We at JNC hope that our American readers are having a wonderful holiday with your families this week. Forty years ago today, a different sort of celebration was taking place, when 3,000 bosozoku bikes and cars took to the streets of Tokyo on the night of November 22, 1978 for an event known as Doukoho.
Doukoho is short for douro koutsu hou kaisei, the “road traffic law change” that would soon take effect across Japan. While ostensibly it was meant for safety and included new laws that made motorcycle helmets mandatory and vaguely prohibited “joint dangerous acts” on the road, the real reason was to give law enforcement a reason to crack down on Japan’s motorcycle gangs and street racers. It was part protest, part last hurrah, and reportedly it was the biggest gathering of bosozoku in Japan’s history.
Happy Doukoho from JNC!
Images: Jokers
Happy Doukoho and Happy Thanksgiving Day JNC ers !!
And still happening (to some degree). In-laws deal with revving motorcycles along the Yokohama harbor somewhat regularly, especially Friday nights. Just a few weeks ago, they called the police and, in an Austin Powers moment, said there were 10 of them, only to be quickly corrected by those in the room that there were at least 40.
They were probably a lot safer than today’s street racing scene.
Of course it was safer. All of the cars back then were underpowered. Turbos were all but no existent. It was about having as much fun as you can in the vehicle you have. Now days its only about speed for street racers.