The Yellow Monkey

The Yellow Monkey
The Yellow Monkey at the Tokyo International Film Festival on October 25, 2017. Clockwise, from top left: Kazuya Yoshii, Hideaki Kikuchi, Eiji Kikuchi, Yoichi Hirose
Background information
Also known as	Yemon
Origin	Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Hard rock[1] glam rock[1] alternative rock
Years active	1988–2004, 2016–present
Labels	Triad/Nippon Columbia, BMG Funhouse/Ariola Japan, Atlantic/Warner Music Japan
Members	Kazuya Yoshii Hideaki Kikuchi Yoichi Hirose Eiji Kikuchi
Website	theyellowmonkeysuper.jp

The Yellow Monkey, sometimes abbreviated as Yemon (Japanese: イエモン, Hepburn: Iemon), is a Japanese rock band originally active from 1988 to 2001, before officially disbanding in 2004. They announced their reformation in 2016.

The band's name was derived from the ethnic slur that Japanese people look like monkeys,^[2] and that Asian people are said to be "yellow" in skin color. The Yellow Monkey is considered an important Japanese rock group, having achieved major success selling 10 million records,^[3] including 6.2 million singles.^[4] The group has had three consecutive number one albums, 18 top ten singles and in 2003 were ranked number 81 on HMV Japan's list of the 100 most important Japanese pop acts.^[2] Outside Japan the band is best known for their song "Tactics", one of the many ending themes of the Rurouni Kenshin anime.