Bright Lights, Big Trucks: Japan's Dekotora
You might have heard of hot rods, which are typically early American cars that have been modified to drive faster and look cooler.
But have you ever heard of a dekotora?
Dekotora is a Japanese term that's short for "decoration truck."
These trucks are covered in bright lights and sparkling stainless steel plates, as well as flashy paintings of Japanese scenery and powerful animals, or perhaps even celebrities and characters from kabuki or anime.
And it's not just the outsides of these trucks that get decorated — inside, the cab's walls and seats will be covered in elaborate printed patterns, while a chandelier might hang from the ceiling.
Sometimes also called "art trucks" — because dekotora is actually a registered trademark of model maker Aoshima Bunka Kyozai — these flashy trucks evolved out of small, three-wheeled delivery vehicles used in Japan's rural northern fishing industry.
These vehicles would quickly rust from snow-melting agents and salt water, so drivers improvised by protecting their vehicles with stainless steel plates. They often added decorations as well, leading to competition between drivers who wanted to make their ride look the best.
This continued, and by the 1970s dekotora owners began to form groups. The culture was then popularized by a series of films called Torakku Yaro — or Truck Rascals in English — with 10 films pumped out between 1975 and 1979.
However, dekotora culture has been declining since around the late 1980s. Thanks in part to the lawbreaking antics of the Torakku Yaro films, dekotora have an antisocial image, and the vehicles were even banned from entering Tokyo in 2001.
But there are still associations of dekotora owners and supporters today, with the largest being Utamarokai.
Utamarokai President Junichi Tajima still owns Ichiban Boshi, the truck that was used in the Torakku Yaro movies. He wants to change the image of these trucks, and even organizes regular dekotora charity events, often for disaster relief.
If you watched the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2021, you might even have noticed a dekotora during the opening ceremony — ridden by Japanese guitar legend Tomoyasu Hotei.
