans had to endure the crashes of military aircrafts, as well as criminal cases and traffic accidents perpetrated by U.S. soldiers. A traffic accident caused by a U.S. driver in Koza triggered an explosion of residents' anger on Dec. 20, 1970, and they set U.S. military vehicles on fire. The incident is known as the Koza Riot.
In Koza, Kawamitsu's mother ran an A-sign bar — the name for watering holes that were allowed to serve U.S. soldiers and the military's civilian employees.
Kawamitsu grew up hearing the American music played on jukeboxes at bars and started his music career as a drummer in the 1960s. In 1971, a year before Okinawa was returned to Japan, he formed Condition Green, for which he was the leader and a vocalist.
Kawamitsu sang in English, and the band performed at U.S. military bases, as well as bars and clubs nearby. The band was known for performances that were not only full-on rock but also extreme. Band members would form 'human towers,' stacking on top of each other's shoulders, and swing snakes on stage.
At the time, Okinawa served as a hub from which the U.S. military dispatched troops and shipped materiel for the Vietnam War. U.S. soldiers in Okinawa, on edge about possibly dying at the front, became violent and would throw ashtrays or beer bottles at Japanese band members when they didn't like their performance. Kawamitsu's aggressive demeanor on stage may have been his way of trying to tame the audience.
'I think he took in the negative emotions of the American soldiers and transformed them into entertainment,' said Norico, 49. 'He said, 'Rock is something that cannot be defeated.''
According to Norico, once when Kawamitsu and his fellow band members were forming one of their human towers, they fell over on purpose to excite the audience. Kawamitsu told the guitarist who was to be at the top of the tower not to stop playing even if the tower collapsed.
'Katchan was so welcoming,' Norico said. 'He also had many American friends.'
The band released such albums as 'Mixed-up,' grew popular on Japan's main islands and even performed in the United States.
Kawamitsu meets Norico
After Condition Green disbanded in 1988, Kawamitsu went solo and appeared in TV dramas and commercials, while also running the club Jack Nasty's in Okinawa City. He was recognized as a person of cultural merit by Okinawa Prefecture in fiscal 2014.
Norico, a native of Kanagawa Prefecture, met Kawamitsu during a trip to Okinawa Prefecture in 2006. When she first saw him, he was lying half-naked on the bar counter in his club. The next day, Norico visited a rock festival to see Kawamitsu perform. Not only did he sing, he unnerved the audience by having one festivalgoer a stick skewer in his teeth. Norico, who was about 30 years younger than Kawamitsu, was captivated by his performances and couldn't stop taking photos of him.
But while Kawamitsu was wild on stage, Norico said he was a sensitive person. 'One day we went to a restaurant, and he was very impressed by the beauty of a glass there. He often took reporters to his favorite beach when they visited to interview him,' she said smiling.
In his 70s, Kawamitsu was hospitalized several times and contracted multiple types of cancer. Norico was traveling back and forth between Okinawa and Tokyo, where she worked. During the pandemic, it became difficult to meet him at the facility where he was being treated, so she moved to Okinawa and began caring for him at home. Half a year later, he died.
In Norico's book, photos show this period when he was being cared for. He couldn't walk and was getting his food through a tube inserted into his stomach. He liked to go outside in a wheelchair, according to Norico.
After Kawamitsu's death, she published the photo book with help from crowdfunding. She thanked everyone who was involved with the book and said, 'I hope more people will get to know Katchan and Koza through the exhibitions.'
The exhibits will be held at Gallery Cafe & Bar Ludens (where visitors will need to order a drink) in Tokyo's Shimokitazawa district from July 14 to 19; America-Bashi Gallery in Tokyo's Ebisu district from July 23 to Aug. 4; and Gallery Green & Garden in Kyoto's Sanjo district from Sep. 12 to Oct. 13.
The photo book can be ordered at
Kawamitsu sings on of NoricoKawamitsu, second from top, and his band members form a 'human tower.'Kawamitsu receives medical treatment.
