Dekochari

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Dekochari or decoration charinko (デコチャリ or デコレーション・チャリンコ, dekochari or dekorēshon charinko^?) is a form of art bike indigenous to Japan dating back to the mid 1970s. 'Deko' in Japanese is short for decoration and 'Chari' is slang for bike. The Dekochari was a response by children to the Dekotora ('Tora' is short for Truck) craze which swept Japan after a series of movies called Truck Yaro was released. These movies featured giant trucks decked out in chrome and flashy lights.

Unable to drive the giant chrome-plated flashing trucks they coveted, children instead built plywood boxes around their bikes and attached chrome plating and lights. Almost all current Dekochari's have elaborate light displays and many include hi-fi audio systems and cup-holders.

There are currently several Dekochari bike gangs in Japan, including the All Japan Hishyomaru fleet, the All Japan DC Club Ryumaki and the All Japan Kyokugenmaru Gang.