Kirikyogen

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Kirikyogen is a 1970 album by Japanese musician Kuni Kawachi, released as “Kuni Kawachi & His Friends” (though bootlegs often credit it to Kuni Kawachi & Flower Travellin’ Band). It blends progressive rock, psychedelic rock, and early heavy metal, and runs about 36 minutes. The record was Kawachi’s first after leaving the group sounds band the Happenings Four, and only two members of Flower Travellin’ Band took part: vocalist Joe Yamanaka and guitarist Hideki Ishima. The album was recorded between Kawachi’s projects Anywhere and Satori, before the band went to Canada. Ishima has recalled that hearing Yamanaka sing in Japanese for the first time during the sessions felt strange.

In 1971, a track originally on Kirikyogen, “Works Composed Mainly by Humans,” was reworked as “Map” and released as a split single by Flower Travellin’ Band without Kawachi, paired with Jo Mama’s “Machine Gun Kelly.” Kirikyogen was later issued on CD by King Records in 1994. A bootleg released in 2002 under the title Music Composed Mainly By Humans altered some tracks and renamed others, also reintroducing “Map.”

Music writers and fans have noted Kirikyogen’s influence. Julian Cope ranked it No. 25 on his list of the top 50 Japanese rock albums in Japrocksampler (2007), describing side one as dry, spacious, hard-rocking ballads and side two as showing an acoustic side from Ishima. Hernan M. Campbell of Sputnikmusic praised its role in shaping the Flower Travellin’ Band’s heavier, dissonant guitar style, with slower tempos and a menacing feel; he also links Kirikyogen, along with Satori, to the early development of doom metal.