A classic Japanese folk song passed down through generations of acoustic performances
A special feature on Japanese folk songs.
Folk music originally began as arrangements of traditional songs and spread in the United States.
From around the 1960s, it was also embraced in Japan, and, reflecting the times, songs with strong anti-war and anti-government messages were delivered.
Entering the 1970s, it became especially popular with more accessible, mainstream themes and reached a peak of commercial success.
Although Japanese folk has evolved to incorporate various elements, it retains an acoustic allure and a wistful mood, with lyrics that stand out and resonate.
By all means, take your time and immerse yourself in Japanese folk music!
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Classic Japanese folk songs passed down through solo singing and guitar (41–50)
Full of memoriesH₂O
The folk duo H2O, formed by two former classmates from junior high school, sang this song.
It became a big hit as the ending theme of the TV anime Miyuki, based on the original work by Mitsuru Adachi, who wrote numerous youth romance manga.
Sanya BluesOkabayashi Nobuyasu
Released in 1968, this song hurled a sense of helpless anger and questioning at society, and Nobuyasu Okabayashi was suddenly hailed as the “God of Folk.” However, burdened by that label, he found himself troubled and set out on a path of searching and experimentation.
Strawberry Statement, Once Againbanban
It was released in 1975 as Banban’s fifth single.
The lyrics and music were written by Yumi Matsutoya, who has said she composed the song while imagining memories of walking from Aoyama Gakuin University to Shibuya Station with her then-boyfriend, a student at Aoyama Gakuin.
It topped the Oricon chart for six weeks and became a major hit.
Salvia flowermotomaro
A single released in 1972 by Motomaro, a group formed by female college students.
The song was also released around the same time by the same group, and this version by Motomaro is said to have been the biggest hit.
However, since the members were not originally aiming to go professional, they stayed out of the spotlight afterward and disbanded.
A woman born in OsakaBORO
It’s a song that became a big hit when sung by Kenichi Hagiwara.
The songwriter is the singer-songwriter BORO, who also often performed the song himself.
The name BORO was chosen to mean “to speak for the suffering of the people.” The original version was extremely long, taking nearly 20 minutes to sing in full.