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.
I heard this on a recent episode of "Uta Con" (and nope, it wasn't on this week) and found out that this was a Stardust Revue（スターダストレビュー）song. And it was used for a Calpis commercial back in the day.
"Yume Densetsu"(Dream Legend) was the band's 5th single from May 1984 and it starts off with a synth-powered slow burn before the score emerges into the light to begin a fun and hopeful summer song. Written and composed by vocalist Kaname Nemoto（根本要）with band percussionist Toshikatsu Hayashi（林紀勝）helping out on the words as well, the verses remind me a bit of Olivia Newton-John's"Xanadu" and his lyrics have that star-crossed lovers theme in there. No matter how long or how far, they will find each other over and over again.
According to the liner notes of Stardust Revue's "Hot Menu" BEST compilation via the J-Wiki article for the song, Nemoto had joked back then that if "Yume Densetsu" hadn't become a hit, it would have been the end for the band. Well, it made it up to No. 40, so perhaps it wasn't a runaway hit, but the band's still here in 2026.
A very distinctly Japanese accolade was given to Stardust Revue and "Yume Densetsu" when the song was adopted in October 2013 as the departure melody at Gyoda Station on the Takasaki Line in the city of Gyoda, Saitama Prefecture, Nemoto's hometown. Incidentally, the band also acts as tourism ambassadors for the city. "Yume Densetsu" was first included in an album via their July 1984 BEST compilation "TO YOU ~ Yume Densetsu".
It's frigid as all heck out there in Toronto but March 17th, aka St. Patrick's Day, wasn't going to send anyone away from the Irish pubs, and I'm assuming that the places are still jam-packed with folks enjoying the Irish holiday. I personally don't celebrate the holiday myself but I remember a few times back in my Tokyo days when I joined fellow teachers and students for a pint at the local Irish pubs there such as Dubliners.
I recall in past years that I tried to come up with kayo kyoku with an Irish theme on St. Patrick's Day, but came up wanting. I think in those cases, I searched and perhaps found some songs with "Green" in their titles.
Well, I realized that the 1913 folk song"Danny Boy" has been sung in Japan through what I've learned while doing the blog over the years and from performances on TV by the older kayo kyoku singers. Although I don't know when the above performance was made, Akira Fuse（布施明）has given his own rendition of the tear worthy ballad. And below, there is singer-songwriter Ayaka Hirahara（平原綾香）with her cover of "Danny Boy" which was on her 2011 album"My Classics 3" with her own Japanese lyrics.
I just had to include Bing Crosby's take from 1943. Anyways, I hope that all of you are enjoying yourselves out there tonight.
Hello, J-Canuck here. I've got another article via Fireminer. Enjoy!
In my previous post about TM NETWORK’s“Come On Everybody”, I briefly touched on their concept album “CAROL ~A DAY IN A GIRL'S LIFE 1991~”. It’s time for me to touch another song from that album, the incredible “BEYOND THE TIME ~Möbius no Sora wo Koete~” (BEYOND THE TIME ~Beyond the Möbius Universe~ BEYOND THE TIME ~メビウスの宇宙を越えて~).
Bandai approached Tetsuya Komuro (小室哲哉) in 1987 about writing the theme song for their upcoming anime film “Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack”(機動戦士ガンダム 逆襲のシャア). Yoshiyuki Tomino (富野 由悠季), the creator of “Mobile Suit Gundam” and the film’s director, sat down and talked to Komuro about the movie and his musical vision for it. It should be noted that Tomino already had some experience as a lyricist under the pseudonym Rin Iogi (井荻麟).
Any analysis of “BEYOND THE TIME” can’t be complete without touching on “Char's Counterattack” first. The film is the culmination of the saga starring the protagonist and antagonist of the original Gundam, Amuro Ray (アムロ レイ) and Char Aznable (シャア アズナブル). On the backdrop of a giant asteroid descending upon Earth and threatening a nuclear winter, the two men clash while reflecting upon the road that has brought them there, their failures, regrets, neuroses, hope and despair. And looming over all is the question of can humanity ever learn to overcome their flaws and march toward a more humane future, or are they destined to forever be trapped in a Möbius loop of personal failures and civilization-wide self-destruction.
It was written that Komuro came up with the melody for “BEYOND THE TIME” in just 20 minutes, having been inspired by Tomino’s vision of a naniwa-bushi (浪花節) on the cosmic stage. The string instruments in particular are meant to represent the voices of humans, and the way their sound interfaces with the synthesizer can be thought to symbolize the friction and the pull humanity feels when they interact with universalist ideas.
The lyricist for “BEYOND THE TIME” was singer-songwriter Mitsuko Komuro (小室みつ子) who also wrote the lyrics for several TM Network (including “Get Wild”) tracks under the penname Kari Saimon (西門 加里). She correctly identified that “Char’s Counterattack” was the crystallization of the entire Gundam franchise till that point. The lyric focuses on two themes: “Humanity repeats their sins” and “Beyond the claims of justice and freedom, men fought to protect those they love.” Just like the film itself, the lyrics are full of hope for humans to one day learn to connect with each other and be able to change the seemingly-inevitable encroaching ruin.
TM Network recorded “BEYOND THE TIME” while on the road for their Kiss JapanTM NETWORK Tour '87〜'88 (November 9, 1987 to February 26, 1988). They released the song as a single on March 5, 1988, 7 days before the film’s theatrical debut. Both the film and its theme song enjoyed a great reception.
“BEYOND THE TIME” since its release has been covered by many singers, and TM Network also re-recorded it several times, most recently as the song appeared as the outro theme for episode 11 of the latest Gundam series “Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX” (機動戦士Gundam GQuuuuuuX). The show was co-written by famous director Hideaki Anno (庵野 秀明) who actually worked as a mecha designer for “Char's Counterattack” (you can read more about his involvement in this excellent article.) So yes, things do go full cycle sometimes.
I’ve always maintained the position that “Char’s Counterattack” is a good movie if you’re casually familiar with the original Gundam plotline. But if you’ve bought into the Amuro vs. Char rivalry and connected with the saga on an emotional level, then the movie is a masterpiece. Yoshiyuki Tomino’s animated works are flawed, but they have a timeless quality thanks to his excellent psychoanalysis and hope in humanity’s ability to connect and forgive. I think that “BEYOND THE TIME” is also timeless for the same reasons. I welcome the fact that it will continue to haunt us for a long time and remind us that there is still hope ahead.
I want to end this article on a hopeful note, so I’ll bring up the story that an SD card containing the song was brought to the International Space Station (ISS) on December 21, 2021 as part of a promotion for Nikkei, inc.’s protein crystallization in space service Kirara. The SD card was returned to Earth on January 25, 2022 with a certificate that it stayed on the ISS.
Kasuga performing at the Kurashiki no Hito promotional recital. The band conductor (extreme right) is likely Hayashi. From Mikasa, 14 April 1968 Issue
It goes without saying that a singer's voice is their main attraction... Well, most of the time I would think it is. It certainly is one of them for me. I tend to favour the smoother, resonant vocals of singers* from the 1930s and immediate postwar era, and value the singer's ability to convey emotion without having to go over the top - I'm looking at you, do-enka singers. I suppose it's no surprise by now that the one who is the perfect intersection of everything I like in a singer's voice is Hachiro Kasuga (春日八郎).
Hachi ordinarily delivered his songs according to the music sheets with little to no room for adlibbing, for this seemed to be a hardline expectation for artistes in the old kayo world (approx. late 1920s to early 1960s). Such an expectation began to fade by around the 60s or so as more and more amateur singers came on to the scene. By the time enka the genre sprouted (1964-65), conveying anguish/sadness/drama, as well as not sounding "perfect" nor singing according to the (music) books seemed to take priority - in enka, at least. Nevertheless, Hachi still mostly sang as he did when recording songs, though on the rare occasion he does surprise me. One of such times is in Kurashiki no Hito (Woman of Kurashiki).
Part of Kasuga's late-to-take-off "Onna Series"* (女シリーズ), Kurashiki no Hito hit the shelves in March 1968, was written by Takashi Tsukasa (司太可志), and composed by Isao Hayashi (林伊佐緒). I got to know this song several years ago when I was still testing the waters with Hachi. I was on board with it fairly quickly with it being a romantic blues Mood Kayo with the saxophone blaring away and all. Topic-wise, its your standard enka and Mood Kayo fare, i.e. our song protagonist is reminiscing and pining for the titular woman from Kurashiki - a love that wasn't meant to be. However, at the time the Hachiro Kasuga whom I knew as generally sounding measured if not somewhat gloomy seemed to let loose and essentially cried out in anguish at the song's crescendos. So emotional is this cry that his voice was on the cusp of breaking. I was floored. I don't know why, but it sent my heart racing. "Kasuga could sound like that??" I thought. Admittedly, I still feel the same way now, despite it being at least 6 years from that very moment. I suppose there's something attractive in him straying from his usual, rather placid demeanour and expressing more primal-sounding emotion.
I don't think Hachi ever reprised the same vocal style in recordings since then, and I did wonder why this sudden anomaly with Kurashiki no Hito. This is pure speculation on my part, but this song emerged around the time when blues Mood Kayo singers like Shinichi Mori (森進一) and Mina Aoe (青江三奈) made it big. Both were known not just for their unique, husky vocals, but also heavily emotive cries or sighs of anguish - particularly Mori. Considering Hayashi sensei's melody was made in a similar vein to the younger singers' hits, I wonder if Hachi decided - or was instructed - to take on a style not unlike them.
Moving on, Kurashiki no Hito is a go-tochi song that is set in Kurashiki, a quaint town in Okayama prefecture where the vestiges of the Edo era remain. It seemed like it with the Kurashiki town council's support, with hopes that it'd boost tourism - one of the pluses that come with being featured in a go-tochi songs. To that end, the song was also quite heavily promoted in the town/the prefecture, enabling it to perform fairly okay in terms of sales. Unfortunately, it didn't really stand up to the test of time, and it wouldn't be wrong to say that it's mostly a deeply buried gem.
I got this at a a used book flea market in Shinbashi for 200 yen
I've not been to Kurashiki yet, but I have in my mind's eye only what photos, videos, TV shows, have shown me, and the romantic picture Tsukasa had so vividly depicted in Kurashiki no Hito: traditional houses with snow white walls and ash grey tiled roofs, waterways lined with willows hanging lazily over the water's surface, etc. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it was considered Japan's answer to Venice. I think it's high time I heed the call of this go-tochi song and head down there for one of my solo trips. I'm also a big fan of author Seishi Yokomizo's detective Kosuke Kindaichi series, where several instalments were set in Okayama. There's a little museum exhibition in a town around Kurashiki where Yokomizo had evacuated to during WWII and served as the setting to the series' first tale, so that'd definitely be on my must-visit list.
I would've loved to see Hachi singing Kurashiki no Hito live. From Mikasa, 14 April 1968 Issue
Anyway, let's circle back to Kurashiki no Hito to end things off. Despite it being a relatively unknown Kasuga Bushi, it's sung fairly regularly at the Kasuga Enka Denshokai. I decided to give it a go for myself during my first visit of the year. Ordinarily, I'd be shaking from the nerves, or being too self-conscious with singing the songs "right," but I thought that if Hachi could let loose and put his all into conveying Kurashiki..., so could I. I think it was the only song that I was able to sing with no inhibition. And by golly, that felt so good! And to sing it with/for people who enjoy Kasuga bushi as much or even more than I do felt so good.
*A series of songs with the word "onna"(女) but read as "hito"(ひと) in their titles. It was technically kickstarted by Kasuga with Nagasaki no Hito (長崎の女) in 1963. However, it became associated with Saburo Kitajima (北島三郎), who more consistently released songs of this theme since his Hakodate no Hito (函館の女). By the time Kasuga began to be more consistent with the "Onna series" in the late 1960s, the series' association with Kitajima essentially became almost set in stone.
By chance, did anyone check out the Oscars last night? To be honest, and I have most likely mentioned this in past articles, I had once been a regular watcher of the Academy Awards when I was a kid because of the glitz and the fact that it was Hollywood celebrating Hollywood. But living in Japan all those years gradually weaned me off due to the fact that the live presentation was happening while I was at work.
Then when I returned to Toronto for good in the early 2010s, I realized that I had lost interest in the glitz and the celebration of celebrity. Plus, my track record of seeing those Oscar movies is frankly abysmal. The last Oscar-nominated movie I caught was "Oppenheimer" back in 2024. I don't really consider myself a cinephile and yet, I still cherish some of the older stuff such as "Casablanca" and "Roman Holiday" (as for newer stuff, there is "Inception" and a few of the MCEU movies). And to be frank, when I occasionally catch a movie, the purpose is to get away from reality for a couple of hours and be entertained...not necessarily to be educated or moved.
OK, I'll just jump off my rapidly sinking soapbox and give you my latest Author's Picks. Over the years, I have discovered that from time to time, certain songs pop up which have at least a titular connection with Hollywood or movies, so here's a short but varied list.
Happy Monday! I've always had a fascination for those songs that kinda slipped through the net, so to speak. What I'm referring to are tunes by a singer that never got put onto one of their studio albums from a single such as a forgotten B-side or even an A-side. And perhaps, they never even made it onto one of their early BEST collections.
Being a singer and songwriter, the Akiko Yano（矢野顕子）file on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" is pretty long by now, but I think I've managed to find one of those mystery songs. Her "Ashita Koso, Anata"(Tomorrow For Sure, You) was her 6th single from November 1981, and according to one site, it was used as a jingle for a Kadokawa Bookstore commercial. It did eventually get onto a Yano special compilation CD called "Ai ga Tarinai"（愛がたりない...Not Enough Love） which came out in January 1995 and supposedly consists of those ignored songs.
The other notable thing about this particular Yano song is that aside from the singer coming up with words and music, her husband at the time, Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）, and Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）were behind the arrangement (and you can hear him as background chorus). In fact, looking at the list of musicians involved, this was virtually a Tats-and-Yellow Magic Orchestra collaboration with Sakamoto on synthesizer, Yukihiro Takahashi（高橋幸宏）on drums, Haruomi Hosono（細野晴臣）on bass and Tats also helping out on guitar while Yano was singing away. I wouldn't even say that "Ashita Koso, Anata" was a technopop tune at all. If anything, it sounds closer to being a Shibuya-kei tune (a decade before the genre really came into being) with the happy-happy beat and Tats' chorus. If there had been a music video, I would have imagined a 60s band playing on some old music-variety show. Plus, there is something about the opening of each verse which reminds me of the music from "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus". It's one of the rarest of the rare in many ways.
As someone's who communicated in the Japanese language and enjoyed Japanese pop culture for so many decades, it's always been interesting how some of those gairaigo（外来語）have been adopted into regular usage within the nation where I used to live. For example, an air conditioner in Japan is known as the cooler, and the hood of the car is called the bonnet. Speaking of cars, the horn on one isn't called a horn in Japan; it's called the claxon (or klaxon). I've barely heard claxon used for anything in Canada although I think it's used more widely in the UK. In fact, my entry into the lexical usage of claxon was through Junichi Inagaki's（稲垣潤一）mellow ballad hit "Natsu no Claxon"（夏のクラクション）from 1983.
Well, this will be my second song discovery using the term claxon. And it's from another City Pop veteran who used the term for another ballad. "Claxon". The B-side to singer-songwriter EPO's breakthrough 1980 debut single, her cover of "Downtown", I actually did hear this through her debut album of the same name in March of that year.
Written and composed by the singer herself, "Claxon" seems to paint a bittersweet picture of two ships passing in the night via a gas station. EPO has always been great mixing the contemporary with the past in terms of musical stylings, and "Claxon" is no different. It feels like a nostalgic bobbysoxer ballad but there is also something there that says "Yep, it's the Japanese 80s alright!".
.jpg)