From works by industry heavyweights like RAUH-Welt Begriff’s (RWB) Akira Nakai and his armada of custom Porsche cars, to more niche sub-genres like the “Itasha” scene with its custom paint jobs and full-body vinyls gazetting popular anime characters, the car scene in Japan encompasses almost every genre and subculture of automobile there is.

What is also impressive is the amount of care that goes into ensuring each of these cars look and perform the best they can. This attention to detail presents the perfect time to acknowledge the people behind the shops as “Shokunin”. Shokunin can be described simply as a devoted craftsmen or artisans. However, there is much more to the term than simply describing one’s profession. Shokunin are those who devote all their time to their craft in order to earnestly pursue a new level or pedigree within their chosen pursuit.

Car tuning is essentially a form of craftsmanship that oftentimes requires both engineering precision and an end product that is aesthetically pleasing. In many ways, the work of the people behind these tuning shops and those who are truly passionate about the act of tuning cars embody the spirit of the Shokunin, as much as those who pursue more “traditional” crafts such as cooking or pottery. Before we get to this however, let's take a step back and shine a light on the humble beginnings of Japanese tuning culture.

The Origins of Tuning in Japan

With a long and storied history in motor racing and a penchant for producing quality cars, the early days for tuning in Japan were primarily dominated by modifying cars for the purpose of motorsports. One of the earliest origins of Japanese tuning culture can be traced back to the 1960s in the form of the now-defunct Japan Touring Car Championship — a racing series that made use of production cars instead of purpose built race cars.The scene was first dominated by early iterations of the Nissan Skyline and the Mazda Savanna RX-3, both of which later evolved into the Skyline GTR (and its subsequent generations) as well as the RX-7 respectively.

However, it wasn’t until the ’80s that tuning culture in its rebellious nature really took off. Thanks to the combination of Japanese manufacturers releasing some impressive sports cars such as the Nissan Fairlady Z and Toyota MR-2 (often nicknamed the “Poor Man’s Ferrari”), the tech-bubble-era consumerism reaching unreal levels, and unaffordable entry fees for legally sanctioned race events, illegal street racing’s popularity took off. Especially high-speed challenges across Tokyo’s sprawling network of highways, whereby different crews would try and set speed records reaching over 300km/h, were amongst the most popular and thrilling categories of illegal street races.

In order to withstand these kinds of speeds, the cars had to be equipped with modded engines, brakes, and suspension kits. Chasing that adrenaline rush while seeing the Tokyo-cityscape pass by at 300 km/h or even more displays certain parallels to another subcultural movement that had its moment in ’80s Japan: Punk. Based on shared characteristics in the pursuit of loudness, speed, and a certain aggressive mentality paired with a DIY sensibility, both Punk and the tuning community were seeking to express individuality while subverting traditional conventions and undermining prevalent social norms. One of the key differences, however, lies in the fact that punk was known for its raw, unfinished feel while tuners prided themselves in a sense of perfectionism.

Despite global popularity for custom cars rising again, it is still not quite at the same level it once was back in the early-2000s. A contemporary example of a global event is the US-based Final Bout, a drift event aimed at grassroots teams and drivers who are very much inspired by the early Japanese drift scene. Recently, there also seems to be a resurgence in interest towards vintage cars with the growth in popularity of Instagram pages like @carchived which posts mostly vintage, moodboard-worthy sports cars. The page also showcases Frank Ocean’s customized E30 M3 or Tyler, The Creator’s Lancia Delta Integrale along with his collection of classic rally cars, both of which show a much more subtle and refined approach to car tuning. Another entry point into the world of vintage and custom cars is the increasing crossover with fashion through accounts such as L’Art de L’Automobile and Japan’s very own Car Service, both of which maintain a very well-curated selection of cars in their Instagram feed.