A song of forbidden love. A love song about feelings that can't be stopped.

So it wasn’t me, huh.riria.

riria. / So it wasn’t me. [Music Video]

This song, Riria.’s “It Wasn’t Me, Was It.”, pierces the heart with the feelings of the so-called ‘second woman’ seen from a woman’s perspective.

When you’re having an affair or a love you can’t tell anyone about, you probably end up bottling up a lot of emotions inside, don’t you? In this song too, there are lyrics about keeping quiet and enduring—wanting to continue the relationship—even though she sensed his actions and attitude and kind of knew what was going on.

I’m sure many people will relate.

You can also feel that, even knowing the truth, she just couldn’t help loving him so much.

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utatane

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distress (at sea/in the mountains); being lost; stranded; a disaster situationToukyou Jihen

Tokyo Incidents – Distress

When it comes to Tokyo Jihen songs that depict forbidden love, “Sounan” (Distress) comes to mind.

It’s also popular for the unique world Shinji Ringo creates, but if you look at the lyrics, they convey feelings of utter helplessness—as if the lovers had committed double suicide.

Even so, you can’t stop how you feel, and in the sense of staying true to love, perhaps that really is what it means.

It’s hard to treat meeting the one you love as a true love story without sugarcoating it or lamenting it too much, but when you listen to this song, don’t you feel, “I don’t want to regret meeting my destined person”?

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sasashina

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First LoveFukuyama Masaharu

Masaharu Fukuyama – First Love (Full ver.)

The title is “Hatsukoi,” and there’s a reason for deliberately not writing it with the standard characters “初恋.” They’re two people who each have something to protect and a place to return to.

And yet, their feelings deepen.

The frustration of being unable to move forward and unable to go back is captured well.

Even without a physical relationship, living while truly loving someone else is still a form of infidelity, isn’t it?

CountdownCocco

Cocco “Countdown” Music Video

This is Cocco’s shocking debut work, depicting the end of a forbidden love driven by sheer passion.

The provocative, self-destructive words that corner the other person may be a reflection of frustration and despair at a relationship with no way out.

Released in March 1997, the song is also included on the album Bougainvillea.

Because you love someone so much, you feel a twisted impulse to destroy the relationship with your own hands—knowing it’s selfish, yet unable to stop.

Perhaps such overwhelming passion comes from being consumed by a love that should never be.

passing by each otherSoala

Soala – Passing Each Other [Official Music Video]

Overwhelming love can, without us noticing, turn into invisible chains that bind the other person.

Soala conveys this painful mismatch with a heartrending voice.

It leaves you with a helpless feeling—the ironic reality that actions and affection meant for the best can end up closing the curtain on a relationship.

Released in July 2023, the song resonated with many, surpassing 20 million views on TikTok within six months.

It pierces deeply into the hearts of those who worry that their love might be a burden to the other.

The regret of not finding an answer to what you should have done—it’s truly heartbreaking.

codependencyDomura Riu

Codependence / Riu Domura (Lyric Video)

A work by Riu Domura that candidly portrays the fragility and pain of a mutually dependent relationship.

This song depicts the heartrending figure of someone who, even while understanding it isn’t true love, cannot bear the loneliness and continues a false relationship.

Even knowing they’re just convenient, they can’t break away from the joy of being needed.

You can’t help but empathize with the protagonist’s conflicted feelings.

Released in May 2019 on the EP “Escape,” this piece suggests that, even knowing you’ll end up alone, being unable to stop may be the inescapable reality of a forbidden love.

A Story of Two PeopleYU-KI

YUKI 'A Story of Two People'

This is a warm medium-tempo ballad depicting the daily life of a cohabiting couple from a male perspective.

It delicately portrays the shadow of infidelity creeping into their intimate relationship and the painful emotions of trying to mend it.

Released as a single by YUKI in September 2010, it was later included on the 2011 album “megaphonic.” It reached No.

4 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart and ranked No.

234 on the year-end chart.

It’s a perfect song for those who want to empathize with a man struggling in his life with a loved one—still precious to him—even as he watches their relationship fall apart.