Dekochari
Encyclopedia
The is a form of art bike
indigenous to Japan
dating back to the mid 1970s. 'Deko' in Japanese is short for decoration and 'Chari' is slang for bike. The Dekochari was a response by children to the Dekotora
('Tora' is short for Truck) craze which swept Japan after a series of movies called Truck Yaro was released. These movies featured giant trucks decked out in chrome and flashy lights.
Unable to drive the giant chrome-plated flashing trucks they coveted, children instead built plywood
boxes around their bikes and attached chrome plating and lights. Almost all current Dekochari's have elaborate light displays and many include hi-fi audio systems and cup-holders.
There are currently several Dekochari bike gangs in Japan, including the All Japan Hishyomaru fleet, the All Japan DC Club Ryumaki and the All Japan Kyokugenmaru Gang.
Art bike
An art bike is any bicycle modified for creative purposes while still being ridable. It is a type of kinetic sculpture. The degree of artistic creativity and originality or new functionality of art bikes varies greatly, depending on the artist or designer's intentions .-Examples:* The annual...
indigenous to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
dating back to the mid 1970s. 'Deko' in Japanese is short for decoration and 'Chari' is slang for bike. The Dekochari was a response by children to the Dekotora
Dekotora
The , an abbreviation for "decoration truck", is a type of loudly decorated truck in Japan. Commonly having neon or ultraviolet lights, extravagant paints, and shiny stainless or golden exterior parts, such decorations can be found on both on the exterior and the interior...
('Tora' is short for Truck) craze which swept Japan after a series of movies called Truck Yaro was released. These movies featured giant trucks decked out in chrome and flashy lights.
Unable to drive the giant chrome-plated flashing trucks they coveted, children instead built plywood
Plywood
Plywood is a type of manufactured timber made from thin sheets of wood veneer. It is one of the most widely used wood products. It is flexible, inexpensive, workable, re-usable, and can usually be locally manufactured...
boxes around their bikes and attached chrome plating and lights. Almost all current Dekochari's have elaborate light displays and many include hi-fi audio systems and cup-holders.
There are currently several Dekochari bike gangs in Japan, including the All Japan Hishyomaru fleet, the All Japan DC Club Ryumaki and the All Japan Kyokugenmaru Gang.