| Kayōkyoku | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | 1920s, Japan[1] |
| Derivative forms | J-pop |
Kayōkyoku (歌謡曲;lit. 'Pop Tune') is a Japanesepop music genre, which became a base of modernJ-pop.The Japan Times describedkayōkyoku as "standard Japanese pop"[2] or "Shōwa-era pop".[3]
Kayōkyoku represents a blend of Western andJapanese musical scales.[1] Music in this genre is extremely varied as a result.Kayōkyoku in the narrower and more practical sense, however, excludesJ-pop andenka.[4]
Unlike "J-pop" singers such asSouthern All Stars'Keisuke Kuwata, the singers of thekayōkyoku genre do not use stylized pronunciations based on the English language, but prefer traditional Japanese.[5] There are exceptions, such as in singerMomoe Yamaguchi's song "Rock 'n' Roll Widow".[5]
Unlikeenka,kayōkyoku is also not based on emotional displays of effort while singing.[6]
Famouskayōkyoku artists includeHiroko Yakushimaru,Kyu Sakamoto,the Peanuts,the Tigers,Candies,Pink Lady,Seiko Matsuda,Junko Sakurada,the Checkers andOnyanko Club.[7]
Kayōkyoku music has simple melodies that are easy to follow and play along to. The lyrics ofkayōkyoku are simple and attempt to relate to an everyday Japanese individual.[8]Kayōkyoku singers also relate to common Japanese listeners by appearing as cute and approachable, with many aspects about their appearance and actions dictated by production companies.[8] The base ofkayōkyoku songs aims towards a sentimental feeling. The music draws on being able to relate to listeners and tries to voice the feelings that they keep bottled in due to social appearances.[8]Kayōkyoku's style has become prominent due to the karaoke boom that occurred in the middle of the 1970s.[8] A large focus of karaoke revolves around mimicking not only the song being sung, but also the image of the singer and the image brought out by the lyrics.[8] The simple rhythm and lyrics ofkayōkyoku made these songs very popular to sing at karaoke. An NHK survey conducted in 1982 revealed that around 80% of males over thirty years of age sangkayōkyoku songs through karaoke machines.[8]
The termkayōkyoku originally referred to Westernclassical "lied" in Japan.[9] However,NHK radio began to use the term as another name ofryūkōka around 1927, and this took hold in the late second decade of theShowa Era (1935–1944).[9] However, many songs popular during this era became lost due to the association with painful memories involvingWorld War II.[10]
Kayokyoku, though associated with ryūkōka, also refers to a specific musical genre unique fromryūkōka. For example, Kenji Yamamoto (山本健治) said that the popular genre of Showa 20s (1945 – 1954) wasryūkōka and the popular genre of Showa 30s (1955–1964) waskayōkyoku.[11]
In Showa 30s,Frank Nagai, inspired byjazz, sang new songs called "MoodKayō" (ムード歌謡).[12] During theJapanese post-war economic miracle, MoodKayō music became one of the most popular genres in Japan.[13] "MoodKayō" was influenced byLatin andjazz music. On the other hand, in Showa 30s, modern enka began to be formed androck and roll began to have an influence on Japanese popular singers such asKyu Sakamoto.[12]
In 1949, 12-year-oldHibari Misora made her recording debut with song "Kappa Boogie Woogie". In the 1950s, Misora,Chiemi Eri andIzumi Yukimura were called "Sannin Musume" (lit. "Three Girls").Hachiro Kasuga,Michiya Mihashi andHideo Murata were called "three crows". In the early 1960s,Kyu Sakamoto andthe Peanuts became famous.Shinichi Mori debuted in 1966.Linda Yamamoto also debuted in 1966. In the late 1960,Group Sounds became famous.Teruhiko Saigo,Yukio Hashi andKazuo Funaki were called "Gosanke" in the 1960s.Keiko Fuji debuted in 1969 and the music genre like her songs was calledenka, which was like Japanese traditional music. In 1969, Japanese child singer Osamu Minagawa made the JapaneseOricon weekly number-one single "Kuroneko no Tango" at the age of only six, establishing the still-standing youngest record to top the Oricon single charts.
During the 1950s and 60s, many Kayōkyoku groups and singers gained experience performing on US military bases in Japan. Around the same time,yakuza managerKazuo Taoka reorganized the concert touring industry by treating the performers as professionals.[14]
in terms of imported foreign talent, Kayōkyoku from this period is also believed to have been influenced byChinese immigrant jazz musicians who had fledShanghai during thecommunist takeover, as well as, with theAmerican soldiers who wereoccupying Japan at that time. In 1949, when thecommunists took overMainland China and established thePeople's Republic of China, one of the first actions taken by thegovernment was to denounce popular music asdecadent and replace it withChinese revolutionary music.[15] Although a number of Shanghainese musicians fled to theBritish colony ofHong Kong,[16] a few musicians instead settled in Japan, where they became members of theFar East Network and collaborated with theAmerican soldiers to introduce a variety of new genres to the Japanese public.
Some of the most famouskayōkyoku musicians of this era include songwriterRokusuke Ei and singerKyu Sakamoto. Their 1961 song "Sukiyaki" in particular became a global hit and topped theBillboard Hot 100 chart.[17]
In the 1970s,Hiromi Go (who belonged toJohnny & Associates at that time),Hideki Saijo andGoro Noguchi were called "NewGosanke".Saori Minami,Mari Amachi andRumiko Koyanagi were called "Shin Sannin Musume" (lit. "New Three Girls").Akiko Wada, who came from "Jazz Cafe", also became popular.Momoe Yamaguchi,Junko Sakurada andMasako Mori were called "Hana no Chūsan Torio" (lit. "Flower Junior High School Three Grade Trio").Yū Aku became one of the most famous lyricists ofkayōkyoku. He wroteFinger 5's 1973 song "Kojin Jugyō" and female duoPink Lady's 1976 debut song "Pepper Keibu".
In the 1980s, many female idols such asSeiko Matsuda,Yukiko Okada andAkina Nakamori became popular. Johnny's male solo singerMasahiko Kondō also became popular and his song "Orokamono" won the29th Japan Record Awards Grand Prix Award in 1987. The music genrekayōkyoku is regarded as a base of another genre "J-pop".[7] In the 1980s, a part ofJapanese idol was independent fromkayōkyoku and associated with Japaneserock musicians.[6] Late 80s' popular bandOnyanko Club was a band of borderline era between "kayōkyoku" and "J-pop".[18] Although Japanesekayōkyoku-style music afterHikaru Genji andDreams Come True was called "J-pop", several people claimed that "J-pop" was a subgenre ofkayōkyoku music.[19]
In the 1980s, remainedkayōkyoku music exceptJapanese idol's music became regarded asenka.[6] AfterHibari Misora died in 1989, the genre calledkayōkyoku mostly vanished and severalkayōkyoku singers became regarded asenka singers, even if their sound did not change.[20] However,Shinichi Mori andKiyoshi Maekawa considered themselves to be notenka singers butkayōkyoku singers.[20] Maekawa claimed that an example of trueenka singers wasSaburō Kitajima, who could use a lot ofkobushi (a kind of vocalism) for singing.[20] As the result, the music of the genre caused some confusion. For example, Kiyoshi Maekawa's song "Himawari", produced by pop singerMasaharu Fukuyama, was regarded as enka for no special reason.[20] WhenJunko Akimoto became popular in 2008, however, she was said to be a modern example ofkayōkyoku singers.[4]
As of the 2020s, it has been said there is a "Shōwa Kayo Boom" (Japanese: 昭和歌謡ブーム)[21] and that Shōwa era kayōkyoku songs have become popular among young people.[22][23][24]
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