Masterpieces of bittersweet breakup songs. Recommended popular tracks.
It seems that when you’re feeling down, listening to somber songs rather than forcing yourself to listen to upbeat ones is actually better for your heart.
This time, we’ve put together a collection of Japanese breakup songs to send to you, who are hurting from heartbreak.
Let yourself fully relate to the songs you connect with, and clear your mind.
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Masterpieces of bittersweet breakup songs. Recommended popular tracks (61–70).
Snow WhiteFlower
It was released in 2013 as Flower’s sixth single.
The song was used as the theme for the NOTTV drama “We’re All Dead♪” and is a love ballad inspired by the world of the fairy tale Snow White.
It reached No.
3 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart and conveys a poignant sense of longing.
Love StoryAmuro Namie
It was released in 2011 as Namie Amuro’s 38th single.
The song was used as the theme for the Fuji TV drama “The Reason I Can’t Find My Love,” as the NTT Docomo “d Hits” commercial song, and as the KOSÉ “ESPRIQUE” commercial song.
She also made a guest appearance as herself in episode 9 of the drama, where she performed the song, which became a hot topic.
two peopleaiko
I tell myself it’s a good thing I realized how they felt before I fell in love, and I accept the end of the romance.
This song by aiko captures that painful bravado.
Despite its up-tempo sound, it sings of the bittersweet moment when you keep getting your hopes up over the other person’s smallest gestures, only to notice their gaze is fixed on someone else.
Released in March 2008, the song reached No.
3 on the Oricon weekly chart and was later used in a Hoyu commercial.
It’s also included on the album “Himitsu.” On nights when you put on a brave face even though you’re really sad, doesn’t listening to this song make you feel like someone’s right beside you saying, “I know exactly how you feel”?
GoodbyeNishino Kana
Even though they didn’t grow to hate each other, they end up choosing to part ways due to drifting apart.
This is a poignant medium-tempo ballad by Kana Nishino that tightens the heart with the complexity of such an ending to love.
The way the protagonist tries to seal away the memories without truly accepting what happened feels strikingly real, likely because of the lyrics’ masterful grasp of the subtleties of romance.
Released in October 2013, the song is also known as the theme for the NHK serial drama “Glass no Ie” and is included on the album “with LOVE.” For those who have lost a love that couldn’t be saved by feelings alone and can’t yet move on, this song will gently whisper, “It’s okay—you don’t have to force yourself to forget.”
Stardust VenusAimer
This is a song by Aimer that overlays unforgettable memories of love onto the stars in the night sky and sings of heartache.
The lingering attachment to a precious person who has been lost and the increasingly idealized memories are delicately depicted through a fragile yet resolute voice.
Released as a single in August 2012, it is also included on the acclaimed album “Sleepless Nights.” As the theme song for the drama “Will Such a Luxury as Love Fall Upon Me?”, it enriched the story’s worldview.
The piano-and-strings sound this work possesses is sure to resonate deeply with listeners’ sentimental hearts.
If you listen on a quiet night when you want to be alone with your memories, it will surely wrap your heart in gentle warmth.
beetle (specifically, a rhinoceros beetle)aiko
It’s a song by aiko that portrays a delicate heart: identifying with an insect that protects itself with a hard shell yet is fragile inside, and acting tough precisely because it’s in love.
Like that insect that cannot survive the winter, the song foresees the end of love, yet its deep affection moves you as it tries to accept even the sadness as a cherished memory.
Released in November 1999, it was also used as the ending theme for TBS’s CDTV.
If you’ve ever found yourself putting on a brave front in front of someone you like, you’ll understand this all too well! As you listen, may you embrace that awkwardness as a part of yourself and find the courage to step forward into tomorrow.
Then, why?Abe Mao
This is a poignant ballad by Mao Abe that sings of the helpless feeling when you realize you were the only one who was serious, after being led on by someone’s suggestive behavior.
The regret of having believed the words of a capricious, cat-like partner, and the pain that makes you want to demand, “Then why did you say that?” ride on her emotional vocals and pierce straight into your heart.
The song is included on the album “Su.” released in June 2011.
Remarkably, Abe wrote it during her high school years, and the pure, youthful cry of the heart resonates with raw intensity.
When you’re suffering from a lover’s ambiguous attitude and have nowhere to put your feelings, listening to this can feel as though it’s speaking for you.
Its gut-wrenching lyrics, paradoxically, will gently wrap your loneliness in warmth.