Punk in Japan is widely taken as having begun in earnest in 1979. That was when Friction — freshly back in Japan from New York, where members of the group had played with The Contortions and Teenage Jesus & The Jerks — appeared alongside bands such as Lizard and Mr. Kite on the legendary "Tokyo Rockers" concert and compilation album. But just as British and American punk had roots in earlier pub and garage rock, Japan also had its own proto-punk traditions.

Friction itself had roots in Japan's 1970s avant-garde scene, a scene that included the band Maru Sankaku Shikaku (which is stylized in the shapes of a circle, triangle and square). It also featured Rouge, Japan's snotty answer to The New York Dolls, and Gedou, whose high-octane rock 'n' roll was the soundtrack playing inside every biker's head throughout the decade.

It was in Fukuoka, though, that rock's flame burned brightest in the pre-punk years, with turbo-charged guitars blasting out of the city's stereos. Eventually, everything came together under the jokey label of "mentai rock" ("mentai" coming from mentaiko, a Fukuoka delicacy) and its most celebrated practitioners, now preparing to celebrate their 35th anniversary, were Sheena & The Rokkets.