There’s a Japanese girl group super devoted to hamburgers
Apparently America isn’t the only country with a serious love for hamburgers. A girl group in Japan is so devoted to hamburgers, the word “hamburger” is in the name. The West Japan Hamburgirl Z group in an actual girl group that performs songs about hamburgers while wearing hamburger costumes. The group formed in 2014, has 15 members and they perform all of their shows on Awajishima — an Island off the coast of Japan. Each member of the band was given a type of hamburger ingredient to represent, and through their costumes and tiny hats, they’re completely dedicated to personifying their ingredient.
Mami, the author of the Japanese blog Tofugu was lucky enough to watch a couple of the group’s performances, so she did us all a favor by explaining exactly what the group is about.
First she explained the costumes, because that’s obviously most notable. “Each girl was a single hamburger ingredient and wore that ingredient on their head,” she wrote. “There was: beef, lettuce, egg, tomato, Awajishima fish, Awajishima chicken, Awajishima W Onion, Awajishima W Onion, pork/bacon, pickles, avocado, pineapple, mushroom, green pepper, and egg-plant.” Serious question — are cheeseburgers not a thing in Japan?
After the show, Mami wrote that she left “with more questions than answers.” We totally get that. Because as adorable as this hamburger group is, it’s very confusing. Here’s what we know: The West Japan Hamburgirl Z group is a Japanese idol group, which means they aren’t only marketed for their music, but also for their personalities, cuteness, likability, and for the way the public views them as role models for teens and kids. Idol groups are very popular in Japan, and Hamburgirl Z is no exception.
Mami found out that the producer of the group, Shintaro Yabu, is also the chairman of the West Japan Hamburger Association. We had no idea such a thing exists, but it does, and it makes the Hamburgirl Z group make a little more sense. He’s the person who chose each of the girls’ ingredients. “It’s all based on my first impression,” Yabu told Mami. “I decided which ingredient each member would take command of based on how I felt when I first saw them.”
Yabu said the purpose of the group initially was to help promote the hamburgers of Awajishima Island, but it has since evolved into something much more — a full-fledged Japanese girl group. The group can be heard on this podcast and be seen performing at various events on Awajishima.
Here’s the group in all their hamburger glory:
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[Featured images via Tofugu]
