A circle of friends connected by goo touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On November 14, we interviewed Panth, a writer, DJ, and chronology buff, about how he came to love chronology and how he enjoys his book, “Nempyo・Subculture to Shakai no 50nen”.
INDEX
Publishing a chronological record that has been his life’s work since childhood
Celeina (MC): I would like to introduce Panth’s profile. Panth is a writer, DJ, and chronology enthusiast who works as a text unit TVOD, and his books as TVOD include “Post-Subculture yakeato ha” and “Seijika shitsugen Chronicle” and as a solo artist, he released “Nempyo・Subculture to Shakai no 50nen” a social and cultural history from 1968 to 2020. He is also the editor of “Asia toshi ongaku disc guide”.
As for your profile, you brought “Nempyo・Subculture to Shakai no 50nen” as mentioned in your profile, to the studio today.
Panth: I brought it. It’s very big.
Takano (MC): What’s this about?
Celeina: It is divided into four pieces, right?
Panth: Yes, it’s a set of four B1 poster-sized sheets.
Takano: If you spread them all out, they are about the size of a blue sheet. The writing is also very detailed.
Panth: We couldn’t make the font size any smaller, so we ended up with this size.
Celeina: So that’s the limit. There is a lot of detail in the text.
Takano: I think the amount of information is amazing.
Celeina: I would like to check the contents later, but what topics are covered in this timeline?
Panth:When it comes to subculture and society, I would like to ask what kind of music, movies, and novels were released from 1968 to 2020, mainly in Japan, and what was happening in society at that time. What was happening, what the politics were like, and what kind of incidents were occurring are listed in chronological order.
Takano: I would love to have it.
Celeina: Mr. Panth did all the research himself, and everything is in the book. Isn’t the number of documents just too many to count?
Takano: How long did it take you to make it?
Panth: I have been doing this as my life’s work. Ever since I was in elementary or junior high school, I liked to write down the dates when my favorite CDs were released, so I just kept doing that and this is what I came up with.
Takano: So you already had a stock of music from when you were a child.
Celeina：Wow. Your life’s work since childhood has led you to publication. How did it come about?
Panth:When the TVOD unit published a book titled “Post-Subculture yakeato ha” which was a subcultural critique, I said I wanted to put a timeline at the back of the book. But, of course, the book couldn’t hold this amount of material, so it was compressed into a chronological table. The publisher of that book,Hyakumannnenn Shobo, later asked me if I would like to publish a complete version of this chronology, which led to its release.
Celeina：It was a long-awaited release.
Takano: I think it will be a valuable resource because it reveals a lot about the culture.
Celeina：In about 50 years, it may be in the library or something.
Takano: It would be like a copy being distributed to each school. I’m also curious about the selection of topics listed here.
Panth: Basically, I thought I would keep the ones I liked. So I put some geeky things that would normally never be included in a chronological list. I dared to include such things because I thought they would add a unique color to the book.
Takano: When you say “maniac things,” what kind of things do you mean?
Panth: Releases by totally unknown indie artists are bolded. It’s like we dare to take up areas that no one would follow.
Celeina：If you look at Panth’s timeline, pick up words you don’t know, and study various cultures from there, you will really expand your world.
Panth:That’s right. I think you can also use it like a disc guide or a book guide, like listening to or reading something you are interested in from what is listed here.
Celeina：I see. In other words, it can serve as a map of subcultures.
Takano: That’s good, it can be a map.
INDEX
I was influenced by “Edo Tokyo Nempyo” which I bought when I was in elementary school.
Celeina：You mentioned that you liked to keep track of dates. I was wondering if you like history or social studies, or if you like numbers and mathematical things, Mr.Panth.
Panth: Completely history. I liked to learn Japanese history and world history in regular school, and I used to take notes incessantly, even to the point where they didn’t teach it in school.
Takano: I heard that you also have a timeline of influences.
Panth: Yes, I do. I don’t think chronology is often discussed as a genre, but I used to buy books based on the chronology attached to the back of the book.
Takano: Based on the chronology, not the contents.
Panth: That’s right. I brought a book with me today, “Edo Tokyo Nempyo” which was published by Shogakukan in 1993, and it is a chronological table from Edo to Tokyo.
Takano: It starts 30,000 years ago. The beginning is called “the beginning of a culture characterized by knife-shaped stone tools”.
Panth: It starts when the land was created.
Celeina: You say that you are influenced by this chronology.
Panth:I bought this when I was in elementary school, and I used to look at it constantly. It contains very detailed information, such as when morning glories became popular.
Celeina：You were an elementary school student,right?
Panth: In the Edo period, it was common to go to see flowers, and there were many exhibitions, etc. The book goes on and on with such detailed information.
Takano: It’s fun to think about what was going on back then and let your imagination run wild.
Panth: Yes, it is. That’s the fun part of the timeline.
Takano: I could go on and on, but I would like to interrupt with a song. I asked Mr.Panth to choose a song that we would all like to listen to together on the radio at this time. What song would it be?
Panth: It’s a song by Ryuichi Sakamoto. When I was making “Nempyo・Subculture to Shakai no 50nen” I took the liberty of setting Ryuichi Sakamoto as the underlying theme. The book covers the period from 1968 to 2020, so it is like following Sakamoto’s career itself, and there is a lot of Sakamoto-related information in the book. And, I like it, so I’ll play it.
Takano: Please introduce the song.
Panth: “Self Portrait” by Ryuichi Sakamoto.
