Old songs from the Showa to Heisei eras: a collection of timeless classics loved across generations
These days, thanks to the widespread use of Spotify and Apple Music, people of all ages can easily listen to a wide variety of songs.
Social media platforms like TikTok have also sparked an increase in older songs becoming revival hits among young people.
In this article, we’ll be showcasing a selection of hit tracks from the Showa and Heisei eras all at once!
There are plenty of timeless masterpieces that haven’t lost their charm, so take this opportunity to give them another listen.
- [Songs from the Showa Era] Introducing classic tracks that are easy to sing at karaoke.
- Showa-era love songs: A roundup of timeless love songs cherished across generations
- Showa-era songs that went viral on TikTok / revival hit songs
- [Classic Showa Kayō Hits] The captivating Showa-era pop songs beloved even by younger generations
- Songs from the Heisei retro era that will get any generation excited! Timeless tracks you’ll want to listen to now.
- Popular Showa-era pop. Timeless hit songs.
- Revival hits driven by social media! Classic Showa-era songs popular with Gen Z
- [Nostalgic Songs] A compilation of classic anime themes that hit home for those born in the Showa and Heisei eras
- Evokes the charm of the good old days. Showa-era inspirational songs that are still loved today.
- Hits that resonate across generations! Popular 1990s songs on TikTok
- [Showa Era] A Collection of Enka Hits: Timeless Classics Loved Across Generations
- Thrilling to Cool Showa-Era Tunes! Classic Songs from Female Singers and Artists of the Showa Period
- Songs to Enjoy in Summer! Classic Hits Special (Showa & Heisei)
Old songs from the Showa to Heisei eras: A collection of timeless classics loved across generations (1–10)
Children Who Don’t Know WarJirōzu
Released in 1971 (Showa 46).
This song was written in the midst of the Vietnam War.
It remains a representative anti-war song that is still sung today.
When we reflect on its meaning even now, I feel that, because there were people in Japan who had experienced war at that time, the song could convey the horrors of war all the more powerfully.
I hope it will continue to be sung in the future.
A Hazy Moonlit Nightshouka
A song that beautifully portrays a spring evening depicts, with delicate nuance, a scene where the setting sun and haze spread over a field of rapeseed blossoms, and a pale moonlight floats in the sky.
Alongside the tranquil countryside, it gently embraces quintessential images of spring in Japan—the hues of the forest, people walking along rice-field paths, the croaking of frogs, and the tolling of bells.
Released in 1914 as a Ministry of Education school song, the work seamlessly marries lyrics by Tatsuyuki Takano with music by Teiichi Okano, and it has long been cherished in educational settings.
It has continued to be loved across generations, with Aiko Moriyama covering it in 2009 and Ai Nishida performing it on a program in June 2023.
As a song to hear on a calm spring evening, it offers a warmth that deeply touches the heart.
Spring, Summer, Autumn, WinterIzumiya Shigeru
This song, which quietly reflects on the fleeting feelings toward what changes and what does not, set against the shifting seasons of Japan, seems to offer a blessed prayer precisely because it comes from someone who lives with the clear knowledge that lining up cheap words like dreams and hopes will never bring salvation.
Old songs from the Showa to Heisei eras: A collection of timeless classics loved across generations (11–20)
Silhouette RomanceOhashi Junko
This song was created as the image song for a romance novel label published by Sanrio in collaboration with Silhouette.
The lyrics were written by Etsuko Kisugi and the music composed by her brother, Takao Kisugi.
Although its initial performance was lackluster, it gradually sold and became a long-running hit.
It is a love ballad that has been covered by musicians across a wide range of genres, including Fuyumi Sakamoto and Keisuke Kuwata.
Kanda RiverMinami Kōsetsu & Kaguyahime
Released in 1973 (Showa 48).
It’s no exaggeration to say this is a signature folk song that took the nation by storm as a “four-and-a-half tatami mat” song.
The lyrics portray everyday life, using the then-trendy concept of cohabitation: though poor, the time the two spent together was an irreplaceable treasure.
However, because the song became overwhelmingly popular, Kōsetsu Minami reportedly grew to dislike the idea that this song defined him, and it took time before he reached a new understanding and began singing again.
Kanda Riverkaguya hime
Even if you didn’t live through it in real time, this million-selling song by Kaguyahime lets you imagine what things were like around 1973.
It must have represented the youth of the time so well that a monument with its lyrics was erected in a park in Nakano, Tokyo.
It’s not a bright song, and the performance and vocals aren’t particularly striking, yet it somehow sinks deep into the heart.
Lapis-Lazuli EarthMatsuda Seiko
A warm message that finds hope in the darkness makes this one of Seiko Matsuda’s signature songs, capturing countless hearts and never letting go.
The piece unfolds from an image of two people, who have supported each other through hardship, being wrapped in the morning sun, into a grand theme in which they become travelers aboard the ship called Earth, wishing to protect this irreplaceable planet.
Released on the album “SUPREME” in June 1986, it was famously used in 2010 as wake-up music on the International Space Station.
Featured in high school music textbooks as well, the song has been passed down across generations.
It’s perfect when you need hope for tomorrow or want to feel a gentle warmth.