Hidden gems of yami songs. Recommended popular tracks.
I put together a playlist of dark/“yami” songs from Japanese music.
They’re feelings you can’t tell anyone, but everyone has some abnormal emotions.
A lot of the lyrics are scary, but if you listen, I think many people will find them relatable.
It’s a collection of masterpieces that turn messy, irreconcilable emotions—things that can’t be wrapped up with pretty words—into song.
- [Melancholy] For when you want to sink all the way. Masterpieces that depict various kinds of gloom.
- [Yami Song] A mental breakdown track that sings the true feelings of a melancholic heart
- [Dark Songs] A carefully curated selection of deeply dark tracks and heartbreaking songs that accompany you in tough times
- Masterpieces that sing of despair. Recommended popular songs.
- [Trash Songs] A carefully curated selection of tracks about the lowest, worst kind of loser—and hidden gems!
- [Yami Song] Fight darkness with darkness!? Deep tracks that stay close to your pain
- A masterpiece that sings of loneliness. Recommended popular songs.
- Hidden gems among tear-jerker songs. Recommended popular tracks.
- A spine-chilling scary song: masterful tracks that evoke fear and eerie recommended songs
- Masterpieces that sing about loneliness: J-pop to listen to when you're alone
- [Songs to Listen to When You Want to Die] I want to disappear... A song to support you who feel that way
- A melancholic “yami” song that was a hit in the 2000s. A bittersweet track.
- Stalker’s Song: A Rhapsody of Twisted Love
Hidden gems of “yami songs.” Recommended popular tracks (11–20)
I bear a grudge.Nakajima Miyuki
As you can tell from the title, it’s a song with memorable lyrics that say “I resent you.” Some people might only know the part that goes uramimasu.
It seems like singing it when there’s someone you just can’t stand would be a good way to relieve stress.
moonlightOnitsuka Chihiro
This is Chihiro Onitsuka’s second single.
It’s a passionate song about the oppression we face in this world and the wish and prayer for liberation from it.
It was the theme song for the smash-hit drama “TRICK,” and there’s an anecdote that although it wasn’t originally slated to be released as a single, it was urgently put out on CD in response to the drama’s success.
shameless; indecentchanmina
A track by Chanmina that portrays a destructive love driven purely by instinct.
Released digitally in September 2021, it drew attention as the title song of her third full-length album, Harenchi, which came out in October of the same year.
In March 2022, it was chosen as the theme song for ABEMA’s dating reality show The Grass Is Greener Next Door 3, becoming a long-running hit with over 200 million streams.
The lyrics, where wavering emotions, desire, and guilt intersect, vividly depict the peril of a love you know you shouldn’t pursue but can’t stop.
Those moments when you surrender to impulses you can’t even control yourself are sure to resonate with anyone who’s felt the same.
Kill my ex-boyfriendGōruden Bonbā
It’s a song by Golden Bomber.
The title is, frankly, a bit too straightforward.
As the name suggests, it portrays a man’s feelings as he gets jealous of his girlfriend’s ex and, in a way, wants to kill him.
Perhaps love can exist while being distorted at the same time.
Moonlit Night Sea Bathingwakusei abunōmaru
It’s a song that overflows with a sickly, unstable vibe while still bursting with a sense of speed, just like in the music video.
What’s striking is how it’s sung from two perspectives: the man’s, telling her to choose either to love herself for eternity or die; and the woman’s, saying that if he wishes for death, she’ll offer her life at any time—yet she won’t say that out loud, because admitting it would make his feelings grow cold.
curseYamazaki Hako
Hako Yamasaki (born May 18, 1957) is a singer-songwriter, actress, and writer.
At the time of her debut, she was called a “rival to Miyuki Nakajima,” and is known for her powerful vocals and sharp, incisive lyrics.
She has also been featured in the manga Chibi Maruko-chan.
Hidden gems of “yami” (dark) songs: Recommended popular tracks (21–30)
IronyHatsune Miku
Starting with the intro, “I’m a little tired of walking—an ordinary expression, but of this long road called life,” this is a classic Vocaloid song that grabs your heart.
It’s a track that can calm you down a bit when you’re worn out by life or troubled by the very things you’re working hard at.