are a Japanese heavy metal band from

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, who released their first album in 1999.

History

They play quite orthodox heavy metal music, mixed with elements from Japanese folk and pop music, and play both fast, hard songs and slow ballads. Since their debut in 1999, they have appeared in traditional clothing characteristic of Japan's

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

. Their name refers to Onmyōdō and the gathering of

yin and yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and ya ...

(Inyo in Japanese, formerly Onmyō), and the theme of opposites and cosmic dual forces are prevalent in their lyrics. This contrast is also represented by the female and male vocals and two guitarists.

Band members

* Matatabi - bass,

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, leader, lyrics, composer *

Kuroneko Galbraith IV, Stuart (1994). ''Japanese Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror Films''. McFarland & Company. is a 1968 Japanese horror film directed by Kaneto Shindo, and an adaptation of a supernatural folktale. Set during a civil war in feudal J ...

- vocals, lyrics * Maneki -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

* Karukan - guitar ;Support members * Dobashi Makoto - drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

* Abe Masahiro -

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

;Former members * Atsushi "Tora" Kawatsuka - drums, percussion (1999–2009)

Stage names

Each of the band member's stage names feature a

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

with a sense of humor and make references to

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

s. * Matatabi (瞬火) means "flash fire", but it can also be read as

silver vine Silver vine is a common name for either of the following plants: *''Actinidia polygama ''Actinidia polygama'' (also known as , silver vine, , and cat powder) is a species of kiwifruit in the Actinidiaceae family. It grows in the mountainous area ...

(loved by cats, similar to

catnip ''Nepeta cataria'', commonly known as catnip, catswort, catwort, and catmint, is a species of the genus '' Nepeta'' in the family Lamiaceae, native to southern and eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of China. It is widely ...

). * Kuroneko (黒猫) literally means "black cat", just symbolizing her personality. * Maneki (招鬼) practically means "summoning

oni An is a kind of ''yōkai'', demon, orc, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. Oni are mostly known for their fierce and evil nature manifested in their propensity for murder and cannibalism. Notwithstanding their evil reputation, oni possess ...

", but see also

maneki neko The ''maneki-neko'' (招き猫, ) is a common Japanese figurine which is often believed to bring good luck to the owner. In modern times, they are usually made of ceramic or plastic. The figurine depicts a cat, traditionally a calico Japanese Bo ...

. * Karukan (狩姦) is unclear. Karu (狩) independently means "attacking"/"hunting" and Kan (姦) is "adultery". The

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

姦 and 奸, (the latter now meaning "wickedness") were the same in old times but have been changed. But it is also a brand of cat food. * Tora (斗羅) It's pronounced like the word "tiger", but its reading is the same as

tabby A tabby is any domestic cat (''Felis catus'') with a distinctive 'M'-shaped marking on its forehead; stripes by its eyes and across its cheeks, along its back, and around its legs and tail; and (differing by tabby type), characteristic striped, ...

. It also refers to him being a

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

fan.

Influences

Musically Matatabi was influenced by heavy metal bands such as Judas Priest, Annihilator and

Destruction Destruction may refer to: Concepts * Destruktion, a term from the philosophy of Martin Heidegger * Destructive narcissism, a pathological form of narcissism * Self-destructive behaviour, a widely used phrase that ''conceptualises'' certain kin ...

, and by Rush. Osamu Tezuka and

Futaro Yamada was the pen name of , a Japanese author. He was born in Yabu, Hyogo. In 1947, he wrote a mystery short story and was awarded a prize by the magazine . He was discovered by Edogawa Rampo and became a novelist. He wrote many ninja (忍法帖 ''Ni ...

had a significant influence on him. Matatabi also hailed

Ningen Isu is a Japanese heavy metal band formed in Hirosaki in 1987. The band's current line-up consists of co-founders Shinji Wajima (guitar, vocals) and Ken-ichi Suzuki (bass, vocals) alongside Nobu Nakajima (drums, vocals), who joined in 2004. All thre ...

as the precedent playing heavy metal and singing in Japanese.陰陽座が明かす、妖怪をコンセプトに掲げる理由「海外のバンドが竜や魔法や騎士なら、こっちは妖怪だ」
- Real Sound｜リアルサウンド・2017年11月12日閲覧。 Kuroneko said she respects Ronnie James Dio as her eternal goal. In addition to that, her inspirations included

Kenji Miyazawa was a Japanese novelist and poet of children's literature from Hanamaki, Iwate, in the late Taishō and early Shōwa periods. He was also known as an agricultural science teacher, a vegetarian, cellist, devout Buddhist, and utopian social act ...

and

Zdzisław Beksiński Zdzisław Beksiński (; 24 February 192921 February 2005) was a Polish painter, photographer, and sculptor, specializing in the field of dystopian surrealism. Beksiński made his paintings and drawings in what he called either a Baroque or ...

. Karukan cites

Jason Becker Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He w ...

, Maneki and Paul Gilbert as his main influences. He practiced songs by "Shrapnel" Artists back in the day such as Jason Becker,

Richie Kotzen Richard Dale Kotzen Jr. (born February 3, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. As a solo artist, Kotzen has back catalogue of more than 20 album releases. He was a member of glam metal band Poison from 1991 to 1993, Mr. Big ...

Greg Howe Gregory Howe (born December 8, 1963)Malusardi, Guglielmo (October 2006) Guitar Nine Records. Retrieved 2012-10-14. is an American guitarist and composer. An active musician across four decades, he has released ten studio albums in addition to co ...

and so on, and covered Megadeth's songs along with Maneki. Maneki listed Gary Moore's " Blues Alive" as his favorite album.

Themes and inspiration

Their songs mainly deal with

Japanese folklore Japanese folklore encompasses the informally learned folk traditions of Japan and the Japanese people as expressed in its oral traditions, customs, and material culture. In Japanese, the term is used to describe folklore. The academic study o ...

, such as the

yōkai are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore. The word is composed of the kanji for "attractive; calamity" and "apparition; mystery; suspicious." are also referred to as , or . Despite often being translated as suc ...

, and the

dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

. However, some songs have more concrete themes and inspirations. For example, Onmyo-za have composed twelve songs related to "Ninpocho", or "ninja scrolls". These songs are a tribute to author

and his ''ōchō '' series. The band's hit song, "Koga Ninpocho", was written for the Studio Gonzo TV animated series ''

Basilisk In European bestiaries and legends, a basilisk ( or ) is a legendary reptile reputed to be a serpent king, who causes death to those who look into its eyes. According to the ''Naturalis Historia'' of Pliny the Elder, the basilisk of Cyrene i ...

'', which was based on Yamada's novel, '' The Kouga Ninja Scrolls''. There are also some other songs inspired by Osamu Tezuka and Natsuhiko Kyogoku, and the ''Kumikyoku Yoshitsune'' trilogy is based on the legend of Japanese ancient

tragic hero A tragic hero is the protagonist of a tragedy. In his ''Poetics'', Aristotle records the descriptions of the tragic hero to the playwright and strictly defines the place that the tragic hero must play and the kind of man he must be. Aristotle ba ...

Minamoto no Yoshitsune was a military commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles which toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-brother Yoritomo conso ...

. "Soukoku/Doukoku" was written for the Nintendo DS game ''The Inugami Clan'' which was based on

Seishi Yokomizo was a Japanese mystery novelist, known for creating the fictional detective Kosuke Kindaichi. Early life Yokomizo was born in the city of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. He read detective stories as a boy and in 1921, while employed by the Daiichi Ban ...

's novel ''The Inugami Clan''. "Aoki Dokugan" was written for the

pachinko is a mechanical game originating in Japan that is used as an arcade game, and much more frequently for gambling. Pachinko fills a niche in Japanese gambling comparable to that of the slot machine in the West as a form of low-stakes, low-st ...

machine "CR Sengoku-ranbu Aoki Dokugan" which is based on the story of Date Masamune, a famous ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...

''.

Discography

Albums

Compilations

Singles

Live Performances

References

External links

* {{Authority control Gan-Shin artists Japanese heavy metal musical groups Japanese power metal musical groups Japanese symphonic metal musical groups Folk metal musical groups Musical groups from Osaka Musical groups established in 1999 Japanese mythology in music 1999 establishments in Japan Female-fronted musical groups