The Kanjozoku is Osaka’s legendary street racers. There is alot of secrets behind Osaka’s underground street car culture. For the last 30 years, Honda car enthusiasts have been driving on a set of highways in Osaka called the Kanjo Loop. In the daytime, it is just like any other highway for everyone else. When night falls, the empty roads are suddenly transformed into a racetrack with roaring engines and tires squealing being heard in the distance. The sounds are from the Kanjozoku, the Kanjo Racers. Illegal Kanjo racing was such a huge issue the last 10 years, that the highway was put on heavy lockdown and car clubs were arrested and their rides impounded. The clubs that left behind were disbanded or continued to race the Kanjo Loop to protect their hobby. Nowadays, street racing on the Kanjo is really rare. It is said the remaining racers continue only for the sake of maintaining a longstanding tradition. When a group of Americans decided to create a documentary, the Kanjozoku came out of hiding determined to show what their culture is all about. Car clubs called No Good Racing, TOPGUN Racing, Club Wharp, and Law Break all participated for that one night run. This was the biggest meet up in seven years. Every racer has sworn anonymity and all wear masks, usually their trademark hockey masks. No one said their names, but were more than happy to demonstrate what the Kanjo Racers was all about. They are all about tradition now. It does not matter who wins or loses anymore, it’s about making friends and understanding what it means the run the Kanjo Loop as part of the Kanjozoku.
When I looked into the article as well as the documentary, I thought it was cool how JDM started out. Car culture is consists of many parts and Japanese cars and racing style is a big one. Japanese car culture is also divided into many parts with each part having its own origins. Street racing is highly illegal and obviously I don’t condone it, but I did admire how honorable these car enthusiasts were. The Kanjozoku are only one of the many groups of street racers in the entirety of Japan. Others, for example Mid Night Club that were based on Wangan highway between Tokyo and Yokohama. I picked this article because learning about the Kanjozoku was a great starting point for learning about JDM car culture. Also in the term Kanjozoku, Kanjo refers to the highway system the Kanjo Loop they run at. The meaning of “zoku” is tribe, clan, or family. Japan is widely known for diverse car culture, including drifting. The Kanjozoku strictly only performs “close calls” with traffic and do point to point street races. Another crazy thing they do is taunt and fend off law enforcement.
http://www.superstreetonline.com/features/1407-kanjozoku-kanjo-loop-street-racers/
Soot sprites 