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Tuesday 14 April 2009

immersed

i'm (as you've noticed..) a car nut. I've had the honour of being involved in various car modding sub-cultures including the evergreen boy/street racer scene, old school big blocks, ICE, the Auto Show scene and kei cars. Along the way i've learnt alot about cars and the best part is, i've made alot of good friends... all bonded by the common love for the world of car customization. As i've recently left the street racer scene, i'm now immersed in the "Bippu" or the car modding sub-culture known as VIP style. A scene that is rumored to have its origins rooted in the Japanese Mafia a.k.a the Yakuza. To cut a long historical story short, Japan Police started targeting high-profile continental cars (mercedes, bmw, etc) that were the preferred mode of transport for the high-rolling gangsters. As such, the mafia swapped to local luxo jap cars to avoid attracting attention. They then went about customizing their rides to create more opulence and comfort creatures than their conti-counterparts. This spawned the growth of various companies offering VIP style products to cater for this growing market of enthusiasts. Some of the major players are, Junction Produce, Garson D.A.D, and Fabulous. All providing high-quality luxo car accessories.

Whilst awaiting my fickle choice of 19" rollers and suspension for a lowered stance, i popped into a couple of stores here in KL that cater for the VIP society and picked up a few goodies for my 'bippu' odyssey which included a Junction Produce(JP) FUSA. Now, the fusa has an interesting history...

the JP Fusa in the car

The FUSA is a rope tied in an infinity loop accompanied by tassels, designed to be hung from the rear view mirror.
This FUSA knot originated from the traditional Danjiri festival in Osaka Japan. The tassel originally adorned the helmets of soldiers in ancient Japan as a 'good luck' charm. The Danjiri festival stretches back to 1703 when the feudal lord of Kishiwada, Okabe Nagayasu prayed to Shinto gods for an abundant harvest at Fushimi Inari-taisha in Kyoto. In Buddhism, a knot symbolizes that everything in life goes in a cycle, and without a visible start or end represents the infinite wisdom of Buddha. The mystic knot is seen as the symbol of good tidings with minimal illnesses, problems, pain, setbacks and any sort of sufferings. In the old days, for Japanese farmers the knot symbolized clouds and the tassels rain, which is what they needed for crops. Which meant Money. If the Yakuza and soldiers have it, then it's a darn good thing to have in my car!

JP Comfort Pillows, JP Fusa, Fabulous leather & fur tray and a pimped air freshener!
Pimped ciggie lighter with crystal (fake of course..)Gotta love the japs!
"Chrome Potion" hahaha... bling'd car fragrance. with crystal lighter in background
Leather & fur tray in car.

Stay tuned to watch the progress of my "Bippu Odyssey Project"

3 comments:

Emily T said...

Fur tray?!!! OMG! /faints

If this is only the beginning, I dread to see the day you're finally done pimping the car!

Demon said...

its a NEW beginning dear! a whole new world of car customization. hehe.

bohtak said...

VIP pimping!