[80s Japanese Music] Popular Christmas songs: from hit tracks to hidden gems!

Christmas EveYamashita Tatsuro

Nana Eikura stars in Tatsuro Yamashita’s “Christmas Eve” special movie-version PV

As a timeless staple among Japanese Christmas songs, this track has been loved for many years.

In fact, it wasn’t a hit when it was first released in 1983, but its popularity skyrocketed in 1988 after it was featured in a JR Tokai commercial, turning it into a major success.

Beyond its iconic chorus, it’s a masterpiece with many highlights, including an interlude that recreates Pachelbel’s Canon—a classical piece—through layered choral overdubs.

Sentimental ChristmasHamada Shogo

Sentimental Christmas - Shogo Hamada - cover

“Sentimental Christmas” is a track included on Shogo Hamada’s 1981 album “Ai no Sedai no Mae ni” (“Before the Generation of Love”).

It was also featured as the B-side to “Sadness Is Like Snow,” which became well known as a TV drama theme song.

Gentle and truly sentimental, it’s a song you’ll want to listen to on Christmas night.

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utatane

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Christmas Time in Blue — Whistling on the Holy NightSano Motoharu

Christmas time in blue

A Christmas song by Motoharu Sano released in 1985.

It peaked at No.

7 on the sales charts at the time and sold about 130,000 copies.

It has a laid-back vibe with a vaguely foreign feel.

Rather than the common theme of lovers at Christmas, it’s a song filled with universality.

As the lyrics suggest, it’s heartwarming and embraces everyone, carrying Sano’s wish for happiness across the world.

When it plays in the city, it feels like it could gently put your mind at ease.

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KEI

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White ChristmasJUN SKY WALKER(S)

White Christmas - J(S)W (JUN SKY WALKER(S))

In the late ’80s, JUN SKY WALKER(S), known as Junsuka, rode the band boom that sprang from Harajuku’s pedestrian paradise and made their debut, becoming a popular band.

One of their biggest hits is Shiroi Christmas, released in 1989.

It’s a grand-scale song that combines their signature band sound with a sweeping melody—perhaps you could even call it the last Christmas song of the ’80s.

Merry Christmas Mr.LawrenceSakamoto Ryuichi

Ryuichi Sakamoto – Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

This piece is extremely famous as the main theme of the 1983 film Merry Christmas, Mr.

Lawrence.

Even if you don’t know the film, many of you have probably heard this tune.

Starring Takeshi Kitano, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and David Bowie, the movie was a major hit and won the BAFTA Award for Best Original Score.

The piece became one of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s signature works.

A love letter written in the snowKikuchi Momoko

A love letter written in the snow

Momoko Kikuchi, who is also active as a university professor, once worked as the vocalist for a band called La·Mu.

Her song “Yuki ni Kaita LOVE LETTER” may sound like a parody of Pat Boone’s “Love Letters in the Sand,” but the music itself has a completely different feel.

The lyrics—along the lines of “It’s unrequited, but I like you; it’s unrequited, but I love you”—make a lonely Christmas feel even lonelier.

It’s a song that perfectly matches Kikuchi’s whispery voice.

It’s a track I highly recommend to anyone who doesn’t know her earlier work.

My lover is Santa ClausMatsutōya Yumi

My lover is Santa Claus

When it comes to J-pop Christmas songs that were massive hits in the ’80s and have remained beloved classics for years, this song is absolutely indispensable.

Interestingly, it was never released as a single; it was included on the 10th album “SURF & SNOW,” released in 1980.

It became hugely popular in part because it was used as an insert song in the film “Take Me Out to Snowland.” It’s a masterpiece that continues to be covered by many artists.