Social entrepreneurship as cultural intermediation: Negotiating support for breaking in the Olympics from Japan

Abstract

With breaking set to debut at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, apprehensions have emerged around the World DanceSport Federation’s scope of control and representation of the dance. However, some of Japan’s breaking communities have placated these concerns as they hastily organize in anticipation. With the multidimensional appreciation for hip hop in Japan – visible across cultural communities, creative industries, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, small- to medium-sized businesses, global conglomerates and educational institutions – the work of passionate community leaders and cultural intermediaries is critical as ever in navigating institutional interventions in breaking’s Olympic co-option and representation. This article draws on ethnographic research and a series interviews conducted in Japan during 2016–21 to explore the conditions that foster favourable local reception to breaking in the Olympics. Using the case study of b-boy Katsu One – the director of the Japan DanceSport Federation Breaking Division and Japan’s breaking Olympic Coach – this article explores how Japan, an East Asian centre for hip hop globalization, is repositioning breaking as a cultural disruptor within institutional frameworks as the art form enters the world of sport. Katsu’s work highlights the importance of exerting agency between institutions and cultural communities in negotiating new perspectives and prospects for generations to come.