I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Credits
I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.
For the first time in quite a long while, I put singer-songwriter Akiko Kobayashi's（小林明子）November 1985 debut LP"Fall In Love" on the record player again. Of course, 40 years after buying it at Wah Yueh, it's sounding a bit reedy now but I still enjoy the ol' tracks.
I never did an album article on "Fall In Love", instead once more going along the individual track route, so along with the title track, I have covered "Diary"（ダイアリー）, "Misunderstandings" and "Stardust Memories" for example. And now I come across this song that I had completely forgotten about.
Starting off Side B is "Mou Nido to Himitsu no Koi Nanka Shitakunai" (I Never Want to Have a Secret Romance Again) which has one heck of a long title but the message is about as non-cryptic as one can get. Composed by Kobayashi and arranged by Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）with lyrics by Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）, it's got quite the rollicking tempo and seems to shift between slightly melancholy and then more hopeful parts of the melody. I remember first hearing this and thinking that this wasn't going to be one of my favourite Kobayashi tunes and it still isn't (there are lots of other tunes throughout her discography that will be further in front of the line) but I think I have a better appreciation of "Mou Nido to Himitsu no Koi Nanka Shitakunai" now than back in the 1980s, especially with that bass that almost drags the song into City Pop territory.
When I saw the news on NHK this morning, I was informed that Tokyo had broken a new record for the longest consecutive number of rainy days at 34 straight days. I don't recall during my time there experiencing anything as long as that in terms of precipitation. Although I know that water is essential, I'm hoping that the clouds finally do break up for some sun to come through.
With that said, maybe we can start the day today with something thematically connected. And so I'm going with Kumiko Yamashita's（山下久美子）5th single,"Ame no Hi wa Ie ni Ite" (Staying at Home on a Rainy Day) from October 1981. Created by a trio of veterans in lyricist Chinfa Kan（康珍化）, composer Issei Okamoto（岡本一生）and arranger Ginji Ito（伊藤銀次）, it has that lovely relaxing feeling reminiscent of 50s and 60s pop. At first, I thought "Stand By Me" and then I went further and remembered "Rhythm of the Rain" by The Cascades in 1962. The single itself wasn't a huge hit on its own, scoring a No. 91 ranking on Oricon but it was the title track for Yamashita's 3rd album from August that same year which did much better by hitting No. 11.
As I mentioned in my previous article regarding "Good Night"（グッド・ナイト）, I heard a few songs that I hadn't encountered before on last night's "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌）. This was another one from the ol' Showa Era.
The contemporary vocal trio Tokyo Rikisha（東京力車）sang "Wakai Ashita" (Young Tomorrows) and I thought from the sound of it, I had assumed that Kyu Sakamoto（坂本九）or The Crazy Cats were behind this very upbeat tune. So I was surprised to find out that it was actually Akira Fuse（布施明）who had originally recorded this for release in October 1965 as his 3rd single. I just wrote about him several days ago when he had done that cover of Gloria Gaynor's"I Will Survive" in 1979.
Just a very shallow observation on my part since I haven't been a heavy follower of Fuse's long discography but my impression had been that a lot of his early material in the 1960s had been pretty introspective and serious before he and his music lightened up a lot going into the 1970s. Well, "Wakai Ashita" is one very happy and jazz-swinging tune created by composer Taku Izumi（いずみたく）and lyricist Tokiko Iwatani（岩谷時子）. And the crazy thing is that even Iwatani's lyrics about keeping that optimistic outlook into the future are very positive rather than deceptively sad as was often the case with kayo kyoku.
Welcome to another Monday, the final one for September 2026, at KKP. It was good to see another edition of NHK's "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌）and find out about another few ol' kayo kyoku that I hadn't heard before.
"Tokyo Nightclub"（東京ナイトクラブ）by Frank Nagai（フランク永井）and Kazuko Matsuo（松尾和子）remains as not only one of the most venerated and venerable Mood Kayo songs but I think it's also one of the most remembered tunes of the kayo kyoku era. I've been hearing this one for ages. The crazy thing though is that "Tokyo Nightclub" was actually the B-side of this July 1959 45" single.
The A-side was called "Good Night" and I got to hear it for the first time on "Nihon no Uta" last night, and for the late Matsuo, the two songs were her debut in the music industry. As with "Tokyo Nightclub", Matsuo was doing a duet but not with Nagai. She was recording this one with the Mood Kayo group Hiroshi Wada & Mahina Stars（和田弘とマヒナスターズ）, and true to form, this is another mournful minor-key tune of lost romantic opportunities in the city. Matsuo has more of the vocal responsibility here and she takes good advantage of it at the tender age of 24.
Both songs on either side of the record were handled by lyricist Takao Saeki（佐伯孝雄）and composer Tadashi Yoshida（吉田正）. Ironically, I am posting this song just a few days after the 34th anniversary of her untimely passing at the age of 57 due to complications from falling down the stairs.
I discovered CASIOPEA completely by accident when I was in high school, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I listen to their self-titled 1979 debut album religiously—at least once a month. Seeing them perform live has been on my bucket list for years, and on September 12, 2026, that dream finally came true when CASIOPEA performed at The Wiltern in Los Angeles’s Koreatown.
The September 12 and 13 concerts marked the legendary Japanese jazz-fusion band’s long-awaited return to Los Angeles. After decades of watching old performances through a computer screen, I was finally going to seeIssei Noro (野呂 一生) shred in person. Truly, this was a moment for the ages.
Man, when I tell you the line was long, I mean it wrapped around the building like a rattlesnake. People showed up for this performance. Apparently, the Los Angeles Japanese-fusion community travels as a unit, because I recognized a lot of the same crowd from the Masayoshi Takanaka (高中 正義) concert earlier this year.
Thankfully, the line moved quickly, and I was inside within minutes. The Wiltern is a beautiful historic venue, with an interior that makes any concert feel like a special occasion. Naturally, there was also a bar waiting for me in the lobby—with $20 drinks and some impressively overpriced popcorn.
Once I reached my seat, however, that was when the real magic began.
The current CASIOPEA lineup features founding member Noro—the GOAT—on guitar, Jun Abe (安部 潤) on keyboards, Yoshinori Imai (今井義頼) on drums, and Yoshihiro Naruse (鳴瀬喜博) on bass. Abe joined the band in 2025, when CASIOPEA returned to its original name after performing as CASIOPEA-P4.
The opening portion of the concert felt like a primer on the band’s long history. I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t recognize nearly half of the songs—I clearly need to catch up on my jazz fusion—but hearing classics such as “Eyes of the Mind” and “Dazzling” performed live was something special.
One of the highlights was hearing four songs from the band’s latest album,TRUE BLUE. Released in August 2025, it was the first CASIOPEA album to feature Jun Abe on keyboards. Of the four new songs, my favorite was easily “Eagle – Fly Around.”
This was definitely the toughest song in the set. It was bombastic and action-packed while still carrying that signature CASIOPEA whimsy. I could easily imagine it playing during the middle of an anime fight sequence.
Then these cheeky geezers tried to walk offstage as if the concert were over.
Come on now. They obviously weren’t going to end the show with only their new material. They knew their audience, and after a roaring standing ovation, the band returned for an encore featuring “Domino Line,” “Tokimeki,” and “Asayake.”
This was my first time hearing “Tokimeki,” but I was very familiar with the other two. There probably isn’t a CASIOPEA fan alive who hasn’t heard “Asayake.” I would have been completely satisfied if the concert had ended there—but after yet another standing ovation, Issei knew exactly what he had to do.
He brought out the big guns.
“Take Me” is the quintessential CASIOPEA song. It would have been a crime not to play it, and for a moment, it seemed as if they had saved the best for last.
Or did they?
Enter “Fight Man.”
I remember watching the old CASIOPEA vs. T-SQUARE performance and being flabbergasted by how epic that version was. Thankfully, the band did not disappoint here either.
Before I forget, I have to emphasize just how energetic Issei Noro is onstage. This man was 69 years old and still shredding his guitar like it was 1982. Watching him command the stage was worth the price of admission by itself.
Surely, CASIOPEA would end the concert of a lifetime with their most epic live song.
Nope.
We got one final track.
I’ll be honest—“The Sky” was another song I didn’t recognize. It was good, but I probably wouldn’t have chosen it as the final performance. It simply didn’t have the same explosive energy as “Fight Man.” Still, that is a minor complaint about an otherwise unforgettable show.
CASIOPEA live in Los Angeles was everything I hoped it would be: energetic, funky, exciting, playful and technically ridiculous. Honestly, there are too many words I could use to describe it. My only regret is that they did not play my favorite song of theirs ever; Midnight Rendezvous. C'est la vie.
The best part may have been connecting with other CASIOPEA fans in real life and getting together for some good old-fashioned Korean barbecue after the show. It felt great to talk about Japanese music outside the confines of internet forums and YouTube comment sections. For one night, the little online community surrounding this music became something tangible.
Most importantly, I made my bucket list a little shorter.
Lord willing, this will not be CASIOPEA’s final journey to the West. Hopefully, after seeing the reception they received in Los Angeles, they’ll make a quick return. The audience made one thing perfectly clear: America loves CASIOPEA.
Special thanks to all the friends and fellow fans from the Masayoshi Takanaka Discord Server who attended the concert with me—and who provided these excellent photographs!
I kept seeing this Kyoko Koizumi（小泉今日子）album"Today's Girl" up on the racks at Wah Yueh, the old Chinatown record store that I used to frequent as a university student back in the 1980s. I never splurged the cash on it, so my loss.
Well, at least, I can capture some lost glory thanks to YouTube. One track on Kyon-Kyon's February 1985 top-ranking 6th album is "Yokosuka Daydream" which is the final track on Side A, given the nickname of "Funny Face" as opposed to Side B's "Serious Face". When it comes to any song with the seaside city of Yokosuka in the title, I always think of Momoe Yamaguchi's（山口百恵）"Yokosuka Story"（横須賀ストーリー）from around a decade prior.
Unlike the Momoe classic though where the aidoru of the 1970s is handwringing over a certain love, Kyon-Kyon seems to be having some vicarious fun playing hard to get at the expense of her boyfriend when he gets a little serious in the love department while in the titular city. But that was her image back then as the naughty pixie aidoru. Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）was responsible for the lyrics while Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）and Shiro Sagisu（鷺巣詩郎）took care of the rapid-fire synth-and-string melody and arrangement respectively.
The latter half of the 1980s was known for a more dynamic segment of the Golden Age of Aidoru and it was also when Japanese music in general was beginning to diversify with more genres coming into the mainstream such as ska and glam rock. Another trend throughout those years was the advent of mellow pop created and performed by female singer-songwriters such as Miki Imai（今井美樹）and Akiko Kobayashi（小林明子）; still have a fondness for that music.
Recently, I listened to this singer-songwriter who hails from Osaka but currently resides in London and I wondered whether she and some other fellow female singers could bring a second wave of mellow music back into Japan. I'd be all for that. Her stage name is the Po（ポー）and with her background love being Western music and musicals, she apparently first began her career by posting cover versions of other acts' songs onto YouTube.
Then in July this year, she released her first bona fide single in the form of "Uh-oh!", a mellow English and Japanese pop tune with a touch of soul that has had me thinking about those aforementioned singers of yesteryear. The tone is not only great but I also appreciate the undulating presence of the title throughout the tune as she sings what I think is her message of having a potential couple not needing to fit together like perfect pieces in a puzzle. There can be rough edges or an unexpected ridge or notch but that's part of the process of getting together.
