Ever since we started JNC, the sub-culture of the bosozoku biker gangs of Japan has always been a fascinating subject. The bosozoku were always a feeder-class as thugs for the mafia, but as we reported many moons ago, their outlaw traditions have been hammered into submission by constant police attention in recent years. But they’re also being left behind by an increasingly corporatized Yakuza.
Tokyo-based Figure 8 Productions has an hour-long documentary which has started screening in Tokyo this month, but you can buy the DVD of the movie at their site. As the trailer says: Sayonara Speed Tribes chronicles Hazuki — an aging Japanese bike gangster and the crop of halfhearted youngsters he mentors. As bike gang culture in Japan succumbs to police pressure he confronts his tough guy past and dwindling options for the future.”
Looks interesting!
