Recommended breakup songs for women in their 50s: classic and popular Japanese tracks

Cheer upTakeuchi Mariya

Cheer Up – Mariya Takeuchi

Originally a track from Hiroko Yakushimaru’s 1984 album “Kokonshū,” this classic became a long-running hit when the artist herself re-recorded it in 1988.

While it’s a breakup song, it’s quite rare in that it takes a woman’s perspective to encourage another woman who’s heartbroken.

Each word offers gentle support and courage, making it a song you’ll want to listen to not only after a breakup but also whenever you’re struggling with anything.

Lingering Snowiruka

Nagori-yuki – Iruka

When it comes to quintessential breakup songs for people in their 50s, it has to be this one.

The other day on a quiz show, I saw a chart that listed memorable classic songs by age group, and Nagori Yuki was ranked No.

1 for both people in their 50s and 60s.

It’s a breakup song from a male perspective, but the vivid farewell scene draws in women as well, and it continues to resonate with younger generations even today.

An Afternoon Spent Watching the SeaArai Yumi

An Afternoon Spent Watching the Sea

Even though it’s been over 40 years since this song was released, the Dolphin restaurant that appears in the lyrics is still bustling with pilgrims visiting the sacred site—truly a classic.

If you don’t listen closely, it sounds almost a cappella, with hardly any backing track audible.

With just soda water and a paper napkin—such simple props—Yuming manages to evoke a profoundly deep heartbreak.

She really is a genius.

I am a piano.Takada Mizue

I am the Piano — Mizue Takada.flv

From folk songs to New Music—from Takuro to Yumi, to Miyuki Nakajima, and then to Southern—the generation in their fifties spent their youth sensing these shifts in popular taste.

Southern All Stars’ debut single “Katte ni Shindobaddo” shot into the Top Ten in no time at all, not so much for the meaning of its lyrics as for its freshness as a new sound.

They’ve remained active ever since, but back at their debut they were almost too blessed with hits; perhaps the pressure to produce another hit each time was so strong that their songwriting stalled.

There was even a time on the TV music show The Best Ten when they changed some lyrics and kept repeating “neurosis.” That said, Mizue Takada’s “Watashi wa Piano” is superb in both words and melody, a masterful portrayal of how parting arrives without warning and everything crumbles away.

Ruby RingTerao Akira

Akira Terao – Ruby Ring (1981)

Terao’s agency was Ishihara Promotion, whose president at the time was the legendary actor Yujiro Ishihara.

When the staff shared their thoughts on the song, the hard-charging managing director—Yujiro’s right-hand man back then—savaged it, saying, “There’s no way a song that sounds like a Buddhist chant will sell.” But with one magnanimous word from Yujiro—“Why not?”—the record was greenlit.

It went on to sell 1.6 million copies and became a massive hit.

I personally felt closer to the managing director’s assessment, but I’m deeply impressed by Yujiro’s foresight—as an executive as well.