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The year was 2001. A friend searching for inspiration asked 15 year old Noda Yojiro to play some riffs on his guitar.

The friend secretly recorded the jam session on his flip phone.

Noda’s playing shined through even on 180p quality phone recordings.

When fellow high schooler Akira Kuwahara heard the secret clip, he sent an invitation to meet Noda at a local Yokohama donut shop.

Humble Beginnings

At Mister Donut, full of aspiration, Kuwahara asked Noda to officially join his band. Noda said yes, and RADWIMPS was formed.

Their name is a combination of the English words “rad” (meaning cool) and “wimps” (weak). Noda spent a few years in America as a child, so he knew a bit of English.

Their first live was held here, at YOKOHAMA BB STREET.

Then, time came for the YOKOHAMA HIGHSCHOOL MUSIC FESTIVAL – an important local event for “music and fashion created by highschoolers, performed by highschoolers, for the tastes of high schoolers”.

A day before the deadline, Kuwahara entered his band without consulting any of the other members.

It ended up working in their favor – they were able to make it to the Grand Prix with their song, Moshimo.

Another miracle happened a few months later when the radio station FM Setagaya had to find a rush replacement for their music festival.

RADWIMPS came in yet again for the rush, with only ten days notice to prepare. It was a big success.

With their last minute momentum miracles, they released their first official single “moshimo” on a limited print CD.

10,000 copies made, selling for a single 100 yen coin.

Every copy sold out.

Things were going well for them – within the span of a few months, they released their first self-titled album and even got called back to the YOKOHAMA HIGHSCHOOL MUSIC FESTIVAL, this time as special guests.

Their successful high school career was winding down. Noda retired from the band to study for college entrance exams, causing the band to go on a hiatus.

That April, Noda came back and Radwimps returned replacing their previous bass and drummer with their current iconic lineup.

After the reunion, they went on their first live tour as a headliner, titled “Deserted island tour with RADWIMPS – 2,500 yen? Drinks will be charged separately“.

In yet another last minute turn of fate, RADWIMPS began hosting one of Japan’s top radio shows, SCHOOL of LOCK. Thanks to Gotch from ASIAN KUNG FU GENERATION taking a break as host, RADWIMPS took over with great reception, bringing them closer to fans and giving them a boost for their next releases.

Punk Rock Origins

RADWIMPS early career was heavily influenced by punk rock.

Kuwahara learned to play his guitar by copying Hi-Standard riffs, one of the biggest Japanese punk rock bands of all time.

During one concert, RADWIMPS were scheduled to open for another band called the “Miso Soup’s” (miso shiru’s in Japanese).

After leaving the stage, the members ran back on stage in disguises and started playing an unreleased pop punk song called “Jennifer Yamada-san“.

They introduced themselves as “John (Noda), Makka, Paul (Kuwahara), and Tony”.

They even appeared on a miso paste commercial claiming “If you play rock music to miso paste, it will taste better“.

The Miso Soup’s were an alter ego – and a way for the band to be more playful and less philosophical with their style of rock.

RADWIMPS Signature Rock Style

Radwimps is famous for having complex lyrics and compositions, whether it be for their romantic ballads or harder rock songs.

Their original rock style, and many of their first top charting singles, take a blend of Buddhist chanting layered with technical guitar riffs and religious themes. The lyrics mix abstract nonsense and philosophical rantings.

Another common theme in their rock songs is “dada” – I am not sure if it has been proven, but it probably has something to do with Dadaism, a cynical nonsensical art and philosophical movement that happened around WW2 era. If you have more info on this RADWIMPS lore, please let me know!

This style lead them to writing some of the most popular songs for aspiring guitarists and for high school talent festivals (bunkasai).

Oshakashama, literally meaning “Buddha”, is now one of the most recognizable Jrock riffs of all time.

Since their global revolution from Your Name, RADWIMPS has toned down on their harder, more punk roots. But, it still remains an incredible revolutionary era that can’t be forgotten.

I hope you enjoyed reading about RADWIMPS history.

Until next time ❤