Jazz kissa

A Ginza café in 1930

The popularisation of coffee, cafés and jazz music in Japan began in the 1920s and 1930s as part of a wider middle-class enthusiasm for Western ideas.[1] It was common for cafés to play music from phonographs. Some cafés employed waitresses who offered sexual services and would sing and dance to the phonograph.[2][3] The loud music also disguised private conversations between patrons and waitresses.[2] Other cafés eschewed this eroticism and installed phonographs, low lighting and sofas to create a sophisticated and relaxed atmosphere.[4]

The first music cafés, called ongaku kissa (a shortening of kissaten),[5] opened in Japan in the late 1920s.[6] Due to restrictions on live music, kissa were some of the only places outside of large venues where people could hear Western music.[7] These kissa housed large record collections, centred on specific genres, and modern sound equipment.[6] The interior and exterior of kissa were decorated in elegant and sometimes eccentric Western styles.[8] Classical music cafés, named meikyoku kissa, were popular as well as those playing jazz and Latin music. These were also staffed by female waitresses and catered to young patrons, often men who could not afford to purchase the music themselves.[6][5] Kissa were usually operated by music enthusiasts rather than businesspeople seeking to make money.[4]

It is likely that the first kissa to specialise solely in jazz music opened in 1929.[3] The jazz kissa of this period, and their extensive record collections, served as an important resource for record collectors, musicians and even jazz journalists.[9][10] There were eventually around eighty jazz kissa in Japan with the majority in Tokyo.[11] During World War II, however, these establishments were shuttered.[6] Many of the jazz kissa had their record collections destroyed in Allied air raids, and most jazz kissa that emerged following the war had little relationship with these pre-war jazz kissa.[12]

A jazz kissa's book collection containing copies of Swing Journal

In 1950s Japan, live jazz performances were rare as were locally produced jazz records.[13] Instead, records had to be imported from America at prohibitively expensive prices that, while too costly for most individuals, jazz kissa would pay. This resulted in jazz kissa, alongside radio, becoming some of the only places to hear the latest jazz music.[13][14] Jazz kissa served an educational role for jazz fans and musicians, including Toshiko Akiyoshi and Sadao Watanabe. The kissa's proprietor would give in-depth introductions to records before playing them, and some patrons would take notes. Japanese publication Swing Journal published introductions for records to be used in jazz kissa.[15] In contrast to pre-war jazz kissa, these establishments were simply furnished and usually only sold drinks.[14] Most Japanese cities hosted jazz kissa by the end of the 1950s. Jazz kissa would often cater to specific niches, just playing music from a specific sub-genre.[16]

The difficulty for individuals to purchase jazz music continued in the 1960s. This particularly affected university students who, drawn to the cafes' bohemian atmosphere, made up a significant proportion of jazz kissa patrons.[lower-alpha 1][17][18] However, there was an increase in live music venues where jazz could be heard.[18] Some jazz kissa in the 1950s had hosted live music, but this petered out in the 1960s.[19] A new type of jazz kissa emerged in the middle of the decade. These jazz kissa were notable for their dim lighting, extremely loud music and rules for patrons such as the prohibition of talking.[20] This style of jazz appreciation was tied to free jazz and the New Left student movement.[21] Jazz kissa would even host political meetings and talks arranged by students.[22] However, this trend declined at the end of the 1960s alongside the deaths of free jazz musicians John Coltrane and Albert Ayler and the disintegration of the New Left.[21]

Chigusa in Yokohama, which was one of Japan's oldest jazz kissa when it closed in 2022[23]

At their height in the mid-1970s, there were around 600 jazz kissa operating in Japan. Societal changes over subsequent decades led to a steady reduction in jazz kissa numbers.[24][25] Records and stereos became affordable for teenagers and students in the 1970s which, together with a considerable expansion in live jazz, made the music readily more accessible. The popularisation of jazz fusion forced jazz kissa to adapt to the new music, which some jazz fans found objectionable, or see their customer-base diminish.[26] Aside from the change of music, cafés reduced the volume of the music, allowed patrons to talk, sold alcohol and lightened their décor.[27] There was again a leap in access to personal audio equipment in the 1980s with the CD quickly replacing vinyl. Live jazz became widespread across Japan, and jazz was frequently the background music in hospitality venues. These developments negatively affected jazz kissa.[28] One benefit to these changes was that jazz kissa became some of the few remaining places to hear jazz from original vinyl records. Customers continued visiting them as a reminder of the past or to feel they were "authentically" experiencing jazz music.[29]

Jazz kissa are now greatly reduced in number from their 20th century peak. The remaining kissa are largely the same as they were in the immediate post-war period.[22][24] Music is mainly played from vinyl records and features most jazz sub-genres.[22] However, new jazz kissa continued to be opened. These jazz kissa have targeted younger customers by creating a more relaxed environment and featuring live performances from both DJs and musicians.[24]