Late-Night Body Temperatures and the Contours of Shinjuku: A Place Called Jazz in the 1970s - 1970s

Late-Night Body Temperatures and the Contours of Shinjuku: A Place Called Jazz in the 1970s - 1970s

The Shinjuku Pit Inn, which opened in the mid-1960s, became a base for absorbing everything from the modern to the avant-garde, transforming Shinjuku in the 1970s into an experimental site where music and people mingled. The space, which gave top priority to the stage, was later called Tokyo's Village Vanguard and formed a unique magnetic field where the lingering sounds of performances shook conversation. At the same time, jazz cafes spread across the country, creating a culture of concentrated listening centered on playing records, while live music clubs grew up where people could enjoy live music along with drinks. The overlap of these two elements at night in Shinjuku created the cultural depth of the city. The name "Body and Soul," which appears in the article, may be a misnomer; in fact, there were many places in Tokyo that combined jazz and sake, such as Body and Soul, which was established in 1974. In the background was the zainichi community and multicultural traffic
that formed around Shokuan-dori Avenue, and jazz music echoed along with the changes in the city. In the mid-1970s, with the development of Shinjuku as a subcenter and the construction of underground passageways, the flow of people expanded and the nighttime circulation increased. As a reflection of this urban expansion and multilayered nature, Shinjuku's jazz culture embodied the urban sentiment of the 1970s.