"Seishun" Songs by J-Canuck

 

First off, I heard about the major quake in southern Japan so I'm hoping that folks there are doing OK.

January 13th 2025 has been set aside as the annual Seijin-no-Hi（成人の日）or Coming-of-Age Day in Japan. It's the time when all young people turning 20 this year get the big ceremonial welcome into adulthood (although there has been some recent movement in taking things a couple of years younger). The guys get all decked out in suits while the ladies are dressed meticulously into their kimono. After the speech at the local town or city hall, the freshly-minted adults can finally take that "first official" sip of booze with family and friends...and perhaps experience the exquisite pain of a hangover.

But give the new generation a decade or fifteen years and they may receive those pangs of nostalgia and longing for their salad days in high school...known as seishun（青春）in Japanese. Nostalgia has been a vital ingredient in kayo kyoku so it's not all that of a shock to know that there are also plenty of songs that have seishun in the titles and/or seishun in the feelings. So allow me to give you a few examples.

(1971) Kei Ogura -- Saraba Seishun （さらば青春）

(1981) Masahiko Kondo -- Seishun Beach（青春ビーチ）

(1976) Koichi Morita and The Top Gallants -- Seishun Jidai （青春時代）

(1974) Tulip -- Seishun no Kage（青春の影）

(1975) Yumi Arai -- Sotsugyou Shashin (卒業写真）

Anyways, my congratulations to all those turning the big 2-0 this year and take things in moderation!