Table of Contents
Introduction: All You Can Eat (or Don’t): The Music of Machida Ko
Have you ever listened to or even heard of the album Meshi Kuuna! (メシ喰うな！ / Don’t Eat Food!) by a band from Osaka called INU (for those of you who haven’t taken kindergarten Japanese yet, “Dog”)? No? You, too? Then get it into your earholes right now, because, unless you live in Japan, you’ve been missing out for 45 years. Released in 1981, it’s widely considered to be one of the greatest punk albums ever made in Japan. No one at the time could have predicted that their lead singer, a 19-year-old with the stage name Machida Machizo (町田町蔵), would go on to win Japan’s most prestigious literary prize, the Akutagawa, become a professor in the Faculty of Letters at Musashino University, and even take up acting, including the singer himself.
Machida Ko (町田康; born Machida Yasushi / 漢字同じ, January 15, 1962) first entered the public eye in a band he had in high school with the tasteful name Kusare Omeko (腐れおめこ / Rotten C**t; you can find bootleg recordings of their gigs on YouTube, but I warn you – they play mostly covers and the recordings sound awful), which would eventually transform into INU. Machida has always come back to music even as he’s added more skills to his set, and he applies them to the music as he proceeds, so join me in diving headfirst into that particular career. Remember, no matter how old music can get, it’s always new to somebody who’s never listened to it before. You will find links below to videos of as many of the recordings listed here as possible so you can listen to what I’m talking about.
Various artists–Dokkiri Record
INU: Now I Wanna Be Your Dog…or Do I?
The first recordings that INU released were on a compilation LP produced by Machida himself on his label Hitsuya Rekodo (必要レコード / Required Records) in 1980 called Dokkiri Record, which they shared with fellow Kansai bands Ultra Bidé, Alcohol 42%, Henshin Kirin and Chinese Club. Only 200 copies were pressed with one of five different coloured info stickers on the front covers (and one should only look up what they’ve sold for on Discogs if they’re constipated), with nothing since but a couple of unofficial CD-R reissues, but someone has put it up on YouTube. INU’s contributions are versions of four songs which were later re-recorded for their own album. More on that below.
INU–Meshi Kuuna! (メシ喰うな！)
Step Away from the Food!
INU’s only studio album, Meshi Kuuna!, was released on the Tokuma-adjacent label Japan Record in 1981, but the band – Machida with Kitada Masahiro on guitar, Nishikawa Naruko on bass and Higashiura Shinichi on drums – broke up three months later. Although it wasn’t a big hit at the time, it’s now regarded as legendary and has been reissued many times. It was finally released in the U.S. in 2023 by the label Mesh-Key (which specializes in reissues of left-of-center Japanese bands, including Aunt Sally and the Jacks) under the title Don’t Eat Food!. Sadly, they’ve sold out of their vinyl LPs, and didn’t make a CD this time, but you can download high-definition files from the label’s Bandcamp page for a fraction of the LP’s price – which is what I did.
Photo: Hirose Tadashi/廣瀬忠司
The striking front cover shows 19-year-old Machida Machizo side-eyeing holes through you, which represents the attitude within perfectly. Between the two years of time and various lineup changes, the sound is post-punk akin to Public Image Ltd.’s First Issue (he was getting tired of punk’s simple music at the time), is tighter than most albums of its ilk, and even includes a little bit of unobtrusive fun with the studio’s effects. The first track, “Fade Out” (『フェイド・アウト』) has a very strong melodic pop edge over a pounding beat, over which Machida sings in unabashed Kansai-ben.
While most of the lyrics share punk’s nihilism, albeit to an absurd degree (the title track tells people who try to fill their empty lives with food to stop eating), cracks of positivity shine through here and there. Most notably, after pointing out different ways life drags you down in “Tsurutsuru no Tsubo“ (『つるつるの壺』/ “Lift the Lid”), it wraps up with “Open up your head and try to relax a little / Just let it all go and enjoy yourself.” Sound advice, if you ask me.
The album’s title also hides a bit of the wordplay that Machida would parlay into entering the world of literature. Another interpretation of “Meshi Kuuna!” is “Don’t Eat Rice!” This could well have been his actual meaning of the title, given how rice is a recurring theme in his lyrics. This title implies that one should have what’s considered the alternative starch instead—Eat bread! In Japan, one of the ways that is said is パン喰う! = Pan kuu! Of course, that sounds like saying “Punk!” in a Japanese accent.
Quote from Mesh-Key Label Head Justin Simon
When asked about the album, Mesh-Key head Justin Simon stated:
“For me, Meshi Kuuna! is an all-timer, a classic record from start to finish that sounds like nothing else. It’s got a lightning-in-a-bottle quality for me. The members of the band were preternaturally talented at their instruments, but also still young, so they made great, odd songwriting decisions, and infused each song with youthful energy. Of course, Machida-san stands out for his totally unique style of singing and bonkers lyrics. I first heard the album when I was a student in Kyoto, so it’s a nostalgic listen for me now 30 years later.”
“It was one of a small collection of records I personally loved that were celebrated to some extent in Japan, but completely unknown elsewhere, and I thought that needed fixing (I felt that way about each of the albums I reissued on Mesh-Key). It took many years to finally get the band and the label’s approval, but when it finally came together, I was very proud and honored to be able to introduce the LP to a new audience.”
INU–Ushiwakamaru Name Tottarado Tsuitaru Zo! (牛若丸なめとったらどついたるぞ！)
Come and Have a Go if You’re Hard Enough
In 1984, Alchemy Records released an LP of recordings from their show at Yaneura in Tokyo on March 25, 1979, credited to the original INU, with Naoto Hayashi on guitar, Tanaka Keisuke, AKA Osho, on bass and Nishimori Takeshi on drums (the last two formerly of Kusare Omeko), entitled Ushiwakamaru Name Tottarado Tsuitaru Zo! (If You Underestimate Ushiwakamaru, I’ll Beat You Up!). Unlike Meshi Kuuna!, this only got reissued once in 1985 with a bonus flexi-disc, and then nothing since apart from a couple of CD-R releases of dubious legitimacy.
Thankfully, some people have put it on YouTube. While the recording quality is a bit rough, with the drums notably sounding like cardboard boxes, most of the elements come through clearly, including Machida’s hectoring vocals, punctuated by malicious laughs here and there. Of all the lines you could hear repeated many times in a Japanese punk song, did anyone ever expect “I do not mind” in English (“Love Over Voltage” /『ラヴ・オーヴァー・ヴォルテージ』)? Of course, this is far from polished, but when the songs kick in, the band keep a tight grip on the rhythms like meat in a ravenous dog’s jaws until the songs end, and if you like Meshi Kuuna!, you’ll find plenty of the same mojo in this, even with an entirely different set of musicians.
Post-INU
You Can Take the Boy out of Osaka…
In what obviously becomes a trend with Machida, he started and finished a similar-sounding band, FUNA, in less than a year (literally January-November 1982) without any proper recordings being released, but some got bootlegged.
He also collaborated with Tetsuro Wada of the punk/new wave band Renzoku Shasatsuma (連続射殺魔 / Serial Killer) for the song “Boris Vian no Ikidori” (『ボリス・ヴィアンの憤り』/ “Boris Vian’s Resentment”) on the 1982 compilation album Rebel Street (Japan Record), alongside P-Model and Daisuck & Prostitute (吉野大作＆プロスティテュート). Boris Vian (1920-1959) was a French novelist and jazz musician known for his idiosyncratic writing style; remind you of somebody? It’s driven by drum machine and forwards and backwards guitars, over which Machida vocalizes in every way he wishes, from singing to recitation to screaming, which keeps the song from settling into anything resembling a good psychedelic trip. This took things to the next level for him.
In 1983, Machida moved to Tokyo and started a new band called Jinmin Olympic Show (人民オリンピックショー / People’s Olympic Show), which surprisingly lasted for four years. While they didn’t release any albums, live recordings that circulated via tape trading can be found on the ‘Tube, as well as videos of actual live performances. They lean into the experimentalism that his previous work hinted at. “Boris Vian no Ikidori” was included in their set lists.
Machida Machizo from Shifukudan–Doterai Yatsura (どてらい奴ら)
Wild and Crazy Guys!
Since Machida wanted to keep moving forward, he started another outfit in 1986, Machida Machizo from Shifukudan (至福団 / Blissful Group), with Konishi Kenji on synth and programming and Minowa Sentaroh (ex-Jinmin Olympic Show) on drums. Their sole album, Doterai Yatsura (Wild and Crazy Guys) (Takarajima / 宝島, originally on cassette only), goes down the electronic rabbit hole, but does so with jagged and industrial sequencing and audio events that come at you from nowhere, like marching music (with marching sounds), solo harmonica and drums that are treated to sound like scrap metal segueing into machine gun fire. Some say that art should be used as a weapon, and this album is a musical artillery barrage.
Machida Machizo—Hona, Donaisee Iune (ほな、どないせえいうね)
It Might Not Be What You Expect
In 1987, he turned a bit back to the right musically with his solo 12” EP Hona, Donaisee Iune ) (So, What Do You Want Me to Do, Anyway? in Kansai dialect) on Captain Records. While the lineup (led by guitarist/arranger Yuge Satoshi) is classic rock, the music still comes out of left field, with a notable Captain Beefheart influence on the first two songs. This and Doterai Yatsura show Machida starting to focus on absurd narratives and spoken word delivery, which foreshadows what he would later take up as his main career. But, for the time being…he supposedly suspended activities for three years, but a a bootleg list on the ‘net shows 1987 gigs by Aiyoku Band (愛欲バンド / Lovely Band), a couple in 1988 under his own name, and in September 1990 with the band Auschwitz (アウシュビッツ
Machida Machizo+Kitazawagumi
I Used to Be a Dan, but I’m All Gumi Now
In 1991, he formed a new band, Machida Machizo+Kitazawagumi (北澤組), with Koyama Kotaro (guitar & vocals), Noguchi Taiji (keyboards), Nishimura Yusuke (bass and vocals), and Honma Enzo and Kitazawa Koichi, both on drums, percussion and vocals. Their first album from 1992, Harafuri (腹ふり / Belly Shaking – a word he would revive as the name of a religious cult in his 2004 novel Panku Samurai, Kiraretesoro / パンク侍、斬られて候/ Punk Samurai and the Cult) on Wax Records, is pure alternative rock, and was considered a major comeback for Machida after about 10 years.
While the kinda funky first two songs made me wonder, the music changed after that and kept changing with each song. For the life of me, “sounds like this band” was a thought that never went through my mind while I was listening to this – but then again, the closest that it got with Machida here was fellow poet John Giorno’s “(Last Night) I Gambled with My Anger and Lost,” which I only remembered afterward.
For their second album, Chushajo no Yohane (駐車場のヨハネ / John of the Parking Lot) on the Invitation label, the music settled down some, with a heavy leaning towards blues rock (like Downchild), to balance out Machida’s increasingly intense lyrics blending surreal humor, commentary about the mundanities of life in Japan and religious imagery. He continues to pivot his vocals more towards dramatic recitation of literary text, but he hasn’t given up on singing. He also didn’t give up on cycling through musical projects, and Kitazawagumi was disbanded in 1995. During this period, he started publishing books of poetry and essays, kicking open a new door for his talents.
Machida Koe + The Glory–Dounika Naru (どうにかなる)
Rock Measured in Units of Glory(a)
Later in 1995, he started up Machida Machizo Unit (町田町蔵ユニット), which was later renamed Machida Machizo + The Glory, and then Machida Koe (sp) + The Glory (町田康, the debut of his current pseudonym) with Kitazawa Koichi returning from Kitazawagumi, plus Tsunematsu Masatoshi (guitar, Ex-Friction), Kondo Tatsuo (keyboards and percussion) and Kainuma Joji/George (bass).
They released one album, Dounika Naru Something/It’ll Work Out Somehow) in October on Invitation, and it’s a somewhat straightforward rock album that’s considered a transitional album for Machida between his work with bands and as a literary narrator, and introducing more Biblical imagery. I say “somewhat,” because the opening track, “Saiwai Rakki” (『倖いラッキー』 / “Blessed Good Luck”), is underpinned by probably the most wonderfully gross high-note electric slide guitar skronking you’ll ever hear, especially at the beginning, where you can’t distinguish it from screams at first. It lets you know that Tsunematsu goes wherever he wants to take those six strings, including bringing them under control when it feels right for the song.
In “Kuiaratame” (『悔い改め』 / “Repentence”), Machida addresses Moses as a woman, tells her to stop wearing heavy-duty makeup, be human and repent – and then they can have lunch. He goes back to the same well later with (“Supiido wo Ageyo, Ruuzaa” (『スピードをあげよルーザー』/ “Speed Up, Luther” – which could also be a bit of a pun on “loser”). If that wasn’t enough, the album closes with “Gloria” (『グローリア』), a grab-and-twist on the hymn “Gloria in excelsis Deo.” Shortly after this, he published his first novel, Kussun Daikoku (くっすん大黒), which earned nominations and prizes for several literary awards.
Nonai Shuffle Kakumei (脳内シャッフル革命)
Well, You Know, You Got to Shuffle Your Brain
The Artist Now Known as Machida Ko must have said all he wanted with the Glory, because he disbanded them and reformed Kitazawagumi, with Kainuma on bass and Kitazawa as the sole drummer this time. He released the album Nonai Shuffle Kakumei (Brain Shuffle Revolution) on Invitation in 1997 under his own name, but with the band still being acknowledged in the credits. They must have taken notes from Dounika Naru, because they let their hair down a bit. Several tracks are under two minutes long, showing that Machida is now letting ideas bloom without obligatory padding – even if one of them is just a couple of bursts of laughter over rolling chords, done in 15 seconds. His lyrical themes remain unabated, complete with several mentions of Kami and Buddha without showing anything resembling reverence towards either one.
Machida Ko & Sato Taiji—“Kokoro Unit” (『心のユニット』)
Last Week on As the Millennium Turns…
Machida’s career as an author took off like a rocket during this time, including being a co-winner of the 123rd Akutagawa Prize for his 2000 novella Kiregire / きれぎれ / Scraps. At the time of writing, it is his only book to be published in English, under the title Rip It Up, translated by Daniel Joseph (who would later do the same for the lyrics in the Don’t Eat Food! U.S. LP). However, he still managed to make some music during this period, starting with the 2002 CD single “Kokoro Unit” (roughly, “Heart Unit”) on Epic Records, with guitarist/vocalist Sato Taiji from the band THEATER BROOK.
The title track (the ending theme of the TV Asahi series Sodan Hour / 相談アワー / Consultation Hour, and the subject of an amusing music video) is a nice singer/songwriter choon, but the second song, “Sora ni Daibu” (『空にダイブ』/ “Dive Into the Sky”) gets goosed by electronic production, including the occasional Aphex Twin snare rush. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was Machida’s idea – but it could well be arranger Mori Toshiyuki, a musician, composer and producer in his own right. The final song, “Pika” (『光』 / “Light”), is a compromise between the two, with a gentler touch on the programming and yowling lead guitar.
There were two other releases this decade, the self-titled EP by Miracle Young (ミラクルヤング) in 2003 and Machida Ko Group’s album Live 2004 Oct 6th (released in 2005). The only representation of these on the ‘Tube is the last song on the latter, the encore with the cover of the Piss featuring Nakajima Ramo song “KYOKO,” a tribute to a fellow musician/author who had passed away in July 2004.
Inu to Chahan no Sukima / 犬とチャーハンのすきま
More Rice, Vicar? How About Some Udon?
That was it until 2010, when he released the solo album Inu to Chahan no Sukima (The Space Between the Dog and the Fried Rice) on Ren’Dez-vous in 2010, with his name mysteriously spelled in Romaji on the front cover as “Khu Machida.” Playing with him this time are A☓S☓E on guitar, Ishibashi Eiko on keyboards, flute and marimba, Akasaka Michiru on bass and the sadly now-departed Tsuneoka Akira (Hi-STANDARD) on drums. The lyrics cover topics like the rottenness of life, consequences of overindulgence, and being regarded as crazy. Oh, and quite a bit about udon, but, of course, Machida must warp it. Who else would think of adding a politician (among other things) to a bowl of it?
The music? Compared to everything else I’ve covered so far, it’s a string of whiplash style and dynamic changes, sometimes within the same song, with the guitar particularly jumping out of the mix. “Michibata no Ossan” (『道端のおっさん』/ “Old Man on the Roadside”) ramps up Loud-Quiet-Loud™ to such a ridiculous degree that they left in the band laughing after the take. They also work in some odd time signatures to make things extra twisty. I don’t know about you, but I have fun with that; everybody involved seemed to do so themselves.
Nanji, Wagatami ni Arazu / 汝、我が民に非ズ
This Article Will Soon End
Not long after that, Machida emerged on the stage again at a café run by a friend in Atami at various points between 2011-2015, mainly playing his older works. In 2016, a guitarist named Nakamura Keiji joined his backing band, and this is when things started to get serious.
They were joined by keyboardist Taiko Fujiko, saxophonist Asano Masanobu, bassist Seto Naoyuki and drummer Takahashi Yuko, and Machida named the band Nanji, Wagatami ni Arazu (You Are Not My People), adapted from a line in the Old Testament Book of Hosea he had used in his 1992 poetry collection Kuuge (供花 / Floral Offerings). They released three albums in pretty quick succession on Ren’Dez-vous: Tsurai Omoi wo Dakishimete (つらい思いを抱きしめて / Embrace the Hard Feelings) (2018); Mohaya Jihi Nashi (もはや慈悲なし / No More Mercy) (2019); and an almost self-titled album (汝我が民に非ず; note the missing comma and the different last character) in 2020.
The label did not put the entire albums up on the band’s YouTube channel, but here’s a playlist of the five-minute album samplers they chose instead. Everything is up on Apple Music, though. The music is dynamic (but not too sudden!) jazz-infused rock that can be mellow but can also charge when the song calls for it. Machida’s voice is probably the strongest it has sounded since INU, and his lyrics read the most like his prose. This has led critics in Japan to regard Nanji’s work not so much as music than as a writer using music as a medium. I don’t hear it myself, especially given that he sings solidly all the way through these albums. These are worth checking out and are available via mail order from the label’s website.
Ko Machida: Recent Live Appearances
For now, that’s it for recordings. Machida’s workload will have only increased ever since he became a university professor in 2023. However, he won’t let that get in the way of taking the stage and taking the mic – especially in tribute to old friends. In this video , he covers THE STALIN’s “Romantist” as part of the February 21, 2025 event “45 Years Since the Formation of THE STALIN! 40th Anniversary Memorial Gig of the Breakup — ‘Still Settling Accounts to Great Acclaim’.”
On December 12th, 2025, the band Bakuretsu Toshi Densetsu M.A.D (爆裂都市伝説M.A.D / Burst City M.A.D) did a set of INU covers in Ebisu, and they called in the most qualified person to sing. He also appeared in memorial concerts for Nakajima Ramo in 2016 and a recent one held at Banana Hall in Osaka (April 3rd, 2026) featuring Nakajima’s band Piss, Oni from Afrirampo and various guests (including himself). Of course, he sang “KYOKO.” Now, you might be wondering – will he ever release a new album, and if he does, when, and with who? Will he bring Nanji back together, or start a whole new band? As I’m sure you’ve gathered from all the time leaps here, all we can conclude is, we don’t think anyone knows – including the singer himself.
Photos: Matt Kaufman
Musicians’ Names in Kanji (in order of appearance)
- Kitada Masahiro – 北田昌宏
- Nishikawa Naruko – 西川成子
- Higashiura Shinichi – 東浦真一
- Naoto Hayashi – 林直人
- Tanaka Keisuke, AKA Osho – オショウ
- Nishimori Takeshi – 西森タケシ
- Tetsuro Wada – 和田哲郎
- Konishi Kenji – 小西健司
- Minowa Sentaroh – 箕輪扇太郎
- Yuge Satoshi – 弓削聰
- Koyama Kotaro – 小山耕太郎
- Noguchi Taiji – 野口泰次
- Nishimura Yusuke – 西村雄介
- Honma Enzo – 本間Enzo
- Kitazawa Koichi – 北澤孝一
- Tsunematsu Masatoshi – 恒松正敏
- Kondo Tatsuo – 近藤達郎
- Kainuma Joji/George – 飼沼丞二
- Mori Toshiyuki – 森俊之
- Nakajima Ramo – 中島らも
- Ishibashi Eiko–石橋英子
- Akasaka Michiru–赤坂ミチル
- Tsuneoka Akira–恒岡章
- Nakamura Keiji–中村敬治
- Taiko Fujiko– 大古富士子
- Asano Masanobu–浅野雅暢
