Sleng Teng: how a Japanese woman influenced Jamaica's reggae culture

Hiroko Okuda seen at Casio's technology centre in Tokyo in the 1980s. A musical revolution in Jamaica has a connection with a bouncy rhythm from the portable electronic keyboard that’s the brainchild of the Japanese woman. Photo: AP

A musical and cultural revolution in Jamaica has a connection with a bouncy rhythm from a portable electronic keyboard that’s the brainchild of a Japanese woman.

The pattern that resonates in the 1985 reggae hit by Wayne Smith, Under Mi Sleng Teng, came from Casiotone MT-40, which went on sale in 1981, the first product Hiroko Okuda worked on after joining the Tokyo-based company behind G-Shock watches.