Pithecanthropus erectus (commonly known as "Pithecan")
Japan's first non-disco club (live house, restaurant, gallery)
This was the first club in Japan that was not a disco. It was created by music producers Shigekazu Kuwabara and Toshio Nakanishi with the aim of combining music, art and fashion, and disseminating it from Tokyo to the world. Shigekazu Kuwabara took part in the radio music program "Snakeman Show'' together with Katsuya Kobayashi and Masato Ibu. He was active in music and many other fields, and was a leading figure in Japanese street culture. In addition to live performances by MELON, a newly formed group by members of Plastics (Toshio Nakanishi, Hajime Tachibana, and Chika Sato) who performed at 80 locations in the United States, Pithecan also hosted events such as art exhibitions and beauty contests. It was planned to be a cultural space where the coolest people in the world gathered. Another feature was that you could eat proper Japanese food until late at night.
Although it was open for less than two years, foreign celebrities visited almost every day, and Keith Haring and Basquiat left their autographs. The publication anniversary party for Nam June Paik, the father of video art, was a big event, with Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi and his wife attending. In Kyoko Okazaki's "Tokyo Girls Bravo'', it appears as the most fashionable place in Japan and a dream destination for the teenage protagonist.
Just before the bubble burst, Tokyo was basically at the cutting edge of the world.
