A classic of poignant, heartwarming songs. Recommended popular tracks.
When your heart is weary or wounded, you may find yourself wanting to listen to moving songs and sink into a pensive mood.
Here, I’ve compiled a list of poignant and touching Japanese songs that are perfect for just such moments.
- [Tearjerker] Songs that make your heart tremble with tears & moving tracks with lyrics that touch the soul
- A collection of tear-jerking songs trending on TikTok: timeless tracks that will move you to tears.
- A poignant ballad song. A tear-jerking masterpiece of Japanese pop music.
- The lyrics are profoundly good. The more you listen, the more it sinks in. Masterpieces of Japanese music, recommended popular songs.
- Masterpieces with the theme of “tears.” A roundup of moving tracks that tug at the heartstrings.
- [Tear-Jerking] Classic and Recommended Love Ballads
- Love, bonds, parting, cheers… songs so moving they pierce the heart and make you cry uncontrollably
- [For when you want to cry or feel sad] Tear-jerking masterpieces that make you cry when you listen
- Songs that play during moving scenes. A collection of classic tracks that evoke deep emotion.
- Hidden gems of inspirational songs. Recommended popular tracks.
- Tear-jerking inspirational songs: recommended masterpieces and popular tracks
- Masterpieces of poignant anime songs. Recommended popular tracks.
- A nostalgic song—a timeless classic that somehow feels familiar and touches the heart.
Masterpieces of poignant, moving songs. Recommended popular tracks (1–10)
Dream FighterPerfume
Every Perfume song is wrapped in an urban allure.
For some listeners, that urban quality often feels bittersweet—perhaps you could call it the loneliness of the city.
“Dream Fighter” is also one of their hit songs.
The Door to TomorrowTeshima Aoi
Aoi Teshima, whose translucent singing voice gently envelops listeners’ hearts.
Released in February 2016 as the theme song for the drama “Someday, When I Recall This Love, I Will Surely Cry,” this piece is a special track: a rearrangement of a song from the album “Ren’dez-vous” tailored for the show.
Its lyrics, like a letter to a precious person far away, are deeply moving and will surely resonate with anyone who has experienced farewell or a new departure.
The simple arrangement centered on piano and strings, if anything, highlights the weight of each word.
It’s a song that quietly stays by your side when you want to reflect on memories with someone dear, or when you need courage to face forward.
Happy Endingback number
Produced in November 2016 as the theme song for the film “My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday,” this piece portrays the poignant feelings of a woman who has decided to part ways.
Though her love remains, she suffers because she must leave the person she cares for.
Inside, the pain makes her want to cry, yet she puts on a brave face and pretends to be fine with a smile.
These complex emotions are expressed with delicate nuance.
Written and composed by Iyori Shimizu and co-arranged with Takeshi Kobayashi, the song reached No.
3 on the Oricon weekly chart and was certified Double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.
It is a song that deeply resonates with those who, despite the pain of heartbreak, are trying to move forward, and with anyone who has experienced parting from someone dear.
Masterpieces of bittersweet, moving songs. Recommended popular tracks (11–20)
Shadows of Youthchūrippu
When I first heard this song, I thought it was a breakup song, but according to Kazuo Zaitsu, it can be taken as both.
Because it can be interpreted either way, it’s even played at weddings, and it’s a popular song.
From the lyrics, you can take it to mean that becoming just an ordinary man and an ordinary woman is the first step toward happiness.
reverse dreamKing Gnu
A beautiful ballad that begins with a dreamy piano melody and unfolds into a grand string arrangement.
Its lyrics, interweaving love and curses, hope and despair, delicately portray the sorrow of losing someone precious and the deep reverence for the bond shared with them.
While tinged with melancholy, the warm vocals resonate deeply, making it a gem of a song.
Released by King Gnu in December 2021, it was used as the ending theme for the anime film Jujutsu Kaisen 0.
It topped Billboard JAPAN’s Download Songs chart for three consecutive weeks and won the Excellent Work Award at the Japan Record Awards.
Brimming with feelings for a cherished person, this piece gently accompanies those who have experienced heartbreak or farewell, and is a song best heard on a quiet night.
cherry blossomKawaguchi Kyogo
Kawaguchi himself said that the release of this song was postponed to December 2003 because it overlapped with “Sakura (Dokusho).” It’s also well known that this isn’t a graduation song; it was written for a commercial song competition using Doraemon, and the song was composed with Doraemon and Nobita in mind.
All of the Youthsuis from Yorushika
The melancholic air at summer’s end and the memories that resurface in a quiet moment—no one captures such aching scenes more beautifully than Yorushika’s vocalist, suis.
Her cover of a classic Fujifabric song has been used alongside moving videos on YouTube Shorts, touching many hearts.
The nostalgia for seasons gone by and time that won’t return, carried by suis’s translucent voice, seems to awaken memories tucked away deep inside.
This track is a reinterpretation of Fujifabric’s 2007 release, produced by music producer Seiji Kameda, and it also serves as the theme song for the Netflix film ‘My Last Year of Life, and the Story of Meeting You with Six Months Left.’ When you want to reminisce at summer’s end or after parting with someone dear, listening to it may gently comfort your heart.