Meguro, Tokyo. Opened in 1980. This is the place that has nurtured many bands since the early days of Japanese hard rock.
A long established music club that led the Japanese hard rock scene. It opened in 1980. “Loudness” formed in 1981, so it is the place where the Japanese hard rock/heavy metal scene began. This was the main place of “Japaese Metal” in Tokyo.
It is in the basement of a building, about 5 minutes walk from Meguro Station. Due to the aging of the building, it has been decided to close on January 19, 2025. It will relocate, but specific details are not in public. 44 years since opening. Various bands have come out of this music club. It is a must-see place when talking about Japan’s hard rock scene.
My first visit was in 1987. I came here because my friend performed. At the time there were seats at the hall. Seat was fixed type like movie theater. I looked up the stage from the seat, stage looked divine.
In the 1980s, bands such as “44 MAGNUM” and “ANTHEM” were active at this club, and this was also the time when Rockmaykan established itself as a gateway to success for hard rock and heavy metal bands. After that, visual oriented bands appeared, and recently it is famous that “BABYMETAL” was active in this place.
This music club has a interesting underground structure. First, the reception is on the first basement floor, which is at the bottom of the stairs, and then goes down to the basement. It would be correct to say that it is on the second basement floor. There is a space where getting off, and opening the door at the back on the left, there is a hall. It is not very spacious inside, the width of the stage is about 6m, and the height of the stage is about 80cm. When I visited in 2024, my impression was that the stage was higher in the past. It probably had something to do with sitting and looking up.
The distance from the stage to the end of the hall is approximately 15m. The capacity is 250 people officially, but it feels like it cannot accommodate even 200 people. What makes it unique is that there are the second floor. There are stairs going up to the second floor on the left as entered the hall.
Basically, it seems that the 2nd floor is for the person related with performers. The PA is also on the second floor. There is also a curtain on the stage, and iron fences are in the front row. By the way, the dressing room locates down the stairs in front of the hall. In other words, there are 3 floors underground.
Now, as for the restroom, there is a door to the left after entering the hall, open the door and go down the stairs that lead down. The restroom itself is an old structure that gives the impression that it opened in 1980 (the private toilet was Western-style, but the toilet bowl above the Japanese-style toilet). When I went inside, there was no graffiti on the wall. This seemed surprising, but it has probably been well maintained over its 40-year history.
I visited this place in December 2024 because it was closing. A tribute band of “Ratt”, the symbol of LA metal, was playing (band name: Batt). There were around 100 people in the audience. Speaking of the 1980s, Van Halen shocked the Los Angeles scene, followed by many glam metal bands, and when I think about it now, it was an abnormally exciting time, and therefore I feel nostlgy while lisening this tribute band.
The opening song was “Dangerous But Worth The Risk”, and I could feel the good taste on this selection. In addition, the live sound was pleasant and I never got tired of it, and I was keenly aware of the greatness of the live music.
There is no announcement as to what will happen once it closes. Will it remain closed or will it reopen at a new location? Considering that the generation that was young when “Japanese Metal” started in the 1980s to 1990s is still in their age of 50s and 60s, I hope this music club will continue to do their best for another 20 years.
At music club in the United States, I sometimes see older people who look like they cannot walk normally, so in order to make the music club space open to everyone, I hope this music club continues in new place with the name of Rockmaykan.
Visited in 1987, 2024.
基本情報
■ Name : Meguro Rockmaykan
■ Address : Yamazaki- Building 1−5-17, Meguro, Meguro-Ku, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan
■ Homepage : https://www.rockmaykan.com/
■ Performed Musician : 44 MAGNUM, ANTHEM, X, UNITED, LUNA SEA, DIR EN GREY, BABYMETAL
■ Tips
Rockmaykan correctly pronounces as Rokumeikan. In Japanese history, Rokumeikan was the place of social hall with Western-style architecture built in Hibiya, Tokyo during the Meiji period. It was 1886. This was the place to invite western people for the party etc. With this courteous hospitality, Japanese goverment expected that issue of unequal treaty with foreign countries to solve. However, it was not effective directly, though equal treaty realized at later period.
Rokumaykan in Kanji（Chinese character) means “Hall with deer to cry”, means guest to invite then deer cries. “Roku” resemble the pronounciation of “Rock” and therefore, this place is saying Rock-May-Kan (Mei and May is the same pronounciation. In English, there is a word of “May” but “Mei”.
