Hida Gangare-dan (飛騨がんがれ団)
“Gangare” = local dialect for “stubborn bastard who refuses to give up.” Used both as insult and badge of pride.
1958–1974 (peak 1965–1971)
All of northern Gifu above Takayama: Route 158 hairpins, the old magnesium-mine roads, the Shirakawa-gō logging tracks, and every mountain pass that could take a modified 250 cc bike in summer.
Black school uniforms (gakuran) with removed collar and ultra-long hem dragged on the ground
White sarashi wrapped tight under open jackets
Mirrored sunglasses day or night
Embroidery on back: a red Daruma doll with one eye missing and the kanji がんがれ in bleeding thread
Mandatory pompadour or “rocket” hairstyle (helmet illegal; hair was the crash protection)
Honda CB92 “Benly” stripped naked
Yamaha 250 “Big Bear” with straight pipes that echoed off the valleys like artillery
Kawasaki W1 with extended swing-arms and ape-hanger bars
New Year’s Eve ride: entire gang rode from Takayama to the summit of Mt. Norikura (weather be damned) to watch the first sunrise.
“Blizzard Run”: December 31, full throttle through closed passes to prove the mountains couldn’t stop them.
No helmets, no brakes on the rear wheel (removed for louder skids).
If a member crashed and died, the gang carried the wrecked bike to the next meeting and parked it upright as a shrine.
1967: 42 bikes blocked Route 158 for six hours after police tried to stop the New Year ride.
1969: Gangare members rode into a rival Aichi gang’s wedding and left with the bride’s bouquet nailed to the leader’s handlebars.
1971: after the magnesium-mine collapse that killed several older brothers, the gang rode in formation to the funeral, engines idling the entire ceremony.
1973–1974: mine closures killed jobs, members scattered to trucking or prison. Last official ride was December 31, 1973. Tatsumi was the only one who still showed up in 1974; he rode the Blizzard Run alone, got frostbite on both ears, and never called the gang together again.
Old members still wear the jacket patches under winter coats. When two ex-Gangare meet, they greet with a single rev of whatever engine is nearby. Kids in Takayama still whisper that if you hear straight pipes echoing in the mountains after midnight, it’s the ghosts doing the Blizzard Run forever.