The Mystery Unit from Okinawa: Hakubungou Interview

Last Updated on 2026-02-18 by a-indie

One day, a demo arrived by email from an Okinawa-based unit calling themselves Hakubungou. The first question that came to mind was: who exactly is Hakubungou?

A quick search turned up nothing at all.

In an age when virtually everyone has at least one social media account, the complete absence of any online presence is genuinely intriguing.

The home-recorded demo is rough around the edges, yet the songwriting has a quiet brilliance that is hard to ignore.

So just who is Hakubungou? We reached out for an email interview to find out.

Note: 『Crossroads EP』, which was previously available on SoundCloud, has been re-released on YouTube for the first time in ten years at the artist’s request. Please also enjoy the 『Crossroads EP』 10th Anniversary Interview! (Added February 18, 2026)

This article was originally published in BELONG Media on October 20, 2015, and has been translated into English.

Hakubungou — Interview

Artist: Yamagishi　Interviewers: yabori, Kaoruko Momoi　Illustration: Chappy

— To start, we only know that you are an Okinawa-based unit. Could you give us a brief introduction to Hakubungou?
Yamagishi: My name is Hakubungou. It started out as a two-person unit, but right now it functions as a solo project — I am a 23-year-old student. I am still undecided whether to use Hakubungou as a unit name or as my own personal name. Perhaps the easiest way to think about it is like the comedian Bakarism, where the performer and the name are somewhat interchangeable.

— I found it fascinating that searching for Hakubungou returns absolutely nothing. Why have you not put any information out there?
The main reason is simply that there is nothing to share. We have not done any live shows, so there is almost no news to communicate in the first place. I had been thinking about opening a SoundCloud account to upload tracks, but before I got around to it, I sent a demo to BELONG and heard back from yabori, so I put the account idea on hold. There is no deliberate strategy of staying invisible — it just happened that way.

— Could you tell us the origin of the name Hakubungou?
It does not have a deep meaning. It is essentially the word “bungo” — meaning literary master — rearranged to sound like a Chinese personal name.

— We heard you have been recording at home. What led you to start home recording?
Originally I wanted to form a band, but I never managed to find people I clicked with. So I ended up recording on my own. Ideally I would like to focus purely on writing chords and melodies, but I felt that a bare acoustic demo would not reach many listeners, so I started adding very simple arrangements.

— What does the title 『Crossroads EP』 mean to you?
First of all, I wanted to express the feeling of songs intersecting — that kind of image. Beyond that, all the tracks on this EP were inspired by trips I made to Tokyo during my university years, so I chose “crossroads” as a way to evoke the city.

— The songs on this EP all have a relaxed, unhurried feel, yet the lyrics use quite negative words such as “lies,” “boredom,” and “incompetence.” Is there a consistent theme running through all the tracks?
At the core, I am drawing an imaginary picture of city life as I see it, but whether that is what leads to those negative words, I honestly cannot say. I also think I use those words without attaching any genuinely negative feeling to them. It is a bit like when someone says “I am such a hopeless person” without really meaning it — or saying “I am so bored” while secretly enjoying themselves a little. That kind of slightly detached expression.

— The lyrics also include words with a distinctly Showa-era flavour, such as “kissaten” (coffee house) and “reiji” (midnight). These are not words people tend to use casually today. Why do you use them in your songs?
I think I have a certain longing for the world of はっぴいえんど and that era in general. Using those words gives the music a freshness that I find appealing — a certain breezy quality.

— The sound on this EP has a soft, gauzy quality throughout. How was it recorded?
The recording environment is actually quite lo-fi. I do not have much money, so I used a secondhand acoustic guitar I bought for 2,000 yen at a recycle shop and a microphone that cost around 10,000 yen. I recorded in my own room, enduring the summer heat. It is probably about as lo-fi as it gets. I would be grateful if listeners could focus on the melodies rather than the sound quality itself.

— The rhythmic feel on every track has a strong hip-hop influence, and the groove is quite distinctive. Do you pay particular attention to rhythm?
I wish I could say yes, but the honest answer is that I can really only write melodies and lyrics, so I do not yet have the skill to craft rhythms with real intention. If there is a hip-hop feel, it probably comes from the method of layering a strummed acoustic performance over a basic one-loop beat.

— The fourth track 「Like Lamar」 has a bassline and drum sound that reminded me of club music. It stands out against the more relaxed tracks. Why did you include it, and was it made in a different way?
Listeners might be surprised when this track suddenly appears, and some might find it quite out of place. I even considered releasing it under a different name. The reason I included it on the EP, though, is that I felt it would give listeners the impression of “what on earth is Hakubungou, really?” — which felt right (though I should say the track was not made with that effect in mind; it came together naturally). Without this song, the EP might come across as simply “an Okinawa band influenced by はっぴいえんど,” but with it, the image stays open. I have always made many different kinds of music, and I wanted that variety to come through. If people listen and come away thinking “I have no idea what this band is,” that would actually make me happy.

— The first track 「Uso Narabe」 has guitar phrases and an overall flow that feels more distinctly Okinawan than the other songs. Is that something that comes out naturally, or is it intentional?
It is not intentional at all. I think if listeners did not know we were from Okinawa, they might not perceive it as particularly Okinawan. The word “Okinawa” may be doing a lot of heavy lifting.

— Okinawa is said to have more music schools and instrument shops per capita than anywhere else in Japan. Did you study Okinawan folk music or any instrument as a child?
I took a little piano when I was young, but I grew up with almost no exposure to Okinawan folk music or anything traditionally Okinawan. There was no sanshin in the house. (People may picture Okinawan life as involving plenty of drinks and sanshin playing, but that is far from universal.) I have recently had the opportunity to study Okinawan music and am learning a little at a time. Looking back, I actually feel that not being immersed in Okinawa’s culture as a child has been a positive influence on how I am approaching and discovering it now. I could write endlessly about Okinawan music — there is so much I want to say.

— Okinawa has a strong image internationally for acts like SPEED in dance music and Mongol800 in melodic hardcore. What does the current scene there look like?
I am not deeply embedded in the Okinawa music scene, so I cannot speak with authority, but my sense is that the distinctiveness of bands and pop acts has quieted down considerably. The gap between Okinawa and the mainland does not feel as wide as it once did.

— When we exchanged emails earlier, you mentioned being excited about the Tokyo scene, particularly never young beach. Are there any domestic artists you are watching right now, and what draws you to them?
never young beach, Yogee New Waves, Ykiki Beat, The fin., and N.O.R.K. are all genuinely incredible, I think. It is hard to put into words, but what I love about them is the way they seem to leap effortlessly across time, country, and language. On a personal note, I have been noticing a trend in the Japanese scene recently toward a clear commitment to either full Japanese or full English — no mixing. I personally have never been fond of the style that blends the two languages, or of singing Japanese in an English-ish way. So I find it refreshing to see peers my age either singing Japanese with total clarity, or aiming for a genuinely international sound with native-level English pronunciation. Maybe they all felt the same way I did, even without realising it (laughs). Either way, today’s Japanese bands feel wonderfully decisive — going all the way in one direction or the other. It feels clean.

— The next issue of BELONG is going to focus on a theme we are calling “YOUTHWAVE” — the idea that digital natives, a generation who grew up with the internet and computers as a given, are now accessing an enormous cloud of music online and beginning to create something new from it. Generationally, would you say Hakubungou fits that description?
Completely. My father was always into technology, so we had a home computer much earlier than most families. I think it was there before I was even old enough to have conscious memories.

— One idea in that feature is that if you have never heard of an older artist before, encountering them for the first time feels just as new as discovering something current. Does that resonate with you?
It resonates quite a lot, though I am not entirely sure it is a new idea — even before the internet existed, people would discover music made before they were born and experience it as something fresh. That said, the accessibility of very old music has changed dramatically, and I fully understand the sense that the concept of time has dissolved. That part feels very real.

— One thing that sets the YOUTHWAVE generation apart is being able to watch live performances by artists from anywhere in the world online, which makes equipment and technique immediately visible and absorb-able. Do you watch overseas artists performing live on YouTube? And if so, has anything fed directly into your own music?
I watch Boiler Room now and then. If I come across a band I am curious about, I will often check out their live footage too. That said, I do not pay much attention to specific gear. I am not much of an equipment enthusiast, which probably has a lot to do with it.

— BELONG operates under the concept of “Roots Rock Media,” so we would love to hear about three albums that represent your roots. How does each one connect to your music?

The Beatles — Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Beatles music from their middle period onward was always playing in our house when I was growing up. This album represents all of that. What it drummed into me, I think, is the principle of being uncompromisingly pop — no matter what. The Beatles manage to stay completely pop even when doing things that are musically complex, and I find that genuinely astonishing. This album shows it most clearly. As a side note, I remember being confused as a small child by how many different sounds were on it — I kept thinking, “Wait, aren’t the Beatles just four people?”

Bryan Adams — MTV Unplugged

Bryan Adams is a musician I genuinely love, though I suspect he tends to be seen as a commercial artist by many. More than the album as a whole, it was the track 「Back To You」 that I listened to constantly as a child, and that eventually led me to buy this record. It communicates so clearly the joy of singing a beautifully simple melody at full volume.

ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION — Houkai Amplifier

When I sat down to name my three root albums, leaving this one out would have felt dishonest. The sound of Japanese lyrics being shouted with such crisp, precise pronunciation was a genuine shock to me at twelve years old. Asian Kung-Fu Generation’s radio programme, Mother Music, also played a big part in my musical life — the members regularly recommended Western records and encouraged listeners to explore widely. That had a lasting influence on the direction my listening took.

— What kind of activities would you like to pursue going forward?
I expect I will keep writing songs as I always have. When I have more breathing room, I would like to improve my recording setup and eventually release something properly produced. My musical abilities are still a long way from where I want them to be, so I would need someone to collaborate with. Further down the road, I would love to write songs for other artists. Composers who handle their own arrangements are increasingly the norm these days, which makes it harder for someone like me who cannot arrange — but I hope that opportunity comes someday. My main goal is simply to keep working on lyrics and melodies until I can make songs that genuinely stay with people.

— Finally, who do you hope listens to 『Crossroads EP』?
Rather than targeting anyone in particular, I just want as many people as possible to hear it. The songs are simple, so I hope they are easy to listen to without much effort. The recordings come from a pretty extreme lo-fi setup, which does make me a little self-conscious, but I hope listeners can approach it with an open mind. Thank you for reading.