Introducing HKT48

   'Tis a good day for the nerds of Hakata: the first twenty-one members of the newly launched HKT48 (Hakata 48) were announced in late October. They include, among others:

Yûko Sugamoto (菅本裕子), second year high school student.

 First year high school student, Chihiro Anai

Kyôka Abe (安陪恭加), second year junior high school student

Third year junior high school student, Mina Imada

Nao Ueki (植木南央), a second year junior high school student

 Another second year junior high school student, Sayaka Etô (江藤彩也香)

First year high school student, Chiyori Nakanishi (中西智代梨)

And, Maiko Fukagawa (深川舞子), who is in the sixth grade of elementary school.

Not much music, not much life

   One of many impromptu (and not very scientific) surveys of my students' consumption habits. As someone who has been a voracious buyer of music since elementary school, I find it hard to believe that young people today purchase so few albums. 

   By the time I was in college, I had already amassed a very nice collection of vinyl L.P.s.

   Yes, vinyl. L.P.s were large, circular black things that had had grooves in them. You would place a stylus, which was a kind of needle, into the outermost groove of the record which spun at 33 and 1/3 revolutions per minute. The grooves would make the needle vibrate, producing sound that was then amplified electronically. These audio systems, called record players or turntables, were not very portable, so when you listened to music, you generally had to stay in one room if you wanted to listen to music.

   Seriously.

HKT48

 

   If you've been living in Japan for the past few years and still haven't heard of AKB48, why then I commend your ability to completely shut out Japanese pop culture. May nirvana soon come to your quiet mountain retreat.

   AKB48 is an all-female Japanese theater/idol group based in Tôkyô's Akihabara district and comprised originally of 48 members (hence the name AKB48). Since their debut in 2005, the group has taken the country by storm, much in the way that Morning Museme did in the late 90s, so much so that it is now impossible to get through a day without hearing one of their songs or seeing their promotion videos, many of which border tantalizingly on lolita porn. Don't believe me? Have a look:

   With almost sixty members today, AKB48 seems to have hit a high water mark. It's no surprise, then, that Yasuhi Akimoto, the successful producer of this and other idol groups, has decided to expand the franchise to other cities, including Fukuoka where the group will be called HKT48. That's HKT as in HaKaTa. Other franchises include SKE48 (Sakae, Nagoya) and NMB48 (Namba, Osaka).

   The first stage of auditions for HKT48 finished on May 31. (Apologies for not announcing this earlier.) Those lucky girls deemed to have the right stuff will be notified by phone. Stage three which involves the first in-person interview with candidates will begin at the end of June, and the final cut will be announced later this year.

  Until then, enjoy another one of AKB48's popular songs, Ponytail and Sush: