The Japanese Shōwa Golden Oldies
The Shōwa pop songs evoke nostalgia of “the good old days”
Do you know the Shōwa period of Japan? When you hear the word, what do you imagine?
The Shōwa period is the more than 60-year span from 1926 to 1989. The era started on December 25, 1926 and ended on January 7, 1989, corresponding to the reign of Emperor Hirohito, the 124th Emperor of Japan.
Upon the passing away of Emperor Taishō, Emperor Shōwa ascended the throne where he remained for 62 years — the longest-serving Japanese Emperor in history. The birthday of Emperor Shōwa is still celebrated on April 29, known as Showa Day, marking the start of the Golden Week spring holiday in Japan.
Shōwa Nostalgia
This era saw dramatic changes — World War II and its aftermath, the Japanese economic recovery, the Tokyo Olympics of 1964, and the Japanese asset bubble from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, when the Japanese economy inflated. When Japanese people say “It’s a lot like Shōwa,” they mean “the good old days” — Shōwa nostalgia — as remembered by baby-boomers and their parents.
The Shōwa era represents a remarkable success story of the Japanese people. After its defeat in World War II, Japan had a national goal of catching up to the West and achieving a peaceful, affluent, and prosperous society. After the US atomic bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that led to the end of the Second World War, the Allied Powers led by the U.S. started the postwar occupation of Japan. But from the Korean War boom in the early 1950s through the 1970s — the decades of rapid economic growth, Japan revitalized itself from the devastation of war, which is called the “Japanese economic miracle.”
A Serendipitous Encounter with a Social Saloon Featuring Shōwa Nostalgia
Recently, I have been enchanted by the Japanese Shōwa golden oldies, pop songs that remind me of “the good old days.”
In April 2017, I tried entering what appeared to be a local bar in my neighborhood. This place opened the previous summer, and every time I passed by, I wondered what kind of place it was. It looked like a bar, but I didn’t feel like entering. I usually don’t drink alcohol. But that day, I was curious and called the place. A woman answered and told me they had a karaoke stage and served a set of food and drinks priced at a nominal 2,000 yen. The next evening I went into the bar for the first time.
When I entered, there were two customers talking and singing — an elderly man and an elderly woman — and two bar assistants. I sat down in the back. One of the assistants, an elderly woman named Kana, sat in front of me and we started talking. I introduced myself and explained how I became interested in the place.
Then Kana introduced herself and explained the purpose of the bar. It was a social saloon named “Nishiki.” It featured Shōwa nostalgia, with Shōwa golden oldies playing on the karaoke set in the background. She and the other assistant (an elderly man) are joint managers and they used to work as dance teachers at a large dance hall in Tokyo for more than 20 years.
Kana, in her sixties, was from Tokyo and the male saloon manager, in his seventies, was originally a local resident managing his own dance hall for many years. That dance hall closed in the 1990s and he moved to Tokyo to work as a dance teacher. He met Kana at a dance hall in Yurakucho, Tokyo, and they became dance partners. But they quit the dance hall in 2016 to open a saloon of their own in Yamanashi, to the west of Tokyo.
Since this serendipitous encounter, I have been enchanted by the saloon. I love its unique atmosphere very much and always enjoy listening to the Shōwa golden oldies playing in the background and singing them on the karaoke stage.
Shōwa golden oldies come in several genres : enka (melancholic Japanese songs), natsumero (nostalgic melodies), and mūdokayō (popular mood music).
My Favorite Shōwa Golden Oldies
Please enjoy the following videos of my favorite Shōwa songs.
Love You Tokyo by Kurosawa Akira and Los Primos
Ashidematoi (Drag) by Mori Yuji and Southern Cross
Sakaba-nite (At the Bar) by Eri Chiemi
Cómo Está Akasaka by Los Indios
Kita-no-yado-kara (From a Northern Inn) by Miyako Harumi
Shitetsu-ensen (Along a Private Railway Line) by Noguchi Goro
The songs I introduced above are just a small portion of my favorite Shōwa golden oldies. I hope you have taken an interest in Shōwa pop songs after reading this story.
